Fabienne Erni: Unveiling of a Private World
In May of 2016, fans of folk metal would be shocked by the sudden lineup change of ELUVEITIE, one of the leading bands of the sub-genre. Alongside Merlin Sutter and Ivo Henzi, co-vocalist Anna Murphy departed the band to be replaced by a then unknown Fabienne Erni. Nearly ten years later having been the melodic core to ELUVEITIE and leading ILLUMISHADE, Fabienne Erni finally unveils her debut solo effort Starveil. We sat down with Fabienne ahead of her debut release to hear how Starveil came to be.
Now having spent many years being part of two bands, Fabienne explains why now was the right time for her to create something for herself. “I’ve been with ELUVEITIE now for over nine years, ILLUMISHADE four or five. Somehow I felt like I had more melodies still in my head that I couldn’t get out for either of those bands. For example we have the new ILLUMISHADE album and those tracks are done so I’d have to wait again for the next release to get these songs out of me. I didn’t want to wait. I want to get the creative output out of me.”
“So around a year ago I just decided to try it with a melody I had in my head for years that I wanted to create,” she continues. “I enjoyed that so much that I decided to continue doing that and make a whole album. But also what was really exciting is I could create melodies that didn’t really fit ILLUMISHADE or ELUVEITIE and had a way to get them out.”
While Starveil is Fabienne’s creation and is her own passion project, the album is a testament to how supportive and collaborative the niche corners of metal can be. As Fabienne explains she received assistance from other notable figures during not just the creation of the music of Starveil but the album’s setting as well.
“I was working with different artists. Mostly I was working with Vidick from INFECTED RAIN, he was like my musical director. I will create the skeleton of the song, the structure, lyrics, melodies and all that. He will then add the drums, guitar, bass and some synths if we need it. We created a world lore for the album, we’re not presenting too much of it yet but it helped me a lot when writing. Maybe we’ll reveal more and more for the more dedicated people who listen to the album and notice bits of lore or recurring phrases and words, for example Starveil is a season on a new planet in the world of this album and we have some songs that use a fantasy language, so we’re putting it together bit by bit. I’m excited to see how much we decide to reveal in the future.”
Despite the excitement of getting to release her first solo work, Fabienne does admit there is a sense of intimidation as the album approaches release.
“ELUVEITIE was my first ever band and first step into the metal world, I was more into folk at the time which gave me a very nice entry into the band when I heard their unique folk elements and melodies alongside the metal. But being in a band is a very unique feeling creatively. You’ll often have five members, or in the case of ELUVEITIE eight different creative minds coming together so you can bring a lot of discussions that can help you elevate the music to a different level rather than just you by yourself. While of course I can work ideas with Vidick, as I started releasing singles and the release date is getting closer I thought ‘is this really happening?’ That’s when I started thinking ‘is this music okay or good enough?’ Most of the time you love your own music but sometimes you do have that sense of doubt of whether the songs are really ‘done’.”
Any artist releasing their debut album would naturally consider it to be a monumental milestone for their career. After many years of working alongside ELUVEITIE and ILLUMISHADE Fabienne considers Starveil to be one of the most honest pieces of music of her musical journey.
“This album to me means ‘creative freedom’. It’s my most personal work and I’m very proud of it. Alongside getting to be in two amazing bands I get to build my own identity where I really can express what I want with complete control. Also through this whole thing I learned a lot in the creative aspect but also with everything that comes with that so I’ve learnt more in a short length of time then any other period of my life. None of that is to put down my experiences in ELUVEITIE and ILLUMISHADE. If I hadn’t been in those bands I could not have made this album. Before ELUVEITIE I was inexperienced within music and metal but now I’ve learnt so much all these years and grown so much as an artist. Eventually I came to a realisation about a year ago where I knew I wanted to do this and I was ready to bring Starveil to life and I am ready to bring to life whatever chapter is coming next. Myself as a solo artist is only just getting started.”
Starveil is set for release on March 13th via self-release. View this interview, alongside dozens of other killer bands, in glorious print magazine fashion in DS129 here:
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