• facebook
  • twitter
  • rss

EPICA's SIMONE SIMONS Talks Motherhood: 'I Get To Do What I Love, Be A Mom And Be In A Band'

January 15, 2015

FaceCulture conducted an interview with singer Simone Simons of Dutch symphonic metallers EPICA at last summer's Pinkpop festival in Landgraaf, The Netherlands. You can now watch the chat in two parts below. A couple of excerpts follow (transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET).

On how being a mother (father is KAMELOT keyboardist Oliver Palotai) has changed her life:

Simone: "Being here now is really amazing, because I have, [from my point of view], I have everything. I have a family, friends, and I've got a career. I get to do what I love, be a mom and be in a band. But it's extremely chaotic and a huge challenge, actually. Especially after the first year, when they're so very small and very depending on you — especially the mother also; it's difficult. But we planned our tours in a way that I would be away for longer periods after he turned one. Festivals are okay.

"It's cool. I'm not the only one who's got kids in the band; Coen, our keyboard played, has got two kids. So, yeah, we're still gonna tour a lot, but we're gonna keep the tours nice and compact and have time in between. So we have family and career all in one."

On whether having a baby influenced the lyrics on EPICA's sixth studio album, "The Quantum Enigma", which came out in May 2014:

Simone: "Yeah, it did a little bit. This record is, anyway, on a way more spiritual level. I would say spiritual, scientific [and] philosophic. That's the key points of the record. I was pregnant when we were writing the record, when I was writing the lyrics, the vocal lines. You go through a life-changing moment, and, of course, with each record, it feels a little bit like a birth as well. And for me, it was like three births, I always say: the birth of a mother, the birth of a son, and the birth of another CD. And it also plays simultaneously. Therefore, this record is also very special for me, 'cause it was a life-challenging record."

"The song [lyrics] which [were probably most influenced by my motherhood] would be 'Canvas Of Life'. It's about the circle of life: being pregnant and having to lose a family member at the same time is very bittersweet, in a way. So 'Canvas Of Life' is dealing [with] that."

Find more on Epica
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • reddit
  • email

Comments Disclaimer And Information

BLABBERMOUTH.NET uses the Facebook Comments plugin to let people comment on content on the site using their Facebook account. The comments reside on Facebook servers and are not stored on BLABBERMOUTH.NET. To comment on a BLABBERMOUTH.NET story or review, you must be logged in to an active personal account on Facebook. Once you're logged in, you will be able to comment. User comments or postings do not reflect the viewpoint of BLABBERMOUTH.NET and BLABBERMOUTH.NET does not endorse, or guarantee the accuracy of, any user comment. To report spam or any abusive, obscene, defamatory, racist, homophobic or threatening comments, or anything that may violate any applicable laws, use the "Report to Facebook" and "Mark as spam" links that appear next to the comments themselves. To do so, click the downward arrow on the top-right corner of the Facebook comment (the arrow is invisible until you roll over it) and select the appropriate action. You can also send an e-mail to blabbermouthinbox(@)gmail.com with pertinent details. BLABBERMOUTH.NET reserves the right to "hide" comments that may be considered offensive, illegal or inappropriate and to "ban" users that violate the site's Terms Of Service. Hidden comments will still appear to the user and to the user's Facebook friends. If a new comment is published from a "banned" user or contains a blacklisted word, this comment will automatically have limited visibility (the "banned" user's comments will only be visible to the user and the user's Facebook friends).