Please list all of your band members and their roles in the band.

We consider ourselves a prog-style, melodic metal project.
Marlain Angelides (All Vox / Songwriter)
Mark Weatherley (Drums / Guitar / Songwriter)
Owen Rees (Guitar / Producer)

Contributing member for Coalesce Jennifer Hart (Bass)

For starters, what bands were you guys a part of prior to Ascending Dawn? How long has the band been around?

Marlain and Owen were both members of London based 'Enteric'. Marlain is currently fronting the all girls all Zeppelin band Lez Zeppelin, and was also a member of Greece's chart topping Popstars band, Hi-5. Mark, Owen and Jennifer came together to form a band which then eventually became Ascending Dawn when Marlain joined. The band has been around only a short while. 
 
What’s the origin of that name and have you changed the band’s name before?
 
We felt we needed to find a name that represented all the broken projects that had preceded this project formation. It is the first name we thought of that made us feel that this was a new start for our sound. A new beginning as it were.

Who writes your songs? What are the main themes or topics for most of your songs and do you think these topics will change over time?

Marlain writes all lyrics and melodies over the instrumental melodic constructs that Mark creates. Marlain wrote and completed all vocals, melodies and lyrics, to the debut album Coalesce, 3 weeks after joining the band, in her room at home in Cyprus when she was visiting her parents in the summer. The theme of the album formed itself, over those 3 weeks. The music seemed to inspire a more heightened, cryptic, poetic form of expression, rather than every day language, something that was new to Marlain, having existed in pop prior to this. Maybe it was the complexity? Who knows? The ambient, softer side of Mark's bed of music also generated a lightness to the lyric, a desire to be more spiritual rather than dark, even though the topics at times were harder and painful to write about. Some songs are intensely personal, others are social commentary, observing the world and wishing it would change. You can't always tell what the song is about in one sitting. It may take a few times. In general Ascending Dawn needs a few listens before you hear the detail; same with the lyrical content and vocal harmonies. It is very layered. The topics are already changing, as we are writing our new EP at the moment, so we don't quite know where this one will go.

What bands are currently inspiring the music that you’re making?

Karnivool, Tesseract, Leprous, Pain Of Salvation, Textures, Thirty Seconds To Mars, Perfect Circle,Tool

Was there a particular band/artist or concert that inspired you to start a band?

It was more the coming together of a group of people who all gelled together instantly musically. We understood the music without quoting other bands. In fact we talked about what bands we sounded like after we had finished the album and had to figure out a way to describe our sound so people would undertand. Allowing a female to front this style was also a risk, Marlain wanted to allow the feminine side softer side to come out without losing the strength and power that is usually associated with this style. But the sound of her voice meshed so well with the music, it became a signature sound. Overall, though the above bands were probably definitely entering our psyche as we each wrote our respective parts.

What do you do to prepare for a show? Any flexing, exercises, etc …

As the main performing member, Marlain is a pro singer/actor so her vocal health is the most important thing to look after. It is also the way she makes her living so it can get hairy if things are not looked after. There are many things to do before a show, especially shows that are going to be vocally demanding so warm up exercises are essentail etc but the most important thing is AFTER the show. No talking, only waving your hands at fans and smiling is allowed! Gargling salt, steaming in the hotel shower and being completely boring. ;-) No crazy rocknroll lifestyle or the money from tomorrow's voiceover wont come in. 

What has been the biggest highlight of the band’s career so far?

Alas, we have no highlights yet, this is our very first release! But we hope to make one soon! 

If you could tour with any bands, past or present, who would they be and why?

I think we would probably be so honoured to tour with any of the above named inspirational bands, firstly because we consider them to be top of their field right now and second it would be amazing to see how they work up close.  (Tool, Karnivool, Tesseract, Leprous, Pain Of Salvation, Thirty Seconds To Mars, Perfect Circle). Besides them we admire several other bands and it would be amazing to get to tour with them, bands like Deftones, Halestorm, Incubus, Sevendust, to be honest the list is long... And who doesnt want to meet Queen?

Is there anything else you would like to add?

Yeah, as we are a new band we would love to get people's feedback on our sound! We are unleashing it soon in its entirety and we hope people will take the time to reach out and give us their thoughts.  Find us here! Our debut album Coalesce is out on 12/01/2017, and we have two lyric video single releases coming out before then to introduce our sound to the world. Hit us up!!!