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Marcela Bovio / Out of the darkness, motivated and excited

Mexican singer Marcela Bovio has been a well-known talent in the Metal scene for some time now through her work with Stream Of Passion, Ayreon, Mayan and many others. 

Following the release of solo material, there was an enforced lull in her career when the celebrated singer revealed she had been diagnosed with cervical cancer. Now thankfully recovered, she can fully concentrate on her music again, starting with Dark Horse White Horse, a collaboration with guitarist Jord Otto and keyboard player Ruben Wijga. 

Fleshed out to a five-piece in the studio with Epica’s Arien van Weesenbeek on drums and Siebe Sol Sijpkens on bass, Dark Horse White Horse have recently released their eponymous debut EP. 

You can read MetalTalk’s thoughts about the Dark Horse White Horse EP here.

MetalTalk’s Ian Sutherland caught up with Marcela on the week of the EP’s release to find out all about it.

Photo of Dark Horse White Horse
Dark Horse White Horse

MetalTalk: At the start of an interview, it’s customary to ask how the artist is, but it’s particularly relevant to you as you’ve had some difficult health issues recently. So really, how are you?

Marcela: “I am doing really, really well! I’m happy to say I feel like my old self again after having such a rough period with my health.”

Hella Rock Festival

How did Dark Horse White Horse come about?

“It was around the time I left VUUR a few years ago. Jord and I were performing together with MaYaN, and because he knew that I suddenly had a lot of time in my hands asked me if I wanted to work with him and Ruben on some music. He showed me some examples of what they were working on, and I was impressed! So we started working together back then.”

Your most recent album before Dark Horse White Horse was your solo effort ‘Through These Eyes’, which has a singer-songwriter kind of vibe. What influenced such a massive change of direction?

“It’s just how things developed, I guess! I have a very broad taste in music, and I like the soft, organic mood of the acoustic stuff I’ve written. But I also love prog and Metal, so I really liked having the opportunity of doing that again with these guys who’re quite excellent at writing such material!”

How would you describe the music of Dark Horse White Horse?

“Well, it’s very modern, very technical prog Metal but with a very melodic side. I started calling it sympho-tech Metal at some point, give it a name(laughs)”

Are all the lyrics on the EP written by you? What are the songs about? Were you involved in the writing of the music too? What was the writing process like?

“Jord and Ruben wrote the music, I wrote the vocal melodies and the lyrics. The two of them worked very closely together, and they would send their rough ideas to me afterwards. The music is very complex, so finding a melodic line between those heavy riffs was sometimes a challenge! Almost like solving a puzzle. But this makes it a lot more satisfying when a song comes together.

“The lyrics are all pretty dark; I was going through a very weird, dark period at the time. So all of the songs reflect this mood.”

Covid is still causing all sorts of problems for the world, but what plans and what ambitions do you have for the band?

“I’m mostly thinking about promoting this EP as well as we can; I’d like to do another release like this at some point, so writing new material would be the next step.

“Making further plans doesn’t seem like a good idea to me yet, because of all the insecurities brought by the pandemic. We’ll see!”

Have you had any thoughts about expanding the band to a full five-piece?

“No. This makes more sense to the guys and me; we’re the ones writing the music, so this is the band’s core.

“Don’t get me wrong, I would LOVE to have the opportunity to always work/perform with AriĂ«n and Siebe because they’re incredible! But being a trio with guests gives us more flexibility for doing things in case they’re busy.”

You’re very active on Patreon, interacting with your fans and creating content for them, plus you have your solo career, and you sing with Mayan, Ayreon and more. What plans do you have for the next year or so? What are you working on or thinking of doing?

“I’m actually currently working on becoming a Certified Course Instructor with Universal Voice. And I’ve got a project to start an online music academy with my good friend Merel Bechtold; lots of work to do still, but we’re very motivated and excited about this!

“I’m also starting to think of a new solo album; I want to tell the tale of all I’ve been going through in the past couple of years.”

Thanks for your time. Is there anything more you want to say to your fans?

“Just once again, to say thank you for all your unconditional support! You have no idea how much it has meant to me, especially during rough times, to receive so many good vibes and wishes from all of you. I hope you enjoy this new Metal project! Stay safe, and I hope to see you all soon!”

MarcelaBovio.compatreon.com/MarcelaBovio

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