Ashbury Heights

Hey Kari, thanks for taking your time answering these questions for us. Please tell us a bit about yourself and your role in Ashbury Heights.
- "As you already know, my name is Kari Berg. I work as a model and singer. I've always loved music and had a strong wish that I one day would be able to work with is but it took many years before I got brave enough to sing in public. Before I took the step into music I first went to theater classes for 7 years. It helped me grow and also give me some backbone for both the modeling and scene shows. My role in Ashbury Heights is to sing the female part of the songs. In the beginning of my time in Ashbury Heights I really felt new and insecure of my voice and what was expected of me, but thanks to persistent work I quickly started to feel more ready to take a creative role in the band and to develop my voice."

When did you join Ashbury Heights and how did you find out about the band?
- "The first time I heard about Ashbury Heights was when I met Anders and Yaz when they did the photo shoot for 'Morningstar in a Black Car'. I'm a good friend of the photographer that took the pictures and we had already worked a lot together, so he asked me if I wanted to help out on the shoot. I remember when I talked to them that I wished that I was working with music. Later when Yaz had told Anders that she was going to leave the band, he started to search for a new singer. When he asked me he told me that he was going to have auditions, but after I had told him that I was really interested and let him hear me sing then he didn't have to hear anyone else. This was in the later part of 2008. So I joined immediately and we were able to start work straight away."

Tell us a bit about the new album and the creation process.
- "When I joined the band the record was already in the process of being made. We then started to rerecord the vocals with me. Since I was a trained opera singer I had mostly been singing that. Anders made me use my voice in a new way that I hadn't really focused on before."

How has the fans react to you joining the band after Yasmine left it, have you noticed any hostility or similar?
- "In the beginning many people were a bit scared for the future of Ashbury Heights. When I was presented to everyone they only got to see pictures of me since nothing was released yet. It wasn't until some clips from Belgium Gothic Festival appeared on YouTube that many stopped doubting. Now after the record is released it's only been positive words and the only complaints have been that my voice hasn't gotten a bigger role on this record."

What has changed since the last release? The sound seems a bit different even thought I must admit I haven't listened much to the band.
- "I think that the lyrics are more mature now. The music on this album sounded pretty different when I joined the band, I think it was more close to the previous records. But as the process started and we got our hands on some new plug-ins and better equipment the music started to sound a little different. When we were in the LPS Studio in Sweden we actually made some more changes to the songs and had them really well produced. Unfortunately our label interfered and wanted a different sound so we had to meet each other halfway."

Whats next and what are your plans? Touring? Side projects?
- "Me and Anders have been talking about a new record and have some ideas about it. At the moment we are waiting for more concerts to be announced. Side project wise I have a lot going on. I cannot tell too much about it yet since many things are still in the planning stage."

Can you tell us anything more?
- "Keep an eye out for news on my homepage http://www.kariberg.com"

Anything you like to add , any last words for our readers?
- "Thank you for reading the interview and remember to buy our new album 'Take Cair Paramour'! Come visit our shows and if there aren't any in your neighborhood, ask you local promoters. And lastly, thank you for your love and support."