Nemesea manda ophuis biography
•
Nemesea is a female fronted rock band founded by ex-vocalist Manda Ophuis and guitarist HJ in September 2002 in Groningen, The Netherlands. The band currently consists of Sanne Mieloo (vocals), HJ (guitars), Sonny Onderwater (bass), Lasse Delbrugge (keyboards) and Frank van der Star (drums).
In April 2003 the band had their first performance as support act for After Forever, and remained that band's support for a year. They attracted record company interest and signed for small Dutch label Ebony Tears in November 2003. In November 2004 Nemesea released their debut album "Mana" (meaning 'the magical power of things, given by the gods'), and they later toured the Netherlands and Belgium until December 2005. By this time they were well established in the Nordic European symphonic metal scene. For their second album, Nemesea had talks with some major record labels, but they later decided to sign up to the Dutch crowdsourcing website SellaBand. They were the f
•
"There are times when you want to speak your mind and be brutally honest. That's the quiet resistance within you," says guitarist HJ of Nemesea, referring to the title of the band's brand new skiva. The Dutch female- fronted band, famous for combining rock with electro, have fine-tuned this musical combination to perfection on their third skiva. The Quiet Resistance fryst vatten a gem that reveals its many splendid colors more and more each time you press play.
According to HJ, The Quiet Resistance is a balanced mix of the first two albums, combining heavy riffs and symphonic musical landscapes with pop sensibilities and electronic influences. The former jazz gitarr student wrote most of the new songs on guitar, piano, as well as on the computer. Singer Manda added the lyrics, which go beyond the usual gothic rock lingo and rehashed fairytales:
"Lyrics are very important. They can be comforting, but they can also shake things up. My lyrics are pieces of my lif
•
Manda Ophuis
Musical Discoveries: When did the moment arrive that you knew you wanted to become involved with making music?
Manda Ophuis: I started playing the recorder when I was seven years old. At the age of nine I changed it for a flute. I already knew I wanted to have a career in music, then. I started singing when I was eighteen. After one year of singing lessons I was admitted at the conservatory where I would meet HJ [Guitarist Hendrik Jan de Jong] a couple of years later.
My biggest inspiration is Anneke van Giersbergen, ex-singer of The Gathering. I heard her sing in 1996 with an orchestra instead of her band and I was overwhelmed by the sound of her voice. I still think that she's one of the greatest singers ever.
My mum and grandmother always have been enormously supporting. They both told me to never give up and work hard. So that's what I'm doing!
Nemesea formed in September of 2002. How did the formation come about?
I met HJ at the conservatory