Interviews About Albums: Violet Blend - Live And True (2023)

In this new interview, we sat down with the Italian Alternative Metal band Violet Blend to ask some questions about their album "Live And True". 

1. What can you say about this new EP/CD?

Live and True is our first live album, our first experience of this kind and we are very thrilled about it. It's the complete recording of a concert we performed in Florence, Italy in 2022. It includes many of the songs from our sophomore album Demons and some from our debut album White Mask, 17 songs in total. The concert has always been one of the fundamental experiences and part of our work, an important piece to fully understand our music. During the performance, a deep connection is created with the audience and a synergy that cannot be reproduced in the recording studio. For this reason we decided to release a live album, to share this experience with all our fans around the world. The performance is real and we wanted to leave it as raw as possible, Live and True is exactly the mirror of how we present ourselves to the public on stage.

2. What is the meaning of the EP/CD name?

The album is called Live and True, live because it's a live performance, true because it's actually true, it reflects what we are without filters and disguises. We wanted to convey the idea and atmosphere of the album in an immediate way that was understandable right from the title and cover. The album cover in fact portrays our personal interpretation of the eye of providence, in this specific case my eye surrounded by rays, which represents the truth.

3. Which one is the composer of the CD/EP?

I write almost all of the songs for Violet Blend, from the melody to the lyrics and the arrangement, but everyone in the band gives their contribution and ideas, not only about their instrument. We like our music to represent what we are as people and as a band, that's why we all put something of our own into every song. Michel and Ferruccio are both great songwriters and I always encourage them to write more songs.

4. If you had to pick one song, which one would you pick?

I would choose "Funeral of Love", a track from our debut album White Mask. I am very attached to this song, it is one of the first songs I wrote, I was just 15 years old and I was looking for my musical identity and my place in the world. The song represents the internal dualism during adolescence, that period in which everything seems black or white, in which nuances do not exist and every small problem becomes an insurmountable mountain, it represents internal conflicts in a mocking way. I believe that the song can describe not only adolescence, but the internal conflicts that agitate us throughout our lives, it is a great adrenaline rush and can give the right musical and emotional charge to face obstacles. I had a lot of destructive energy to express and I think I represented it well with that song, even today when I listen to the song or play it on stage I feel strong vibrations. I have to say that the audience also feels the energy every time we play it live and goes wild to the fast pace of the song. I'm sorry I didn't give more importance to the song when the album White Mask came out and didn't make a music video. Who knows, maybe one day we could rework it.

5. Is there a special message in this EP/CD? If there is what it is?

With Live and True we wanted to express and underline the importance of truth as the central point of our identity and our music. We live in an era in which everything can be artificial and manipulated, the digital tools and artificial intelligence are taking over, it is impossible to distinguish false from true, lies from truth. This is one of the reasons why we decided to release a live album, which is the essence of the truth, you can't manipulate it, what you did during the performance remains. Live albums are also less and less present in artists' discographies because they are difficult to produce and cannot be fixed or modified, you don't have room for maneuver like in a recording studio. We are also strongly convinced that to fully understand an artist and a band you have to listen to them live, performance is a fundamental part of making music. Listening more than seeing, and this is why we have released an audio-only album, without a DVD of the performance. In this way we are telling the listeners, close your eyes and we will take you to our concert.

6. Are there some lyrics that you'd love to share?

I'm particularly bound to the lyrics of "Morning", a song from our sophomore album Demons. In the song I'm speaking to myself and trying to wake me up from a nightmare and find myself again. The difference between myself and the reflection in the mirror is terrifying me and I have to find a reason and a way to save myself from the pain. Lyrics describe the whole healing process I went through. Every time I listen and play that song I remember one of the worst battles I fought in my life, If I survived that time I'll make it again.

7. Which inspirations have been important for this album? Like musically or friends, family, someone you'd love to thank especially?

Basically, we wanted to forever fix a special moment in our career, take a photograph of our essence on stage in this precise moment and, immortalize the instant. We also wanted to share the incredible experience of the concert with all of our fans around the world. After an interview with an American radio station a while ago, we realized that many of our fans around the world hadn't seen us live yet and so we started thinking about releasing one of our live performances as an album. That’s how things went.

8. Something to add?

We’d like to thank you for the chat, it is always a pleasure for us. We would also like to invite all of you to close your eyes and listen to Live and True, you will feel like you are at one of our concerts. We hope you like this live album and that it excites you the same way every concert does to us. Thanks again and greetings from Italy!