✦ ✧ ∗ Glastonbury Interview ❥ Violeta Vicci
Violetta Vicci by Venetia Jollands ✦ ✧ ∗ Glastonbury Interview ❥ Violeta Vicci “I love the enthusiasm of British crowds, and the ability they’ve got to stay really silent when captivated.” 26.06.24 Words by Jessica Blissitt What has your journey been like on the road to Glastonbury? How does it feel to be performing at one of the most infamous festivals of all time? My journey has been a fun one, full of exciting performances, collaborations and lots of trial and error along the way. I started playing the violin when I was four years old, born and raised between Barcelona and Switzerland by bilingual parents; At 18 I moved to London to train as a classical violinist at the Royal Academy of Music. The first time I played Glastonbury, I was still a student and a member of a klezmer, d&b band and we played an afternoon slot at The Green Fields. I don’t think I really understood the magnitude of this festival back then! A few years later I played The Park Stage with elbow, as one of their touring violinists. Two years ago I played The Other Stage with Fontaines DC, after arranging three of their songs for string quartet! I thought that was the highlight of my Glasto journey – until finally, this year, I get to perform under my own name and bring my fully immersive audio visual show to the Tree stage. It’s a totally different experience, and it feels pretty amazing to be honest. Your third and most recent album ‘Cavaglia’ is described as reflecting the ‘pristine Swiss valley’ on your website. Do you perhaps have a song in mind that could describe the chaotic landscape of Glastonbury? Haha, possibly the song Diavolezza could relate to the Glasto chaos – however, I think my album Cavaglia, which is seeped in alpine field recordings will work perfectly in harmony with the Woodsies Area, bringing this mountain landscape to the gorgeous old British Oak and Beech Forests of Somerset. In your mix from Classical to Electronica, what can we expect to see from your set at Glastonbury? Will it be a carefully curated list, or can we expect a few pieces of improvisation? Both actually: It will be a carefully curated list from my album Cavaglia, with two fully improvised sections and links in between the written music. I really like taking the listeners on a journey with a laid out path, including surprises and new additions along the way. I love the fact that a live performance is different every time. Through your musical career, you have performed in many amazing places, and I’m sure that every audience is incredibly unique. So, in your opinion, what is one thing you like about British crowds at festivals, and what is something we could learn from our European counterparts? Yes, you are right, I have performed extensively in Europe, US and around the world in countries like Chile, Mexico, South Africa and Australia. Different countries certainly have different type of audiences! As a solo artist I’ve mainly performed in the UK – I love the enthusiasm of British crowds, and the ability they’ve got to stay really silent when captivated. It’s a lovely, very welcoming mix of people, who aren’t afraid of letting go and having a great time! View this post on Instagram A post shared by VIOLETA VICCI (@violetavicci) With so many incredible gifts as an instrumentalist, which instruments will you be bringing with you to Glastonbury? I usually tour with my violin, which I use together with my fx pedal board, midi pedal and my voice. I do love to perform the Octave Viola live, because it has a gorgeous deep sound and I used it quite extensively last year, when I was performing with Bat For Lashes. The only downside of festivals is that there is usually barely time for sound check and limited set up time, so simplicity is key! Many argue festivals are a great place to experiment with new music. If you were intending to move in a different direction with your music, what is a genre, idea, or thread that you might like to follow with your music? I’m writing my next album at the moment, and I think I’ll possibly explore the more electronic side going forward, as well as start experimenting with writing lyrics. This is a big step for me..and in a way it is a totally new idea to my fully instrumental/choral music so far. Aside from my solo project, I have already written a few pop songs with my psychedelic indie rock band, TTRRUUCES and would like to do more of that too. I also love writing and arranging string parts, which I’ve done for Fontaines DC, Grian Chatten’s last album, as well as the upcoming Sorry album. That type of work really inspires me and opens my eyes to different influences. Who knows what the future will bring! As a violinist, you may be aware that there has been a recent fascination in bringing classical composers into modern rave remixes on social media. If you have or haven’t come across them, what are your thoughts on the idea? And do you think it would be interesting to see a whole stage of Glastonbury dedicated to classical-rave in the future? I’ve not actually come across them on social media, but I think contemporary festivals are programming classical acts more and more, and there seems to be a shift where the ‘contemporary classica/cinemaitc/ ambient’ genre acts as a bridge between more traditional classical music and contemporary music. Hell yes, I’d love to see Glastonbury dedicate a whole stage to classical raving in the future 🙂 You Might Also Like
NEW ALBUM RELEASE – Galya Bisengalieva’s ‘Polygon’
NEW ALBUM RELEASE – Galya Bisengalieva’s ‘Polygon’ + Track ‘Saryzhal’ 28.10.23 Words by Catherine Gannon Released on 20 October, Galya Bisengalieva’s ambitious 7-track album depicts 7 regions of East Kazakhstan which were affected by the Soviet Union’s secretive nuclear testing site – The Polygon. There is a place, after the Irtysh river has flowed from the rugged peaks of the Mongolian Altai mountains and before it journeys on through the inhospitable floodplains of westernSiberia, that for decades housed a dark secret. Just south of the valley of the Irtysh river, on the North-East Kazakhstan steppe, is the former site of The Polygon: a Soviet Union nuclear testing site. In 1949, the area was falsely claimed to be empty of residents, and 1.5 million people suffered from the resulting radiation effects for decades to come. Released on 20 October, Galya Bisengalieva’s ambitious 7-track album depicts 7 regions of East Kazakhstan which were affected by the Soviet Union’s secretive nuclear testing site – The Polygon. The Kazakh violinist and composer, a Royal College of Music and Royal Academy of Music alumnus, has made a name for herself globally with classical and contemporary performances and collaborations. Alongside her solo endeavours, she is currently the leader of the London Contemporary Orchestra. Saryzhal, the second track, takes its name from the Saryzhal region. In just 2 minutes 43 seconds it transports you through a sound-world of electrical sparks, pulsing energy, sepulchral dissonances, and transcendental visions. Two synthetic string tones, an upper and lower, fade in with a pulsing, portato effect, pure at first but fluctuating in clarity, becoming soiled with grittiness as more tones enter to distort the harmony into complete atonality. The drama rises throughout, enhanced by vibrato and punctuated with pizzicato as dissonances and consonances compete. The whole texture is comprised of layers of sound, shifting like tectonic plates as different noises fade in and out of our hearing. Manufactured groan-tube noises evoke sci-fi film eeriness before the track dies away in an attenuation of texture and power. Bisengalieva connotes a contaminated Irtysh river flowing towards and away from a toxic and sinister landscape, combining classical techniques with modern music technology to create a listening experience which is as ear-curdling as it is bewitching. This track, indeed the Polygon album, will certainly not be for everyone; Saryghal or any of the other tracks are not the type of music you can dip in and out of, as each take you on a journey that is inscrutable without context. But for those that are drawn to music as anexperience, Saryghal, with its complex layers and ability to be ambiguous and specific simultaneously, is ideal for those with a darker, more experimental musical appetite. See Bisengalieva live at London’s Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA) on 28 November 2023. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qs_4g-Uv4vo You Might Also Like Album, Classical, Contemporary, Galya Bisengalieva, General and Greater London, Instrumental, New Releases, On the Rise