BTS - The Time with TARJA (Jan. 2020) (Patreon)

Hello me Hearties!

To celebrate the release of TARJA's BEST OF including the Blu-Ray of the second show I played with her, in Bucharest, here are some pictures I took during this time!

Pictures of rehearsals, time off, preparation for the shows!

Click on the pictures for more details and insights! 

Now I'm gonna tell you how all this happened :)

In fall 2019 I received an email from Marcelo, Tarja's manager and husband, asking me if I wanted to take part in the shows to celebrate Tarja's 15-year anniversary of her solo career. I couldn't believe my eyes! I had to re-read the email several times to make sure I understood it right haha! I was so excited and shocked haha!

For weeks before the first rehearsals I practiced the backing vocal parts and the leads on the songs I was given. Chiara from MOONLIGHT HAZE and I met on visio calls to divide the parts between us and to practice together ! It was fun and productive moments! Her and I had never met before, it was funny to work this way and THEN to meet up in person for real! 

On January the 18th I flew to Zlin to rehearse with TARJA and her band for 2 days before the first show. These rehearsals took place at Masters Of Rock Café, but we used the floor, not the stage, it would have been too small haha! 

The idea around theses shows was to recreate the sound of her songs WITHOUT using backing track! So we were 3 backing vocalists, Chiara, Tarja's brother Tony and myself. There were 1 drummer and 1 percussionist, 4 strings, 2 bass players, 3 guitar players, 1 pianist, 1 keyboardist and Tarja!

We formed a wonderful multinational group of more than 8 nationalities!

It was a pure organic approach to music, recreating the music using real instruments is so magical. I truly loved it. We still used some backing tracks as some textures couldn't be reproduced and for the click too, but that was it. Everything else was real! I had an amazing time during these long rehearsal days, I could have done that forever hahah! 

Tarja was very calm, focused. Marcelo was listening to everything using in-ears and was the one coming to musicians to give some instructions. Their daughter was there too, a super cute ray of sunshine, having fun with everyone! 

After these 2 days we went to Prague for the first show! We rehearsed once again some key parts in this beautiful venue.

I had my designer friend Sophia create a new stage outfit just for these shows. I wanted something all black, modern, and with a sparkling twist. I took inspiration from Tarja's visual universe in order to create something that would match. I had no idea what Tarja was going to wear but I know she isn't the most extravagant, so I didn't want to come up with something too strong, as I was only a "backing vocalist" and sometimes duetting with her, for these shows.

The first show went super well, we enjoyed it so much and it was gone in an instant! Even if it was seated we could feel the emotions from the crowd and I loved it at the end when they all got up to come close to the stage on the last song! We had a real blast! My mum and my sister were there too, it was wonderful to share this with them too. My mum knew how much I loved the former NIGHTWISH and how special it was for me to be there. 

On the next day we went to Bucharest! We went out for dinner in a typical place together with Andi the percussionist, Chiara and Raphael Bittencourt.

I was hanging out the most with Chiara, Andi, Raphael, Julian, Tony and Xavier, the only other French person, the monitor engineer, a very fun guy! All together we enjoyed  good food and good times in between shows and rehearsals. Tarja and her family had their own rhythm that everyone respected of course. Yet we had some moments with her and she seems to be very much fun when she loosens up! 

There was a really good ambience within the whole band, everyone being happy of being there and doing what we were doing! We felt like a strong team, and we bonded even if we didn't know each other! We had a WhatsApp group chat to make the organization easier and it's still active these days! (We don't post often but sometimes and we're always happy to hear from each other!) This is the kind of intense experiences that make you close to people immediately, as we share the same goal and all serve a specific role in it. And we were all on the same page, giving the best of ourselves. I love being surrounded by outstanding musicians, it makes me give the best of myself more easily too, it's pushing me upwards.

The day after was show day and we knew it was the last day together... It already felt a bit bittersweet haha! 

We played in a rounded venue, the audience being seated all around the stage! It was a first time for me! I really enjoyed this approach even though I remember turning around all the time, scared that some people would only see musician's back the whole show haha! The vibe was even better as this wasn't the first show anymore. We were all more relaxed and had even more fun! I'm so happy that it's this second show that turned out to be in Blu-Ray! 

This show was wonderful, we had so much fun and we loved being there and doing this so much. I will always remember the long and warm hug Tarja gave me at the end of our duet on "Tears In Rain", I could feel how happy she was, how blossoming she was on stage, and being a part of this was really emotional for me too. 

After the show we had a nice after party that continued in the hotel lobby as there as a piano! We improvised with the string guys and had so much fun! We said goodbye to some of us in the evening and we said goodbye also in the morning to others. We all had different flying times. Chiara and I could stay together until our connecting flights sent us to our respective countries... I'm happy to count her as a friend now and of catching up with her now that we live close to each other! 😻

My experience with TARJA is one of my absolute most cherished moments in my musical career. For playing organic music with so many great musicians, for offering a beautiful show, for connecting with amazing fans! Her fanbase is so passionate haha! I loved every second of that week and I am so happy now that's the Best Of is out and that I can get back to these memories and share them with you! 🖤

You can order it here by the way! 

If you have any questions shoot them in the comment section! :)

With love, 

Clémentine 

PS: I think I have some videos of this time as well, I might mount them and share that with you too!