Hello Oganalp! How are You today? Are You ready for the interview?

Alright, fine with me.

So, let’s start it! People may know a number of Your projects from the web since You’re not „just” a singer of the power metal band called Dreamtone, but also a musician, producer, recording & mixing engineer and composer of several soundtracks for games as well. Please tell us about these areas of Your life: at which point You fell in love with music playing and singing? The idea to become a composer – where it came from?

Well, I started playing the guitar around the age of 7. The thing was bigger than me in size haha. My family was always into music in one way or another, so I believe, I got the interest from them. I eventually made my way towards working on bigger productions and my own projects. Actually, singing was the only thing I didn’t expect that I would do. That part was a surprise!

Which activity stands the closest to You?

Among those? Composing probably. I like being on stage, playing the guitar or singing. They are all fun. But when it comes to expressing myself, it is the composing that I feel most comfortable. For me, having a hot tea in the middle of the night while playing a few tunes with my guitar and writing down the notes and dreaming how will they turn out was always much more fun than the other things. I like creating things I guess.

Is the guitar the main composing tool you use or do you reach sometimes for a piano or some other instruments as well?

Well, that depends. For Maegi, guitar was my main tool to write the songs. Back in the Neverland albums, I used notes and MIDI interfaces for the most part. It depends on the mood I am searching within a track. It is hard to compose a track, say like “Those We’ve Left Behind” as it is all about one instrument and the feeling it will give. On the other hand, a track like Invisible War from the Neverland days may work better with a MIDI writing first, since you may want to see the whole picture of the track, the overall sound of the instruments. I don’t use piano much as I am not a proficient player. Though it is a great instrument to play and I try to improve myself whenever I have time with it.

What are the names of the bands and persons who inspired You in creating so far?

Too many names. Blind Guardian is an obvious one. Shadow Gallery is yet another band that has inspired me through the years. Savatage is also an all time favorite of mine. Besides metal, classical composers like Antonin Dvorak, Basil Poledouris or Harry-Gregson Williams are some of the names I can think of. I also very much like other genres like ethnic stuff or 80′s pop stuff. Too many to mention… Oh, Savage Garden and Darren Hayes’ voice is also an important inspiration for me.

I’m obsessed by Dvorak, Harry Gregson-Williams and with Poledouris too! 

Great composers! Gregson’s Kingdom of Heaven OST is a masterpiece. So are Poledouris’ Conan, Robocop, Starship Troopers and many others…

’Dreamtone & Iris Mavraki’s NEVERLAND’ is the name of the symphonic side project of Your band in which Blind Guardian’s Hansi Kürsch appeared as a guest singer firstly in 2008 and now in Your newest solo project ’Skies Fall’. When and how did You become acquainted with him (and with BG) for the first time?

I first listened to Blind Guardian some 15 years ago or so. I believe it was Lord of the Rings’ classic version. Then I heard Nightfall in Middle Earth and was totally blown away! One hell of an album! Still in my all time favorite five albums to date! With Dreamtone, we had the chance to play with Blind Guardian back in 2006 first. We had a small talk there. Then, Iris’ son had a chance to talk with him again in late 2006 and we got in permanent contact; first about Neverland, and then it turned into an on going friendship. Every now and then, we talk about books, science fiction etc. We had the chance to play with Blind Guardian several more times on stage and it improved our dialogue even further. I helped with a very small part of their recording back in 2010, for At The Edge of Time and when I asked Hansi about whether if he would like to sing a song for Maegi, he was kind to accept. I am one hell of a Blind Guardian fan, so I am quite lucky to be able to work on projects with Hansi haha!

Yeah, that’s true! Let’s talk a bit more about the Neverland albums. Cover arts and album titles (especially at ’Reversing Time’) suggest to the listener there are connection, coherency amongst the songs. May I feel good it’s a „storyteller” album, like the Skies Fall? What was Hansi’s role in it, as for the lyrics of ’To Lose The Sun’?

There wasn’t any one theme going in Neverland albums, but the general tone of tracks were in harmony. To Lose The Sun was about a father who lost his son to a disease. Reversing Time was about an old man, trying to reverse the time to be able to avoid his end. However, there were also other songs with more social or political touches. Like World Beyond These Walls, it was about the street children. Black Water was about the war on oil. Same goes for Ophidia. All in all, we didn’t want to have a complete concept album. So, they are different than Maegi’s Skies Fall, as Skies Fall, from start to finish, is about one story. We even wrote a book about it, for the collector’s box of the album hehe.

To remain at the song ‘To Lose The Sun’, I have to admit, I’ve listened to this piece so many times so far and every time I went into goosebumps – it’s so complex as for the vocals and musically too! Lyrically, has it deliberately done that Hansi’s other song called ’Those We’ve Left Behind’ on Skies Fall deals with the theme of death, the unbearable grief, too? You intentionally gave this part/topic espescially for him again?

It wasn’t that intentional to be sincere. For Maegi, I always wanted to ask Hansi to make an appearance on an acoustic track. Those We’ve Left Behind completes the album’s story with a sentimental touch. To Lose The Sun, on the other hand, was more like “well, among our singers, this one best fits to Hansi” kinda track. All in all, I wrote Those We’ve Left Behind specially for Hansi. Neverland’s track was simply a matter of choice. It is a nice track and I really enjoy it. But if I had to pick in between the two, I would pick “Those We’ve Left Behind” as it is both more personal and more fitting to Hansi’s voice.

Skies Fall is Your first solo (band) project, based on Your own ideas musically and lyrically too. As you also mentioned before, it tells us a kind of sci-fi story called ’Demise of Hopes’ written by Prarabdh Thakur and You – what it is about exactly? What was Your main inspiration in creating it?

Well, I am a science fiction addict. Actually, earlier today, I was watching Close Encounters of the Third Kind. It is in my daily life. Books, movies, games, ideas, dreams. I eventually ended up willing to do something in that sense. Then I remembered Hawking’s saying about aliens and how should we be afraid. Movies and series like The War of the Worlds (both movies and the series, as well as the book itself), Starship Troopers, V, Invasion etc. all of them motivated me in away, near to games like Xcom or Mass Effect. Heh, I have a Battlestar Galactica tattoo on my forearm. So, it is easy to say that Skies Fall was a natural outcome. Well, I am also working on a book for the last two years and maybe I will have some time to finish it in 2013!

Are you planning another album about the new book?

I am almost solid on a new album theme and it won’t be related to the new book I am working on. That will be a whole separate idea. Writing a story book for Skies Fall was more of a fun idea. I was thinking about what to add to a possible Collector’s Edition box, and decided to write a story. Since I was so busy with working on the album itself, I asked a friend of mine to help me with it. So me and Prarabdh wrote it together. The new book I am working on will be a trilogy, if I can ever finish it haha! The album will have a completely different theme, perhaps not even science fiction, but still fantastic in origin.

Skies Fall has been released already almost a month ago. What was the reception, the echo of it?

The reception is great so far. People who had listened to it say that they really enjoyed the album. I am handling everything on my own, with some help from a PR company that I started working with in March, so I was expecting a silent release as there are no majestic add campaigns, magazine articles, hundreds of promos going on around. So, in all its silence, I believe Skies Fall is doing quite well and it encourages me to go for another album. Of course, the sales numbers are also important in how will I handle certain things with the next album, we shall see about that. My main focus is not the money but it is still a factor in manufacturing an album you know…

What are Your plans now, will You be touring with the new album or enjoy the well-deserved rest? Maybe planning the aforementioned next album?

I am not planning any touring to be sincere. Too much logistics to handle. I am hoping to rest a bit before writing any songs. I think it would be fair to assume that I wouldn’t start writing before winter 2013.

Probably You don’t know, but Neverland and Maegi have numerous fans in Hungary! Could You send some words to them?

Wow! I am truly thankful to all who have supported my music and sparing their time! I am really humbled!

Ok., it will be forwarded! Thank You for Your time too and for the chance to talk with You!