Victoria K. - I feel the most important thing is to be real, to be genuine and stick to what you believe in, so you can express that through your music and connect with the listener

Symfonische metal bands zijn er bij de vleet, door het overaanbod van bands die deze richting uitgaant. En deze bands worden al te gauw vergeleken met grote namen binnen de scene als Nightwish, Within Temptation en ga zo maar door . Uniek voor de dag komen is dus bijzonder moeilijk.
En toch zijn er bands die daar toch op een uitgekiende wijze min of meer in slagen. Neem nu de Australische band Victoria K. Ooit opgestart als een solo project van vocalist Victoria K, is dit sinds 2016 geëvolueerd tot een volwaardig collectief.  Zij zijn het levende bewijs dat het wel kan. De band heeft samen gespeeld met toch enkele grotere namen binnen de scene, het was echter wachten op een debuut. Dit debuut 'Essentia' ligt sinds eind april in de winkelrekken.
Naar aanleiding daarvan, maar ook om te polsen hoe zij als muzikant en mens omgaat met een crisis waarin we nu leven, en de verdere toekomstplannen, hadden we en fijn gesprek met Victoria.

Let's start with a personal question. Did you grow up listening to metal? Who are you favorite bands and why?
VK: I started listening to metal music from when I was about 9 years old.  My mum played me My Immortal – Evanescence and when I heard Amy Lee’s voice I was hooked.  The song was so intriguing and spooky at the same time, that I could not get it out of my head.  That was the song that got me into the genre and changed my musical path. 
At the moment I love listening to Kamelot, Epica, Lacuna Coil and Eluveitie.  Their music is awesome.

Let's talk about Victoria K. Victoria K. ever started as a solo project? Tell us more about it?
VK:  The Victoria K project started off with me putting covers on YouTube, collaborating with other young artists locally and overseas to build social presence.  All the time I was writing and composing my own material.  Monster was the first release of my own material and ‘Essentia’ grew from there. 

Since 2016 has Victoria K. grown into a full-fledged band? How did that work?
VK: In early 2019, as we were in post-production of Essentia and recording Lacuna, I was approved as the support act for Eluveitie at their Melbourne show.  We then went to work to secure the appropriate musicians to play the show.  Through the networks we formed the band to play the show and the response from the crowd was so positive and the energy was incredible.  It was obvious after that show that we needed to continue working together.  We all got along so well, and it just worked. 
We decided to hold onto the name Victoria K because there was already a strong social footprint and brand recognition.  It was the logical step to hold onto that and build from there.

Within the oversupply of symphonic metal bands, with female vocals, it is difficult to rise above the cornfield. But that's exactly what Victoria K. does, and that's what makes you so unique. What is your opinion about this? What makes you unique in the Symphonic metal world?
VK:  That’s such a hard question to answer.  I don’t think anyone really knows why things happen the way they do.  I do know, however, that our fans are loyal and have stuck by me and now the band for a long time and that fan and supporter base is growing day by day. We are so grateful for that and we thank you all.
I feel the most important thing is to be real, to be genuine and stick to what you believe in, so you can express that through your music and connect with the listener.  It’s very important also to keep working your instrument, learning, improving and growing both technically and creatively.

Congratulations with the new record 'Essentia' how have the reactions been so far?
VK: Its been amazing to release the album and we found the perfect partners in Rockshots Records.  The response has been overwhelmingly positive.  Its incredible to have had such a great response from all over the world.  I’d like to thank everyone that has taken the time to listen, review, comment, purchase and connect with the album in any way.  A big thank you also to the press and media for their time to reach out for interviews and for all the stories and press releases that have been written and shared ad of course thank you to all the radio station that have played songs off Essentia and supported the album.

Most special is the amalgamation between your crystal clear voice complemented by Sheri Vengeance's dark extreme vocals. What appears to be a great added value within the whole. Like a battle between light and darkness. How did you find each other? What is your opinion on this statement?
VK:  I was first put in contact with Sheri by my producer Lee Bradshaw.  I expressed interest to him in learning the extreme vocal technique so he linked us up.  She was so easy to get along with and we hit it off.  I had written lyrics for extreme vocals into Essentia from the beginning, so when it came time to record those, I contacted Sheri.  Her voice is insane and has added so much to the album.  She came in with her own interpretations and ideas and it work so well.  You are right though, the contrast in vocals really shows off the light and the dark and it is the main reason for using the extreme vocals.  It was used in the album to represent the light and the dark of the human spirit.

Are there plans to do more with this in the future?
VK: We definitely have plans to do more together.  In fact, it has worked so well that she is now a member of Victoria K.

Another plus, that the collaboration with Michalina Malisz. How did you find each other? And are there also more collaboration for the future?
VK:  I really wanted folk and Celtic sounds on the song Shroud Of Solitude.  We were discussing this just as we had been announced as the support act for Eluveitie.  I mentioned that I love the Hurdy Gurdy and would love it on this track in particular.  Next thing you know Michalina agreed to be a part of the project.  She is an incredible person, so giving and kind and just lovely to work with.  I would definitely love to work with Michalina again.  We just never know what the future holds.

Something else. Decades ago people used to consider Metal as a man’s music. And even today some closed minded people still consider it as something exclusive for men. What do you think about this mentality?
VK:  I get where they’re coming from because it was a male dominated genre for so long and that’s what became normal.  However, I think now in these times this mentality should change because there are so many women in metal and they have help shape the modern metal sound.  I believe more women now understand they belong in the genre, feel free to express themselves within metal and quite frankly have become very influential in shaping the musical sound. 

Due to this corona crisis, many plans fall into the water, which ones?
VK: We had plans to tour Europe but all that is on hold now while we all battle this global pandemic.  We are exploring other ways to interact and stay connected to our fans.

How do you deal with such a crisis as a band, musician (but also as a person)?
VK:  As a band we stay connected via Skype and we are currently working on a concept that we will be able to share with all of you soon.  We are lucky as musicians in modern times because we have a lot of ways to stay in touch, connect and work together.  The internet has given us a lot of options.  Personally, I like to maintain a routine and I have also started exploring other creative outlets like drawing.  I am still writing music and really exploring various musical and creative concepts.   

This crisis does open up more opportunities to offer music via live streams on Facebook and the like. How do you feel about that?
VK: I love this idea.  Even though it is not the same as having the crowd in front of you, it does give us an opportunity to stay connected with our fans and supporters.  We are actually finalising the details of a Live Stream show now and we will have more information on that shortly.

What are the further plans with Victoria K. after this crisis? And with any other projects?
VK:  The major plan is to get out on tour and promote “Essentia”.  We haven’t been able to do that because of the global pandemic and we really would love to get in front of live crowds again.

Is there anything as an end goal? Something you definitely want to achieve as an artist? and as a person? Is there still room for a personal life in that hustle and bustle?
VK: I don’t think there is really ever an “end goal” for me.  The most important thing is to keep growing personally and creatively and to keep producing music.  There are certainly goals I would love to achieve and a major goal for me is to get Victoria K to the Wacken Open Air Festival and tour Europe playing the major festivals.  As a person I just want to keep developing my craft.  I still get to be me and do the things I love and be with my friends.  It’s really important to maintain a personal life and I can’t wait to catch up with everyone once we are out of isolation.

Hopefully we will see you 'on stage' soon. Normally, fans can purchase merchandiser there, how can readers do that online now? Feel free to give some 'links'
We really miss the stage and hope to be back as soon as possible but in the mean time people can check out our merch on our website www.victoriakmusicofficial.com/shop
Also, they can check us out on FB https://www.facebook.com/victoriakofficial/
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/victoria_k_official
Twitter https://twitter.com/VictoriaK2004 and Spotify

Thanks for this nice conversation, are there any comments to our readers?
VK: Thank you so much for having me, it was awesome chatting with you.  A huge shout out to all your readers and a thank you also to all our supporters and fans.  We are all so grateful for your continued support and we hope to be out touring and seeing you all again soon.  Please stay safe and healthy in these difficult times.