Interview.
*Tell me a bit about yourself
My name is Alina Lesnik and I am a mezzo-soprano singer from Germany. Beside creating YouTube covers, I am working as singer for trailer music and as lead vocalist and lyricist of the band ONCE, so music is my main passion. Moreover I am studying the Master of Education in History and German Linguistics. I always loved history, old languages and poetry a lot and felt attracted to the stories of the past, but at some point I realized that music is the only thing I really can imagine to do for the rest of my life, so I decided to finish the studies, but to concentrate on music ☺
*What sparked your passion for music?
I always loved to sing along with different Disney characters and dancing around as a child - still do ;-) - so the seeds were planted in young ages. It was simply this feeling of releasing power you gathered within after being loaded with a special emotion. Singing always was like medicine for me.
When I noticed that my singing also touches people around me, the spark became a flame and I wanted to create moods and atmospheres people need in different situations of life. When I hear a known song, I usually get the images and feelings I had when I listened to it for the first time. For me music works like a diary full of memories and feelings.
*Do you play an instrument?
I played a little bit acoustic guitar before I started to concentrate on singing, but I don’t play an instrument on a professional level, even though I would love to learn Piano or a folky instrument like the Nyckelharpa.
*What’s your favorite genre?
Next to Metal, I am totally into old school rock music, folk music, soundtracks of movies and games and classical music. I would say those are my favorite genres!
*Please mention some of the bands/singers that have inspired you.
To start with the metal and rock scene, Anna Murphy is one of my idols. I love her natural performances and the tone and power she creates with her voice beside playing the hurdy gurdy, which always fascinates me!
Floor Jansen also is an inspiration, because her achievements show what you can reach if you just stay passionated and keep living your dreams. The music business is hard sometimes and I can understand people who are frustrated because they need to put so much energy into their career but never get something back. You always have to give a lot first and spent much time, energy and money into this, but then there are those people you look up to, because they already achieved what you wish most and then the flame is burning even brighter. For example, just listening to Floors live performance of “Ghost Love Score“ triggers something within, which tells me “Continue! You can reach this too”.
I am a folky music head and there are some really wonderful musicians I like a lot, just to mention a few would be Wardruna, Loreena McKennit or the german band Faun. They reconnect me with my surroundings and nature when I am to much lost in thoughts.
And at last there are soundtrack composer and YouTuber who are really inspiring, just like Two Steps From Hell and the YouTuber Karliene.
*How long ago did you begin to make covers?
I started to record my covers when I did a christmas CD for my mother in 2013. I picked up some songs she liked a lot and simply recorded them and uploaded “Tale As Old As Time” from “The Beauty And The Beast“ on Youtube. My friends told me I should try it out, so I did ;-)
*Do you have a favorite one?
That‘s a difficult question, because I like all of them, even the old ones! They show a development and each cover reminds me of a special situation in life. But if I had to choose I would say “The Last Ride Of The Day“ by Nightwish!
*You have a band called ONCE. How did this project begin?
It is a long, looong story, but I will try to sum it up! In 2012 I wanted to form a band and already had Marco with me as guitarist. We tried out different band projects, but all failed. One day I read a notification in the local newspaper and went to an audition for a Progressive Metal band. We didn’t really matched but when I told the guys that I was searching for someone who plays keyboard, they suggested Frank who also had an audition before. Fortunately he lived close to us and he brought a friend with, our drummer Alex. So ONCE was formed and through the years we developed a really strong friendship.
*Do you guys write your own lyrics?
Yes, I write all the lyrics.
*What’s the name of your latest album, and what inspired the concept?
The upcoming album is called After Earth and the main idea behind the concept was to create a piece of art, in which everything is connected.
We want to tell a story and invite the listener to sit down and to imagine the world we created in music, lyrics, artwork and structure. It should be like being a part of a movie, reflecting own thoughts and feelings while wandering through the protagonists story.
The structure is inspired by an Aristotelian drama and the story is builded around the life of a main character. You can see him on the album cover artwork and he is also the main actor in our music video “The Hour Of Eden’s Fall“.
*The Hour of Eden’s fall is beautiful. Did you have fun recording the video? Was it hard?
Filming the video was a really interesting time and one of the most beautiful moments I gathered! We spent nearly 3 days sleepless in a house which seemed to live and breath dust of forgotten tales.
We had to improvise a lot, but the team was perfect and when we started, everything seemed like working by itself. Thinking back it seemed like being in a kind of trance, where ideas were born and directly manifested into reality.
Moreover it was autumn already, the lost place was surrounded by the smell of fallen leaves and the sun was shining really bright, even though the air was fresh. I simply loved it! Our families and friends were helping out and our actors William Seidel and Christin Paulzen were simply amazing!
*Future albums/plans?
Yeah we have ideas and plans, but nothing which is concrete yet. We will keep you updated ;-)
*Where can we stalk you and ONCE?
Me on Facebook: https://goo.gl/jRPU6W
Me on YouTube: https://goo.gl/APtmTE
ONCE on YouTube : https://goo.gl/pkV5Hw
ONCE on Facebook: https://goo.gl/35uw2d
ONCE on Twitter: https://goo.gl/PEXx8R
ONCE on Instagram: https://goo.gl/EQq5gZ
Website: http://www.once-official.de/
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