Vivaldi Metal Project – интервю с Живко Коев, Катерина Симеонова и Димитър Белчев – Част 2

Mysteries, secrets, huge plans and their even more impressive realization. This is what happens in every new conversation with Katya (Katerina Simeonova), Zhivko (Zivko Koev) and Mitko (Dimitar Belchev), participants in Vivaldi Metal Project, but also realizing amazing ideas in their own original projects like Pagliacci, on Bulgarian ground featuring mysterious famous musicians, at such high level, difficult to achieve within our small homeland. And so, we discussed in the second part of the interview with my wonderful companions the future plans for Vivaldi Metal Project release and popularization worldwide, will we have the chance to see this huge production visually realized.

Some mysteries we have revealed, while others we have created in the continuation of our conversation, starting from Vivaldi Metal Project, passing through Pagliacci, Violentory and other projects and ideas.

Passion and belief, desire and imagination, persistence and hard work – this is the way to accomplishment of all dreams, dreams like the one to work with world famous musicians, recording another „original and abstract“ video for your own project (Pagliacci),with every next move to reach new levels and grow over all expectations.

You can read first part of the interview here

The overall idea of the project is to recreate four seasons of Vivaldi in symphonic metal arrangement and to add vocal parties. Who is writing the lyrics for them, what topic is the topic and can and would you say that this project is conceptual?

Zhivko Koev Photo from the recording of second video for Pagliacci project

Zhivko: Let’s say yes, it is entirely conceptual. All texts for Vivaldi’s seasons are connected, only intro outro have separate texts written by other text writers. Otherwise, the main songwriter of all texts for Vivaldi Metal Project is one and the same person. His name is Douglas Docker and he is one of the arrangers. He is Italian who lives in America, since the requirement was the songwriter must have a good command of both Italian and English because the texts for the choirs almost everywhere are written in Italian and solo vocals in English.

How would you characterize the metal influences in this project? Is it possible to determine the style or it is a mix of different styles? How would you identify them?

Katya: There are definitely strong gothic and symphonic metal influences and also quite a prog influence there. Quite many musicians participating are from prog groups which adding quite a big diversity in the sound. There also moments with lot more epic and power influences.

Zhivko: Yes, these are the influences – symphonic because of Vivaldi and progressive, these are the main Mistheria’s influences actually. He has two albums – one is progressive, the other – symphonic metal. Interestingly, because there are many arrangers, the album is very diverse. There is for example a song involving three arrangers – one wrote the intro, the other – the middle of the third – outro, combining different interpretations of Vivaldi.

Probably it is very difficult to achieve similarity in performance due to the participation of so many different styles musicians. Do you think you found the right formula? You have not yet heard the final version, did you?

Zhivko: No, we have not heard the final result yet, but it is especially challenging for the producers and sound engineers. A combination of musicians depend on the producer – who and what song he will invite to participate.

If you could, what would be the next classic in you would like to work on in a similar project?

Mitko: Maybe four seasons of Vivaldi 🙂

Katya: For me it would be interesting to something like song cycle, but it will be much more difficult to implement as the song cycles have texts and vocals already written and freedom for arrangement will be much more limited or the changes required will be too retreating from the original work, but there are many works on which something may be improvised – probably baroque pieces, for example, or something from the period of Romanticism. I specifically cannot point out a piece an example, but there are many compositions that can be done in metal version. There are already many examples compilations released in many parts even – many discs with metal covers of classics compositions, and there are many successful works. Ah, Carmina Burana is very suitable and conducive for such metal project. Carmina Burana is a very good idea, but probably is already done.

Zhivko: Everything is done already, Vivaldi too, but not in such a variant.

Mitko: Generally, I am not listening as much classical music, but I am listening lot of symphonic metal and I would say that I’m so excited or wish to do necessarily something that is already composed. However, it would be cool same as our collaboration with Zhivko and Katya on Pagliacci, for example and let’s say in the same way as Therion, Epica and other work with their guest singers. I mean, I would like to participate in modern metal symphonic compositions when and where I can, in similar good projects. I think at the moment there are many good contemporary composers who make a very good symphonic metal.

Just before your participation in this project, you are jointly and separately participated two other similar projects – Allegorist and Pagliacci. How does this help you for these two projects? Do you think that your participation in Viavldi Metal Project will affect your future work on these projects?

Mitko: Negative 🙂 work on Vivaldi took Zhivko too much time and everything else begins to perish … but money corrupt people :))) Zhivko is another victim of capitalism and depersonalization of the creative ideals (laughs).

Katya Simeonova

Katya: I think that the work with such a variety of musicians and musicians at this high level is a great experience, especially for Zhivko, who delivered a large part of the work on his back. He currently continues to work; he continues to help with the project very active. Indeed, it takes him a lot of time, but it is a valuable experience, and from another point of view, he creates contacts with people who work in this area and have similar interests and you can hope to meet them in the future in similar projects or to organize something together and, in general, there are many benefits there.

Zhivko: Mostly, the experience. Working with musicians at really high level helps a lot for understanding how they do things, how they have reached this level, how they think.

Mitko: Zhivko, have you identified among these people with whom you are already making contacts, musicians that you would like to invite to collaborate on your own projects?

Zhivko: Yes, Mitak, I liked a lot of incredible musicians, singers in the project, the issue is that most of them participate for free in Vivaldi, but I do not know if I can afford them for any of my projects.

Since I have a great interest in the above-mentioned projects of yours Pagliacci and Allegorist, may I ask if we can expect any development soon?

Zhivko: Allegorist put on hold for the moment. Pagliacci – serious work is going on there, the album is already accomplished as music, we are working on recordings of instruments, vocals are recorded in full and we have four singers participating of which were announced only two for now (Katya – Katerina Simeonova and Dimitar Naydev, A/N). It will be interesting and conceptual album.

Katya: We are going to record new video with Pagliacci soon, which excites us a lot of and we are working hard on it. It will be created by the same team that worked on our previous video, team that was extremely professional and we hope to achieve even more impressive results. The video will be filmed while it is still winter (the video was filmed in early March, A/N).

Katya: In the video participated our fourth singer, who is Swedish, and this is a very big secret as he is quite famous musician.

Mitko: One of the most popular Swedish metal vocals.

Katya: The video will still be again very abstract and interesting. I cannot say exactly when it will come out; I hope it will be soon.

Zhivko: The idea of ​​Pagliacci was to launch three videos, one for each guest musicians because Katya is part of the project , so we have three guest vocalists, and now we have done with other Mitak (Dimitar Naydev, the movie is Black Flowers, A/N), we planned a video with the Swedish singer and we will have the third vocal video later.

Zhivko: Actually, let me announce here that the third guest musician will be Mitaka – Dimitar Belchev.

Mitko we talked with you and the rest of Violentory guys in the past and you have promised that after the Theory of Life we ​​can expect two parts conceptually related to this album. Transition EP is already a fact, what we expect from you this year?

Dimitar Belchev

Mitko: Personally, I did not promise anything 🙂 Now, seriously, we had a very difficult year with the band and we did not have the opportunity to be as much creative and we had to slow down for a while. What we do now is to record the long awaited, by us as well, ancestor of Theory of Life. There is a conceptual sequel, because in the previous part of the album ended very tragically, while the new album, the released EP name is Transition and future album will be also named Transition, the story goes from end of life to awakening in the lowest point of existence. With other words, reached the complete loss, despair and loss and you start from this lowest point to build something that you already lost, something you already destroyed. The idea of ​​the Transition is to continue Theory of Life in the opposite direction.

Mitko: The short answer to the question “Can we expect two parts?” is – no, more likely one.

Going back to Vivaldi Metal Project, the recordings were completed for the most of it now, when can we expect the release of Vivaldi Metal Project?

Zhivko: The album is scheduled to be released in May, on the announced by the label date, otherwise it is possible a single to be released earlier, one song, somewhere in March or April.

Maestro Mistheria is known with his ability to organize large-scale performances. Do you think it is possible such a huge live concert to be organized in the future and is this a part of the main goal and idea of ​​the project?

Zhivko: It is considered, it is possible, there is a great interest and there are already quite good number of invitations. The problem is that such a concert requires much more funding. I mean that he wants to present it live in a very epic, very large scale. He does not want to do it in a limited version. Probably not all 70 musicians will participate, but many of them, with a real orchestra and choir, even if there are 10 people choir and 15 people – orchestra, but Mistheria wants it to be very nice and the goal is once it live the project to have a tour. The question here is whether there  will be enough financing and if there will be the possibility to make shows in many places. In general, the idea is to have a show in one place, eventually followed by a tour.

Do you think that the participation of Bulgarian musicians in such a large project can influence the future development of the Bulgarian scene? What would you advise other Bulgarian musicians, as we know there are very capable musicians in Bulgaria, who are aiming to appear at a worldwide scene?

Mitko: For the second half of the question, what would we advise Bulgarian musicians who seek worldwide realisation, just meet Zhivko and to communicate regularly with him J

Katya: I cannot say whether there will be any impact, it is very early to make such a predictions. If there is any impact, it will be more positive, but it will not be at that large scale. Perhaps more Bulgarian musicians will believe that it is possible to participate in a global project. In Bulgaria, unfortunately, is terribly common to grow this deep scepticism, even among young musicians that there are no possibilities for realization outside Bulgaria for Bulgarian bands. But look, last year we sent a band to Wacken, and generally there is some progress in this direction. Slowly, Bulgarian musicians and groups will go outside Bulgaria. Of course, there are some individual cases that succeed do so, and the more they try and participate in global and in international projects outside Bulgaria, this can only bring the Bulgarian musicians greater hope and greater will for work and greater motivation.

Zhivko: I would answer the first question – no, it will do not affect the Bulgarian scene, except for the people who participate in these projects as part of the Bulgarian scene. For them it is just a nice experience, but I do not think this will lead to any particular development, except that I expect Mitaka (Dimitar Belchev) to be noticed by someone who listened to it and to be invited as a vocalist of some great band.