Interview: Ivana Sataić
Photo: Charlotte’s Shadow

Charlotte’s Shadow is one of rare bands today that nourish a radical sound of the 1980′s Gothic Rock. Although they are originaly Irish, today they live in Spain were, it seems the weather favor to the music that talk of romanticism, melancholy and despair. How they sound, what they do and what are they plans for nearer future we asked the vocalist of the band, J. Catala.

VENIA:   To introduce your band here in Croatia, can you tell a bit about the band history and introduce the band members?
J. CATALA: Since the creation of Charlotte´s Shadow in Dublin  2002 , we have dabbled in many genres and has drawn upon many diverse influences.  On many levels it can be said that the band has been heavily influenced by the emotions that has dominated the early Gothic scene. Concentrating on concepts of romanticism, melancholy, despair and uncovering beauty in despondency.  After the outstanding response from their first two albums “Love & Hate / No Tears” released by Cynfeirdd, and “Hush” under the label The Art Records, Charlotte`s Shadow tried to reach as many people as possible with an extended promo material called “Eternal Sleep”, available through our website www.charlottesshadow.com
We have toured internationally with performances at the Wave Gothic Treffen and Chorna Rada Festival, Charlotte`s Shadow have performed also with a broad range of bands including some notables like Clan of Xymox, The Cruxshadows, Nosferatu, Untoten and Soko Friedhof, The faces of Sarah, The Star Industry, and many more.

Members of the band:
J.Catala: lead vocals, guitar, keyboards, programming
A.Avalos: bass.
Blas Bernal: guitar, programming

VENIA:  Charlotte’s Shadow is a very interesting name for the band, how did you come up with the name?
J. CATALA:  We wanted to use an old fashion name, and then we came up with an old english fashion name which I love “Charlotte” then we added a dark aspect to the name focused on the style of music, so there came “Shadow”, so here we ´ve got Charlotte´s Shadow.

VENIA:  What can you tell about your music background? What are the bands and generally artists you appreciate?
J. CATALA: That´s a tough question, because we really love many many artists, bands and not all of them are of the same genre as we are.

VENIA: I’d dare to describe your music as old-school-Gothic on a trace of The Sisters Of Mercy and Fields Of The Nephilim. What do you think about that and how would you describe your sound that is as seen as Charlotte’s Shadow?
J. CATALA:  We endeavour to remain loyal to what the true definition of Goth/Rock music might be. We always have admired these bands, so any comparison with them for us would be complementary. To describe our sound I can´t really describe it in words, you have really to listen to it.

VENIA: For you, what is the most interesting thing about Gothic Rock music, what was the crucial thing that attracted you to it?
J. CATALA: The emotions, the dept of feeling and romanticism I would have to say were the
first aspects that attracted me to the style.

VENIA: Your latest studio release is an album . What can you tell about the process of maiking it?
J. CATALA:  This was one of the longest processes that we took to produce an album as we were more focused on the quality of the recording and we wanted to make
sure that as a band we were achieving the right sound for us.

VENIA: What is the most important thing about this album, the concept and the story behind it?
J. CATALA: I would have to say again Romanticism is probably the main driving force
behind our compositions. Also from a book I was reading at the time I took  away ideas of alienation and you could say a general coldness and sense of isolation.

VENIA: You’re from Ireland. As Irish alternative scene isn’t well known here how would you introduce it to our readers?
J. CATALA: Well I did spend many years living in Ireland and still have strong connections with the country so in some way I might have taken some of my inspiration from there, But at the moment we are currently based in Madrid. To be honest there is not really much of an alternative scene in Ireland afterall it is a very small Island.  Here In Madrid we get to play more gigs and have obtained a wider
Fan base.

VENIA: How do you see the development of Gothic music in nearer future not only in Ireland but also in the rest of Europe?
J. CATALA:  I´m not really qualified to speak about how the whole genre of Gothic music
will develope, the most important thing for me is that I will continue with my music and see where it takes me.

VENIA: And what about your plans for nearer future, can we expect some tour or new release soon?
J. CATALA: The group are currently looking forward to their new schedule, which will include more live performance in even more countries and venues.
We are also recording new material that hopefully will be release soon, which promises to be our most impressive work to date.

VENIA: In the end, is there something you’d like to add or send some message to people in Croatia who’d read this interview?
J. CATALA: Being also based in a meditarreanen country like Croatia I think we share a
common cultural aspect and the good wine of course(ha ha) Myself and the band would very much love to visit your country and play there in the near future and to get to experience the Croatian Goth scene first hand.

VENIA: Thanks!

Official website: www.charlottesshadow.com