Nervosa Interview with Fernanda Lira vocals and bassist for Brazilian Thrash Metal band talks about Victim of Yourself.
Nervosa Interview
– What’s new in the world of Fernanda Lira?
Well, i find myself right now very excited about the band’s next steps: we are already working on new songs for out forthcoming album and we are also very excited about our upcoming tour to finish promoting Victim of Yourself!
– How was it recording your Nervosa’s album Victim of Yourself?
It was a very long and rough, but most importantly full of learning period! Long and rough because we had many problems during it, since bureaucracy stuff to health problems, so we took more than we planned to record it. Also, there was a lot of pressure on us, because there was a lot of th expectation around our first work. But the most important thing is that it was also a very special and important process – as it was our first full lenght ever, it was an unique experience, we’ve put our soul into every note we recorded and also learnt a lot from that whole process, ti was very fruitful. Fortunately, in the ned, everything came out the way we wanted it to sound, so we were very happy!
– How did you go about making the artwork?
We wanted something old school and aggressive and we agreed that Andrei Bouzikov, who had already worked with us designing the artwork for our EP, would be the best option once he know exactly how to explore both of these features we had in mind for the cover. We presented him the ideas and he really captured the picture and came out with this really rad cover. The cemitery was thought to give a macabre and dark vibe to the background and the same skull stabbing itself represents the perfect idea of the album title: everything you do has a consequence and if you don’t take responsabilities for your actions, you become a victim of yourself!
– Do you have any tours coming up in the near future?
Yes, we do!
We plan to tour a little bit more of Brazil and Latin America during this first half of the year, and we have a 2 month confirmed European tour scheduled starting from july, which we are very excited with, because not only it’s the first time ever we will play outside our continent, but also because we will get to play many awesome summer fests over there! After that, we plan to head North America, but nothing confirmed so far!
– How is the music scene in your area these days? Are clubs still popular?
Brazil is a very wide country with a very rich an solid scene. Wherever you go here, you will find a steady scene with a lot of quality bands and supportive fans. We have some traditional clubs here and there but not as much as in other countries by what we know.
– What would be some of your main musical influences today?
I’m a very eclectic person when it comes to metal, and i listen to almost all metal genres, so my influences usually come from everything i listen to, which is a lot. But mainly, nowadays, my influences come from old school death and thrash metal, which are 2 of my favorite genres. Right now, I’ve been listening to a lot of Vader, Cannibal Corpse, Brutal Truth, Suicidal Tendencies, Sadus and Sepultura.
– What’s your take on the sex appeal in the music industry? Is it as important for men and women?
I don’t think this is important at all, and that’s why you will never see it intentionally coming from my band. Of course we’re women and we care about the way we look and We don’t judge people who like to mix sex appeal with music, but it’s not out cup of tea, but we don’t think that’s by far the most important thing in a band. The metal fans are usually very demanding and the music is what really matters for us. No matter how sexy you present yourself, if you music sucks, people just won’t support you.
– What would we be surprised to find in your music collection at home?
I like blues and soul singers a lot. Especially singers, i admire a very wide range of singers out there, from Etta James and Edith Piaf, to Amy Winehouse. I also like soundtracks a lot, from many different styles, so if you listen to something too strange for my ‘patterns’ coming from my home, it’s probably coming from a soundtrack! haha
– How important are music videos in the industry today? How do they compare to videos from 20 years ago?
I think in both eras videos have their importance. Some years ago it was cool to record them and watch later with your friends, it was like making a ‘best of’, it was so much fun. Nowadays, there’s also a commercial values behind it – communication is so fast and visual nowadays, so videos have been one of the most important things to promote anything, including bands. Nowadays bands release their new singles with videos to evaluate people’s opinions, and also the best it is, the more popular it will get, so there’s also a great market around it. You just have to check those Behemoth’s videos, they are like movies, and people love that, this surely helps promoting the music.
– Where do you see music in general going in 100 years from now?
This is really hard to tell, especially when it comes to metal, which is always renovating and evolving, what gives our favorite music genre so unpredictable – ad i kinda like that!