Formula Indie Sessions _ Interview with Holodrama
What is your earliest memory connected to music?
I would probably say “Close to me” by The Cure, but also The Carpenters (Top of the world, Superstar), ABBA, “The Final Countdown” by Europe, “Walk like an Egyptian” by The Bangles, the music of “The Ghostbusters” by Ray Parker Jr …last half of the 80’s, pretty much.
How did your passion for creating music begin?
From childhood, I had a school friend whose brother had a small rehearsal room at home, with a basic drum kit, a basic electric guitar, a bass guitar, and a normal amplifier. Then, from time to time, my friend would sit at the drums (probably 9 to 10 years old at the time) and his older brother would take up the guitar along with someone on the bass and they would play some rock tunes, and that used to completely amaze me.
What’s the story behind your current music project?
Well, this is a project more leaning into experimentation with some long-time friends from life but also from the music scene and collaborators with music background wanting to oxygen it and eager to create, it includes an audio engineer/musician and a producer/musician with whom we shared a project together in the past but which we were somehow forced to gradually abandon …but the “fire” was never lost (the song “My Brother from the Road” sort of speaks of this)
We’ve worked mostly remotely (you might infer that the pandemic triggered it, and you’d be right), with subsequent meetings between the original members/collaborators, so we started with some initial ideas that led to new ones, and those in turn to new ones and so on …so here’s an album.
How would you describe your sound to someone who has never heard your music before?
I would describe it as intense but not in loudness but in emotions, probably the label “Dark Pop” might eventually fit.
What is one thing you’ve learned that completely changed the way you make music?
That you must provide emotional value in your compositions, either in the way the music is composed and the lyrics content. The goal is to get the listener “moved” to the best extent.
What tools, instruments, or software are essential in your creative process?
During the songwriting process (and solely for the purpose of composing), the basic power trio arrangement of guitar, bass, and drums is sufficient to obtain the melody and intentions that would eventually become the final version. Often, the songs tend to begin with rough drafts of a few guitar chords and vague vocal melodies or even humming; then “the story” is built brick by brick as it takes shape.
Which indie artist or song are you loving right now?
I recently discovered a multicultural band called Calva Louise that is really worth exploring in depth; I would say they have managed to start restoring my gnawed faith in rock.
How have your personal experiences influenced your music and artistic vision?
Well, in all of our songs there are always subliminally embedded personal experiences and sensations, that’s what good “passionated” songs must be about regardless the artist or even the genre, that’s the blood of them.
What emotions or messages do you hope listeners take from your work?
Each song is intended to transmit a different “targeted” emotion, from anger to melancholy, lust, fatuity, brotherhood, faith, anxiety, etc
What’s the most important lesson music has taught you so far?
That music is a mistical gift that must empower our spirits and remind us that we are not just flesh and bones
What is a dream venue or festival you would love to perform at?
At this stage any reasonably well-organized festival with some prestige would be more than welcome, let alone something like Glastonbury or Lollapalooza, even amid multiple bands, but realistically, the best option for now and for us would be to play in low to medium-sized venues, something more intimate.
If you could collaborate with any artist, past or present, who would it be and why?
This one is too tricky, there are tons and tons of great artists from the indie and the mainstraim scene from the beggining of times that it would be all the way unfair to chose some sort of capriciously. I don’t know to answer this one, I’m deeply sorry.
Where can our listeners follow and support your music? (Website,Spotify, IG, links)
Well, to be fairly honest our social media is relatively new and completely skeletal (IG: @holodrama.ig, X: @HolodramaBand), I must admit that so far I have epically failed to make it grow organically, at least a little, so the best way to reach to our music is through streaming platforms as Spotify and type Holodrama on the Search box (way better than the URL https://open.spotify.com/artist/5QSeFQrVXHCb7tTk7zmClD) or YouTube/YouTube Music (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZe44kDuY-LkfxzRe3I7TrA), same with Amazon Music, Apple Music, and the rest.
Looking toward the future, what’s your dream for the next chapter of your musical journey?
Being able to consolidate this project as a live band, give concerts and then go on tour… To be honest, it seems a bit difficult right now, but we are working little by little while we continue composing.
What do you hope listeners will discover about you along the way?
What I hope from listeners is to fall in love as soon as they start understanding our musical intentions. That doesn’t usually happen on the first listen, but rather on the second or third.
If you want here you can add a representative Youtube video to insert below the interview 🙂
As I said previously, so far our social media are sketelal, but here’s one song with the static imagen of the album cover (from the digital music distributor). I will start working on making song videos, audience deserve them.
Welcome to the Fall:
