Extract of Interview in Elegy Magazine, #16, Juillet, 2001, France

Interviewer Alyz Tale, for Elegy Magazine, www.elegy.fr, translated by Cath Goss

Once upon a time there was Louisa… Yes, Ariel, the third album of Louisa John-Krol, musician, fairy, poet, story teller, and her companion Mark Krol is truly a treasure, and gives us the opportunity and the pleasure to interview Louisa, an extraordinary character who seems to defy reality and carries us along in the bewitching tapestry of her world. So let us shelve our rationalism and dive in… 

The title… Ariel, takes the name of a character from a Shakespearean play… in which Ariel is a genie symbolizing the spirit of the air. What does this character represent in your album? 

Ariel is a volatile companion who can be messenger or sentinel and evolves in a spirit world … When we play, we imagine, improvise, as in the song ‘Red Balloon’, alluding to Rilke: “Ever more free, like loose kites with edges of laughter, we race through mid-air, wind tattered”.

The design of your album, created by Karan Wicks, is inspired by the Lewis Carroll masterpiece, Alice in Wonderland. This book is not only a children’s book, it is also known for being blatantly psychological. What is your opinion on this subject? 

For me, this book can be taken at several levels: fairytale, spiritual satire and descent … as with ancient gods Persephone or Inanna. Karan’s painting depicts falling cards representing Alice’s defiance: “You’re nothing but a pack of cards!” (Carroll’s story); “Your cards are all blowing away in a Marmalade Parade” (original lyrics, ‘Alice in the Garden of Live Flowers’ from the album, Ariel).