Our interview with Odalisque

01.01.2014 - Bar Loose, Helsinki - Interview with Odalisque!

Michela: Hi Vivian, thanks a lot for this interview.  Can you tell us something about Odalisque?
Vivian: Oh well, we're a fucking Finnish - not too much melodic- rock band. Personally I started listening to music when I was a kid, I should have been nine, then I was about 18 when I started playing in my first band and now here we are...
M: This was your first Helldone show, how was it like?
V: Cool! It was a blast, really great!

Jude: Helldone gig was really fantastic! I enjoyed every single minute of it: playing, travelling, meeting new friends and, obviously, spending a nice time with my brother Linde after every show, hanging out with him. It was a really special experience for me, also for this reason, having the chance to play in the same places as him.

M: Having a big brother like Linde made it somewhat harder for you to join this project?
J: Linde had nothing to do with all of it, he has nothing to do with Odalisque, otherwise things would have been pretty harder. So I can say it was just the opposite.

M: I listened to your first album a lot and I foud it very interesting, especially the lyrics. What did you achieve this year? Are you satisfied with this new album? Did you expect a warmer reaction by your fans?

V: Oh well, it was very interesting indeed noticing how fans get our sound and appreciate it in a different way in each different country. Through our songs we try to tell stories, true ones, and it's amazing to see how people tend to identify themselves with our music. Personally I am trying to make a good job about this. I already have some stuff. Music has a very deep meaning for me, I can say it saved my life. And now I want to thank you for giving us the opportunity to tell your readers who we are. Thanks a lot indeed.

J: Concerning your question about our reaction to the album, to be honest I am not totally happy with it. When I listen to the songs I find there are still a lot of things we could have done to make it better. On the other side it was a long and difficult learnig process for all of us, there were a lot of problems and line-up changes, so I suppose, considering this, I should be happier and completely satisfied. It was a real miracle we could come up with this album.

M: Well, we could call it the "power of music". However, we would like to thank you for this interview, it is a pleasure and a honour for us. We believe it is very important to support new bands and we're happy to give our little contribution to this cause, helping them to reach a wider audience in some othe parts of the globe

Any plans for the future? Where will you go? What will you do?

V: At the moment we're playing and playing, gig after gig, we'll be pretty busy. We also started composing some demos for the next album. We still haven't got too much material but the main idea is to write at least 50 songs to have the chance to pick up the best ones at the end. You know, you need to count at least on 70 songs to even start thinking to realize a new project. I almost forgot to add we have a new entry. Her name is Angelique and she's our new keyboard player. She already seems to get along very well with us and that's not just because she's a woman, but mainly because she appreciates and shares our same attitude, in the perfect Odalisque style. I confess it has ben pretty hard to pick the right musician at the audition but in the end we chose the best and now we have the perfect and unique line-up, this one!

M: Well I would say it's fantastic. Vivian, what were the bands that have influenced you the most, or who have given you the ”shock” to start?
V: Oh well there are many, from Marilyn Manson to Korn...

M: Korn, Manson, then we can say that your sound comes from the crossover from numetal...

V: Yes, exactly, but there are other bands like Kovenant that were critical, especially for electronic parts.
M: I love electronic music, I grew up with that. Your ”style” reminds me a lot of Manson guitarist Twiggy Ramirez, he's one of my favorite artists I admit.

V: Twiggy Ramirez is also one of my favorite artists ever, especially for the personality.

Quantum Prana: We try to find the right background when we compose, we try to take the good from each artist that has influenced us to put together many small pieces, creating something personal. It's a constant search for harmony, especially with regard to the instruments, from guitar to bass, drums. Each of these tools has different characteristics, many songs in the electronic parts reminiscent of Rammstein.. but you can also find Iggy Pop or The Beatles, especially in the new songs.

M: Try to take small pieces from each to create a sound international and not only in pure Finnish style.
QP: Exactly.
M: Are you going to play only in Finland or outside ?
V: Of course! For this summer we are trying to get gigs from other countries of the EU area and we have talked about contacting our U.S. connections and maybe book some mini-tour with this band, we did couple gigs here in Finland. But for now we focus our gigs mostly to Finland, maybe with some great Finnish band
M: In Europe your music would be much appreciated in Germany because there's a great school of dark and electronics there.
V: yes absolutely.
M: In Germany are very attentive to the music.
V: As in Finland, in Germany there are plenty of small places to perform without having to invest too much money, you know this is not an easy time for the band. It's not a matter to be underestimated.
M: Yeah, unfortunately this is not a good time for music, for the fans, for the groups...
QP: The music industry is changing, everything is changing around, by the fans, the band, the record companies themselves. They give much more importance to advertising, to merchandising and not too much to music and its distribution.
M: It 's true. Before we went into the record store and bought it, now you listen to everything on the internet and you end up not buying anything, the guys download everything. From this point of view, the social network did not help.
V: It 's true.
M: You guys, on behalf of all Italy we really want to thank you and we hope to see you soon in our country.

We want to thank you once again these guys and tell them that we feel proud for that not so little piece of Italy in the band! See you soon...

Interview by Michela 

 Link of the band https://m.facebook.com/Odalisque.official