In the following interview, we talked with Valerie De Kempe, vocalist of Worlds Beyond. She shared details about the making of their new album, and we also got the chance to get to know her a little better. Many thanks to her for the answers!
Hi, Valerie! First of all, congratulations on the release of World Beyond’s second album!
Hi! Thank you so much. We’re very proud of our second album!
– A little over four years passed between the release of your first and second albums. What were those years like for the band?
We never really took a break after the release of the first album. We had silent periods from 2020-2022 due to the pandemic but the band never stopped working on stuff. We saw eachother weekly for band practise or meetings.
Shortly after the release of Symphony of Dawn, we started working on the new songs. Tijmen had already written a bunch, so what followed was writing the lyrics, making small changes to the songs, practising together, … After that we started to bring it all together.
Early in 2023 we recorded the drums in a studio, the months after we recorded the other instruments ourselves. Then came the time to edit everything and bring the music together so I could use this for my own recordings. In the summer of 2023 I spent two days in barefoot studio Belgium to record the lead vocals. Then in september and october, Tijmen and I used every weekend to work on the backingvocals and record them. In the months after there was some more editing, making appointments for mixing, mastering, our plan with the orchestra, artwork, merch, marketing, …
You could say we took plenty of time preparing for the album but we used every minute of our time together in a useful way. Many people don’t realise the work bands put into their project before you can hold the finished product in your hands.
We don’t have a label so we did most of the the work ourselves, next to our regular jobs, households and other hobbies. Luckily we could rely on Hardlife Promotion once the album was about to be released. We are very happy they could take a lot of the promotional work from our hands so we could focus on other things.
– When did you started singing? Was there a point in time when you decided that you wanted to be a singer?
I started to enjoy singing when I was about 11 or 12 years old. I felt that I had a voice that was quite stable and obedient to what I wanted to sing, haha. I hope you understand what I mean.
When I was 14/15 I started to really practise instead of just singing along with other songs. I heard songs I really liked and wanted to be able to sing those too. It’s really liberating when you’re in the process of unlocking your voice and can sing along to everything you like. I was 16 when I enrolled in the local music academy in my hometown of Bruges where I studied classical singing for 10 years.
When I moved to Ghent, I took a few years of private lessons because I have the feeling there’s still plenty to learn. You’re never done learning if you ask me!
And now you may think I answered next to your questions but even though I fantasized about becoming a singer when I was a young girl, I was way too shy to make it really happen. Every time I had to sing for a crowd, my nerves took over and I was unable to show people what I was really capable of.
I wasn’t a confident singer until I was much older, at 28. That’s when I decided to finally take it to the next step and join a band. That was Worlds Beyond.
Now singing feels just like walking or riding a bike: you just do it. It’s embedded in my body and a bit of nerves can’t keep me from singing. It’s true what they say: you can only conquer your stagefright through exposure. Eventually you know things will be fine and there’s nothing to be nervous about.
– When and how did you get to love rock/metal?
I was lucky to have parents that were into the genre! I grew up listening to iron maiden, judas priest, sepultura, .. I remember liking both children’s songs (Samson and Gert, our national heroes) and heavy metal at the same time. This was very confusing at times: the children in kindergarten didn’t understand when I asked them if they liked ‘wild music’ too, haha.
When I was 11, my parents took me to Graspop for the first time. Since then it only went uphill: making friends at school that listen to the same stuff, exchanging cd’s, going to shows and festivals together, …
– How did you meet the members of Worlds Beyond and how did you become the lead singer?
I didn’t know any of the guys. One day I started googling stuff like ‘band needs singer’. This led me to an ad Tijmen had written on the website of a magazine. When I mailed Tijmen, they already found a singer for their project. Shortly after, the singer decided not to join after all so Tijmen asked if I was still interested in a try out. It was always the plan i’d be the lead singer of the band.
Funny thing is, the try out was basically a try out for everyone. We all just met at a rehearsalroom at 7 PM on a rainy sunday evening.. It was super awkward because everyone was a bit confused to hear ‘oh, you’re here for the band as well? So what’s your name and what instrument do you play?’. But all went well as the evening proceeded! It was the first time together for everyone.
– What is your best experience with your band so far?
For the release of our second album ‘Rhapsody of Life’, we decided to do something special. We had the idea to play with a live orchestra but had no clue if we could make it happen financially or practically.
It’s something established bands do after years and years of tours and albums. We just took the chance and approached the right people to make it happen. We were also lucky to find two great singers, Hanne and Saar, to take over the backing vocals.
We’ve put a lot of work into it and had some stress, but when the time was there, playing with the symphonic orchestra was nothing less than a truly amazing experience. We did three shows with the royal orchestra Zanglust in the cultural centre of Tielt. If we could, we’d do it again right away!
– Did you have funny and/or strange moments during concerts?
We have many of those but always hope the audience doesn’t notice, haha. One of those moments was intentional. Tijmen and Robbe decided to pull a prank on the other bandmembers: they recorded some kind of troll track that would play in our in-ears during the show. At first I didn’t realise what was going on and tried to keep a straight face the whole time and not mess up. That was a really fun gig.
– What can you tell us about your personal life? What do you do for a living? Have you studied/are you studying something?
I was born in beautiful Bruges and love had me moving to Ghent. I live there with my partner and two cats.
I studied to become a teacher in kindergarten. I did that job for about ten years, then I traded my classroom for administration in the same school. I suddenly needed some silence after all those years, haha. But never say never: one day I might want to be a teacher again. But for now I am very happy to be at my desk and help my coworkers and children in a different way.
– What are your plans for the near future?
On a personal level: to pick up crafting again and enjoy summer!
With the band: we have so many ideas, we’ll have to make choices so I can’t say anything yet.
– What message do you have for the readers of Ladies in Rock magazine?
Thanks for reading Ladies in Rock magazine and supporting us and many other bands that way!
Believe in yourself and don’t let anybody tell you what to do!
Lastly, some general information about you…
Date and place of birth: September 26th 1988 in Bruges
Hometown: Ghent
Original hair color: Dark blonde
Eye color: Green
Have you got brothers of sisters? Two lovely sisters: Liesbeth and Elise
Hobbies: Singing, crafting, audiobooks, going to shows, watching horror movies, a bit of skating and spending time with my cats.
Favorite…
Food: Pasta
Drink: Ginger beer
Movie: [REC]
Book: Misery by Stephen King
Singer/Band: Grace Slick / Aborted
Color: Green
Worlds Beyond song: The spark
Country: Italy
Sport: hiking
Pet: Chickens are very underrated imo.
Have you got any pets? Two cat’s: Kokos and Kelloggs.
Have you got an idol?
Not really, I believe everyone can bring something valuable to this world: art, humour, kindness, …
And even famous or crazy talented people are also just people like you and
What was the best day of your life so far?
I’d pick one random day during summertime from my childhood: waking up to the scent of coffee my mom made in the morning because there’s no alarm set, playing in the garden with my sister, playing with my toys, visiting my grandparents for tea and cookies in the afternoon, do some drawing, watching a movie and eating chips in the evening with my family, reading an Urbanus comic in bed by the light of the streetlamp, a long night’s sleep filled with absurd dreams, not thinking about tomorrow.
Too bad you only realise how great this was when you’re already grown up!