Meet Sanne Mieloos from Nemesea

Meet Sanne Mieloos from Nemesea

Nemesea is a Dutch alternative rock and modern metal collective ready to challenge music conventions and set the imagination in flight.  White Flag is the name of their latest magnum opus – recently issued worldwide through Napalm Records – and destined to garner the band a good deal of acclaim.  Although White Flag is the fifth Nemesea creation overall, it’s the first to feature the participation of new vocalist  Sanne Mieloos.  In this interview with Highwire Daze Online, Sanne discusses her joining up with Nemesea, the songs behind White Flag including the compelling Kids With Guns, a career in acting, and other topics of intrigue.  Read on…

Introduce yourself, tell me what you do in Nemesea, and how long you have been in the band.
Hi There! My name is Sanne Mieloo. I am the lead singer of Nemesea. I joined the band almost 3 years ago after an audition.

Where is the band based out of and what is your local music scene like there?
The band is based in The Netherlands. All the boys live in Groningen. I am the only one from The Hague. They call it the rock capital of the Netherlands. Anouk, Di-Rect and The Golden Earring are from my howetown. I am currently living in Austria in Linz and I must say I miss the raw beach city vibe a lot.

Have you met the previous singer Manda Ophuis and were you familiar with Nemesea prior to joining the band?
Unfortunely I have never met her. I would be totally up for that. So Manda if you read this, gimme a call! I never heard of Nemesea to be honest. My friend was asked to audition for the band, but when she heard the material she immediately thought of me and hooked me up with HJ.

Where was your first live performance with Nemesea and what was the experience like?
Our first live performance was the Zwolle in The Netherlands at the aftercparty of a festival. It was in a rock club exactly like it is supposed to be. Tattooed hot chicks behind the counter, motorcycles on the wall, and the venue was packed. I must say this is the nicest experience I ever had with Nemesea. I live for playing live. So cliché, but hearing people sing your
songs & having a moshpit on our music is just fckn awesome. After working on the songs, and in the studio for a while it felt so great to finally do what I came for. Perform. When I sing I am free.

Is there any overall story or concept behind the album title White Flag?
We did not really work from a concept. We just wrote a lot of songs and HJ was the one who decided what came on the record and what didn’t.

Kids With Guns is such a powerful song. What does that song and those lyrics mean to you?
Thanks! I wrote the song on a terrace in The Hague on a sunny day whilst drinking an iced coffee. I recorded the first verse with the punch line and send it as a voice memo to HJ. He was immediately stoked and worked out a song around it the next week. The Bridge was created with our producer Joost van den Broek when we were in our recording facility in Drenthe.

I am happy you asked me this question because a lot of people wrote me about the song. The lyrics are not about kids… “Kids with guns” stands for everything that is fucked up this world. The lyrics are about my struggle to do the right thing. I do yoga (breath breath, warrior), I meditate, and am nice to my neighbors, I eat cruelty free (green green), I look very happy on
my sometimes fake Instagram acount… (thumbs up for me)

Most of the times I believe in mankind, see the good in people. But then I turn on the the TV and you see the shit storm blazing over our planet. You see greedy people killing for money, fame and power who don’t give a shit about anyone but themselves. On dark days I can sometimes lose myself in the thought that the world is doomed and fucked, and it really doesn’t matter what I do….

Select any other song from White Flag and what inspired the lyrics.
HJ send me an instrumental part he once made in his studio. I immediately got inspired. It had a dirtiness about it which I immediately digged. I also work as an actress and at the time there was a big scandal in Holland around a big casting agent who slept with a lot of boys and gave them better parts if they did. I have seen and unfortunatley still see that happening around me…. I wrote RATATA out of the perspective of a person in power teasing an actress to come up to his hotel room.

What could one expect from a live Nemesea show?
Very difficult to answer. Talking about me you will see a girl pushing herself to her limits trying to set everybody free!

Any chance of Nemesea visiting the States for some live shows?
I want nothing more then a US tour!!!

What was it like being in the musical Tarzan and what part did you play?
I am a professional musical actress for over 12 years now. It is what I do for a living besides being bands. I love acting, and I love telling stories with body and my voice. I love how versatile I have to use my voice and acting here. In TARZAN I played Kala. The mother ape who takes care of the little boy. It was my first role in a big show, so it holds a special place in my heart.

Is acting something you would like to do now or in the future?
Yes. I am still doing it now. I am working at a theater in Austria now performing in several shows. Come and catch me at Landestheater Linz this year!

Or you involved with any bands or project outside of Nemesea?
Yes, I also sing in Guinevere. A girl band with a Celtic background.

What’s up next for Nemesea?
Only the future will tell. I hope the record does well, and we will take it from there. I am very proud of what we accomplished.

Any final words of wisdom?
Not really. I am very happy so many people show interest in our Album. Super grateful so many people listen to our album.

Nemesea is:

Sanne Mieloo – Vocals
HJ – Guitars/Vocals
Sonny Onderwater – Bass
Steven Bouma – Drums
Mathijs van Til – Keys

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