Getting to Know… Violet Blend | Interview 🎤

In the 366^th Q&A in our Getting to Know… series, we get the inside scoop from Italian alternative metal band Violet Blend.

“We describe our music as a blend of different musical genres, forms and styles. We always try to paint a musical discourse of clear sonic eloquence with the right expressive power to describe and dissect feelings.” COOL 😎, 🎙 Violent Blend! In response to our first burning question, singer, pianist, and songwriter 🎙️Giada Celeste Chelli adds, “We mix metal, rock, punk, progressive and classical forms which are part of our background and obviously reflect our tastes.” Like our many other Getting to Know Q&As, we get the inside scoop on the Italian alternative metal band’s genesis, goals, musical influences, and of course, current, and future musical endeavors. So, without further ado, let’s jump right into 🎤 Getting to Know… Violet Blend: Interview No. 366!

For those who may not be familiar with you, what would you say makes Violet Blend distinct or unique? How do you rock the audience’s socks off?

Hi, my name is 🎙️ Giada Celeste Chelli, I sing, play the piano and write songs for Violet Blend. We’re an Italian alternative metal band, from Florence. We describe our music as a blend of different musical genres, forms and styles. We always try to paint a musical discourse of clear sonic eloquence with the right expressive power to describe and dissect feelings. The sound system, enhanced by the frequent dynamic and rhythmic leaps, leads along a tortuous path of feelings and confessions, under the guidance of the vocal melody which leads the listener towards heterogeneous atmospheres. We mix metal, rock, punk, progressive and classical forms which are part of our background and obviously reflect our tastes. We speak about fragile things, fears, anxieties, broken dreams, aspirations, joys and hopes of our life. We also speak about the importance to stand and react against everything that hurts you. When people listen to our music I want them to feel understood, to realize they’re not alone, we all have dark moments, but we have to find a way to live well. It’s like an atonement for me to write music, I feel immediately better. Music can heal wounds, that’s what it does with me.

Okay, let’s explore some juicy backstories. How did Violet Blend form and what were some of the goals or visions you had early on?

The band was formed by me and drummer 🎙️Michel Agostini, he was a session musician for my solo project, my ex producer introduced me to him because I needed a full band for the tour. Since the beginning it was clear that there was an amazing chemistry between us and so we decided to form the band and immediately started composing new songs. In 2017, the bassist 🎙️Ferruccio Baroni joined us, and that was the year when everything began, that was the time we decided to devote ourselves completely to the band. We released two albums and some singles over the years.

Let’s talk more about goals.  Have your goals or your perspectives changed since first starting out? What do your aspirations or goals look like now?

Our main goal is to reach people’s hearts with our music, that was always our first thought. Our greatest satisfaction is when a person tells us that one of our songs has helped them through a difficult moment in their life. I strongly believe in the healing power of music and its ability to turn strangers into friends. Music brings people together in a profound way and can give you the strength to carry on in the darkest moments. It’s a wonderful feeling to have confirmation that what you are doing is helping someone feel better. This has always been our main goal and will remain over time.

Everybody is influenced by somebody else. Whom would you consider some of your biggest musical influences and how are they influential?

There is a kaleidoscopic world of genres, forms, styles and influences in my education and view of music. This background makes me mix and blend – sometimes unconsciously – lots of different styles. I can say that the base of our music is rock, but you can hear echoes of classical forms, jazz chords, metal riffs and punk attitudes in it, it combines different musical genres and unravels between them. We all come from different studies and paths in music, and we want our music to reflect and represent what we are. I have two college degrees in musicology, I’ve studied different instruments (saxophone, piano, guitar) and played classical music since I was a kid, and this resonates when I write songs. I was lucky enough to study and play different genres in different situations, classical, jazz and rock, experiences that blend together in my life. That was the academic part of my education, the love and need for rock ‘n roll has grown hand in hand and always had a great part of my studies and my life. Every time I listen to music I learn a new technique, a new way of communicating and I translate it according to my sensitivity. I listen to everything, and I’m influenced by everything, I have temporary obsessions, lately I’ve been listening to a lot to Edgard Varèse and Falling In Reverse. This is the base of the songs I write, then we arrange all together and everyone put their own in it. The drummer Michel Agostini loves classic metal and art rock, the bassist Ferruccio Baroni is into prog music, all the different backgrounds and tastes of each member influence the songs.

Ah, the fun stuff.  What’s your craziest tour story or the wackiest thing that’s happened during a performance?  Feel free to be creative.

There was a very funny moment when we supported Palaye Royale in Milan last summer. There were so many people, our album 💿 Demons had just come out and the best thing was that people knew all of our songs and sang with us, while we play them. It was unexpected and a great satisfaction for us. The funny thing is that I forgot part of the lyrics of a song, I think it was 🎵 “Rock DJ”, I don’t know why but my mind broke down on the second verse and people helped me sing it to the end. Evidently they knew the song better than me. It was very funny.

Up until this point in your career, what would you describe as your favorite song you’ve recorded or performed live? What makes that song special?

I really love to play and sing 🎵 “Voices In My Head”, one of our latest singles, that song means a lot to me. It’s an inner conversation that describes the perpetual situation of anxiety that stagnates in my mind. The song talks about insecurity, fear and the doubt of not being up to it. It’s a furious urge, a violent need to free yourself from all those mental chains and thoughts that prevent you from living freely. When you are exposed to the public you are inevitably subject to all kinds of comments and my mind tends to always focus on the negative ones only, I had a hard time letting people’s meanness slide on me. You start doubting yourself and your abilities, if you let yourself be overwhelmed by negative thoughts you become a slave to your own cage. The song is a constructive reply to all the keyboard warriors and haters dissatisfied with their lives who are looking for a excuse to sink other people.

Is there anything else awesome, cool, or left of center the world should know about you? Secret talents or surprising tidbits?

Probably not everyone knows that I play the saxophone, many of our fans were surprised when the music video for 🎵 “My Head Is Broken” came out in which I play it. It was actually my first instrument and I still play it in some orchestras here in Italy. Another thing that perhaps people don’t know is that I have two degrees in musicology, and I write critical essays. Ferruccio is a true cross-fit enthusiast and never misses a workout. Michel is a great connoisseur of cocktails and knows how to prepare them very well.

Closing out, what is Violet Blend currently working on, promoting that you can share with us or want us to know about? We love secrets, but there’s no pressure. 

We just released a new single which is a cool collaboration with an American post-hardcore band called 🎙️ Tired Violence. The song’s called 🎵 “My Head Is Broken” and it’s about all those moments when you feel wrong, unfit, so damaged that you can’t be fixed. We’re also writing new songs now and we’re taking the time to record the new album in the studio. It’s a long process because we always write loads of songs and I’m never satisfied with any of it, so I pre-produce them all and then we decide which ones to keep and which ones to put a part. We used to tour and write new stuff at the same time, but it was very stressful and so we decided to take just few dates only around Italy in this period and concentrate on writing new songs. There’s a plan for a new album, we already have an idea about the theme and the sound of the new record, but I’m still trying to fully figure it out. Our albums has always a common thread to follow and a general meaning, this new album will speak about hallucination, addiction, bad influences, redemption, atonement and self-indulgence. We’ll be back on tour soon too, we can’t wait to get back to the UK after a long time. We’re planning a lot of new things, including some new collaborations with other bands and artists. We’re very excited about this, you will see!

Thank you so much for sharing and taking the time to answer these questions, and best of luck moving forward.   

Thank you very much for having me, it’s been a great pleasure. Greetings from Italy!

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Getting to Know…Violet Blend: Interview No. 366 [📷: Brent Faulkner / The Musical Hype; Violet Blend; Tumisu via Pixabay]