ELECTRIC DIARY
1) You found each other in a bar and have had a long
discussion about music. Please tell us more about it. When
was Blind Faith & Envy finally found?
Charlene: Blind Faith and Envy was started about 1.5 years
into our relationship (we started song writing together
almost immediately after we met). We have known each other
and have been writing music together now for about 5 years.
Over time our songs kept getting better and better and
that’s when we decided we should be an official band.
2) “The Charming Factor" got released a while ago in the
USA. What are the reactions to the album like and what are
your expectations and hopes of the German release?
Charlene: So far we have had a really great response to the
album! The album was released in the U.S. around the end of
April. People are starting to talk and realize that it’s
something special. We have a wonderful feeling that
Europeans are really going to embrace this CD! Hopefully the
German release will attract a great big NEW fan base!
3) How did you get in contact with Infacted Recordings?
Charlene: Our U.S. record label owner actually made that
happen. She sent our CD to Infacted and didn’t say a word
about it. It didn’t take long before Nilaihah Records and
Infacted worked out a licensing deal so that we could have a
European release.
4) Could you please tell us something about the working
progress? Who is for what responsible in the band? Is there
a strict separation in work?
Charlene: Daniel writes the music first and when he is
mostly finished then I start to write the lyrics and come up
with melody lines. For us, that has been the easiest way to
work. We do help each other come up with ideas especially if
one of us gets stuck. Daniel is a better music writer and I
am a better singer so it was natural to settle into those
roles.
5) You have also written and composed songs seperated from
eachother. How much of this material did you create until
Blind Faith & Envy came into being in that final
constellation? What of the material did you create together
in the end?
Charlene: Daniel has written many songs over they years,
some with vocals and some with out, songs that I had no part
of. He’s a great singer! He has written songs in just about
every genre, he’s extremely talented! His secret weapon is
that he plays guitar awesome, even though there is little
guitar on ‘The Charming Factor.’ When I bought my first
keyboard with a sequencer I was writing quite a bit on my
own. But I have only written a couple of songs in their
entirety and they are not as cool as what Daniel and I can
achieve together. My own music writing tends to be floaty
and ambient sounding, where Daniel has the capability to
write songs for commercial radio.
6) Are there certain things you want to transpose with your
songs? What is important for you when you write a song?
Charlene: Appealing to a mainstream audience is very
important to us. I work hard to write lyrics that people can
relate to. We don’t want to just appeal to fans of one
specific genre. I think our songwriting is diverse enough to
attract almost any fan of electro-based music.
7) Can "The Charming Factor“ be seen as a concept album?
Could one also notice a relationship to the band name?
Charlene: Interesting question! I don’t think it was ever a
“concept” album. We just had a lot of fun songwriting and
experimenting that when we had several songs finished we
decided to put them all on one album. The cool thing is that
all the songs on the album seem to work really well with one
another, yet they are different enough not to bore the
listener. The band name and album name help to tie it all
together I suppose! It’s really up to the individual to
interpret the meaning behind all of it!
8) The instrumental „Texture“ is dedicated to Mrs. Bachmann.
Can you tell us more about it?
Charlene: Daniel wrote and dedicated the song to my Mom.
Both my Mom and Dad are very supportive of us and our
musical plight. We just thought it would be nice to include
that song on the album.
9) How would you describe your music – I think some songs
are more than typical synthie-pop songs?
Charlene: I would say that we are electro-pop and sometimes
electro-rock. Most (if not all of the songs) are radio
friendly- we have even received some rotation on a few Top
40 stations here in the states! We never want to be
pigeon-holed into one specific genre.
10) Where do you see your main musical influences? What
bands and musicians have influenced you to make music?
Charlene: Our biggest influences come from some of the
bigger electro bands. NIN, DM, and Erasure to name a few.
Dave Gahan is by far my favorite performer, he is very much
my idol and probably always will be.
11) You’ve released a free cd single “Crowded Room” via
Internet! What are the reasons for this way and are there
planned further single releases?
Charlene: The biggest reason for the digital single is that
it’s FREE! Free for us and free for you! That way a
potential fan can have some songs from the album and then
decide if they want to buy the full-length release. There
will definitely be future singles!
12) Charlene you wrote and sang a song for Neuroactive. How
did this contact come into being?
Charlene: Neuroactive did a re-mix of our song “Major
Philosopher” on our album. This was another thing that our
U.S. record label was able to set up for us. Jarrko from
Neuroactive asked if I would sing to a track for his new
album. The track he sent me was beautiful, dark, and moody,
I couldn’t say no! The song is called “Calm Delight” I
really think you’ll love it!
13) What else beside music, do you spend your time with?
Charlene: Well, got all day!? I like a lot of things! I like
to cook, (I am a total girly-girl) you know, I love makeup
and fashion and dressing up! I love animals, I love learning
new things about the world we live in! I am such a curious
person it’s scary! I can’t let things go, it’s like I have
to do tons of research on the strangest things! But I love
music the most! It gives me a huge sense of accomplishment.
14) What other plans do you have for the future?
Charlene: We plan to keep writing songs and very soon we
will be putting a live show together. It’s all very hard
work, but it’s also a lot of fun! Oh, some more remixes are
in store as well!
15) Thanks for taking time for the interview. The last words
are yours.
Charlene: Daniel recently finished our new website
www.BlindFaithandEnvy.com
(yep, he taught himself web design too, the freak)! J
Anyway, it’s super cool so check it out, hopefully your
support will enable us to be songwriters for a very long
time! Thank you!