Varenfel is a talented and passionate composer. he worked with Spiky on the following tracks : Pandemonia Train / Scarecrow / Return to Scarecrow / The Thingumabob Part.I / Somewhere Beyond The Cloud /A Puppet In The Dark
Varenfel is a pretty nice nickname, where does it come from?
My name is Francois Brey, but I chose to call myself Varenfel as a stage name. It has a fantasy atmosphere about it which compliments my music.
What is your musical background?
I started to play the piano when I was about 10 to 12 years old…I'm not really sure…I spent five years at a music school, and then stopped. However, I never really stopped, especially as my father also plays piano. At 16, I started to learn the guitar and the keyboards. I played in many different and varied bands as a guitarist and sometimes bassist, yet more and more I started returning to the keyboards and piano and now, in all my bands, I only play these instruments.
To this day, I have played in eight different bands; played varied shows in my area and have already recorded my music alone (type orchestration, film music, and ambiance) with low quality. I have also recorded in a professional studio with my band, Obcidiane.
Also, I have always been drawn towards the idea of creating, of composing. I have composed a lot of the music for most of the bands I have been in.
In the end, all of this has led to my working with Spiky.
What are your principal influences?
Probably right now I would have to say jazz (bossa nova), symphonic metal (Rhapsody, Nightwish etc.) pagan, black and progressive metal, all folkloric and fantasy music, medieval music (Tempradura etc.) and especially all forms of classical music, particularly Baroque.
Also, of course, film music composers such as Howard Shore, Danny Elfman etc, and video game composers such as Nobuo Uematsu and Koji Kondo, occupy a large space in my music. It's always through a story of some kind that my imagination is stimulated and I conceive and create my music.
How was the collaboration with Spiky (Adaptation etc ...) ? And with Charlotte ?
When I joined the project, Spiky had already gotten a large head start; the universe and atmosphere of the CD were very present. However, it took me a certain time to stay in this ambiance. Yet, when I understood his vision, things came very naturally. For sure the last songs that I composed were so much easier for me, as I knew exactly what Spiky was expecting from me.
We functioned in this fashion : Spiky would tell me what kind of song/piece needed to be composed. I would compose it, send it to him, he would listen, and if he approved, brought other ideas into the songs, rearranging somewhat and then he recorded them! There has always been a very good dialogue between us about the songs on the CD, we have never disagreed ! Internet has been a huge help as we don't live that close to one another…with MSN we could easily and quickly ask the other's opinion on things!
Spiky is the boss of the team, I bring support to the level of composition and music and Charlotte, with the illustrations. I have never worked, however, directly with Charlotte, but Spiky kept me updated on what she was doing.
We are all hoping that another project in the same direction will be released, does the adventure continue?
Hey ! Well, Spiky has already asked me about it and we are, at this point in time, discussing the next project! So yes, the adventure will continue, but it's still a secret ^^ !
Spiky told me you also run a main band project Obcidiane (Symphonic Metal), talk me about it?
I have so many projects, but Obcidiane is a very special band for me because it was my first step towards symphonic metal. I hold this group very close to my heart. You could almost call this my "baby" as I feel I gave birth to this group and these ideas, along with Dryad, one of the singers and the violinist, who also writes the lyrics and composes some of the harmonies. You could say I created this group in my image.
The exact definition of Obcidiane would be folkloric, symphonic melodic metal with a touch of Viking and Celtic influences! We have two female singers, which is unusual but brings out richness in the harmonies, and a violin, along with the keyboards (which I play), guitar, bass and drums. I compose all of the music, though my singers bring in a correcting hand a lot of the time when I ask them to sing impossible notes (!), or add their own harmonies.
Right now, we are going through a transitional time period, as we lost our drummer this summer and have gained a new one! We are starting with something new and have a lot of hopes and ambition for the future. I hope you will find the time to go and listen to our songs at our myspace : www.myspace.com/obcidiane
Interview by Lisa Lamb.