Most of the time I write about bands from Europe. But now I have the opportunity to write about a band from South America, Chile. A country which is complete new for me when we are talking about metal music. So let’s find about it. The band ‘Imperium of Vanity’ will tell us all about it. So Thank you very much Victoria and Nick for being so kind to answer all my questions. I learned a lot about your band and your music and of course the metal scene in your country.
Before you start reading I have to tell you it’s a long story this time. The story will be told in two parts. The first part will tell you all about the band and the two band members Victoria and Nick. And the second part is the interview I had with the band.
So lets find out something more about ‘Imperium of Vanity’.
‘Imperium of Vanity’ is a band from Chile, a so called symphonic metal duet. The two band members will introduce themselves later.
‘Imperium of Vanity’ has recently finished the recording stage of their first 6 songs. So read this short review of their musical activity. They will do the introduction by themselves:
“Our musical proposal covers the characteristic sound of metal, powerful rhythms, riff of powerful guitars, changes of rhythms, wide and diverse instrumentation, a lyrical and popular female voice with great interpretative versatility, and the use of choral sections. Our lyrics give an account of the vices and problems of the current world from a critical perspective, making a call to change and be better people, more aware of reality.
Our demo was produced 100% by us. Victoria made the recording of the main voice, secondary vocals and choirs in 4 mixed voices. She composed and orchestrated the instrumentation of the songs. For his part, Nick recorded guitars. Bass, drums, piano and keyboards. Between both, we have made the final mixing and mastering.
Parallel to this, we began to look for a professional production, with which we obtained the financing for a professional production, winning the fund of music, offered by the Ministry of Culture, Arts and Heritage, in the emerging category, resulting winners with 100% score.
After receiving this incredible result, and looking for travel funding, we managed to contact the Impulso Inicial Foundation, chaired by Mr. Andrónico Luksic, who, reviewing all the background, travel plans and production, provided us with the tickets to Europe
We aim to formalize a production contract with some of the most important labels in Europe and put together this project, ready to leave everything for the music and to provide, in a certain way, the absence of symphonic metal bands in Latin America, since , despite the enormous appreciation for this style, there are no bands focused on this branch of metal in South America
Introducing the band members.
‘Imperium of Vanity’: members’ biography
Victoria Parodi – Singer, composer and writer.
Victoria Parodi Martínez, singer, composer, writer and painter, was born on April 8, 1992 in Santiago de Chile. Since she was a child, she was an introverted and calm girl, but very creative and curious. Her childhood was marked by the absence of her biological father, which meant that from an early age she had to wonder and develop a different sensitivity to others, which led her to find herself little by little with music.
Victoria has an innate talent, however this was not discovered at an early age, despite her participation in choirs of churches and schools. When she was 10 years old, her attention was drawn to classical music, opera (heard by her grandfather) and classics from the 80’s. In school, she was part of the war band, developing her skills in the fife and the drum.
At age 13 she discovers a new kind of music, from which she would never move away: Rock. It is with the classic “sweet child o ‘mine” by ‘Guns n’ Roses’ and the Slash solos, that Victoria opens up to a new musical world, full of power and melody.
This is how she begins to be influenced by styles such as rock, metal and classical music, taking her to know symphonic metal at age 15. Along with this, she begins to pay attention to her abilities of natural voice imposition and her absolute passive ear, her harmonic and melodic sense.
In this time Victoria also begins a relationship with Nick (at age 17), who begin to talk and plan the formation of a band that brings together both musical perceptions, and although this could not be at that time, later would come the best opportunity to make it.
In 2010, Victoria started to study psychology ignoring her vocal talent, however, after the end of the year, she decided to choose a path to music, and change careers to music pedagogy with mention in choral direction. It is here, where Victoria manages to find her motivation and develop the innate talent that she possessed, integrating herself into the choir of the university and highlighting her voice in the classical and choral context, so that years later she becomes a choir soprano soloist and enters at 21 years to the career of Superior Interpretation in Lyrical Singing with the outstanding Chilean soprano, Violaine Soublette.
In 2013, she felt the need to venture into his own world, beginning, to compose melodic lines in flute and piano that were not taken into account at the time, but that 3 years later, would be the melodic basis that today gives life to some songs of his Symphonic Metal Duet IOV.
After the incursion with some metal bands during her university years, in 2015 they decide with Nick, to take the compositional path in a more accurate and concrete way, and start together the creations of ‘IMPERIUM OF VANITY’.
At the beginning of 2017, Victoria suffers the great loss of her grandfather, who was like a father to her, and who left leaving a pain and deep void in the life of the singer. But not satisfied with the suffering of the death of the one she loved and admired so much; the life had prepared another unfortunate fact, because that same year, in October of 2017, Victoria finds out through social networks, that her biological father had died on the street due to alcohol, in July of that year, and that they were being sought, she and her other sister, to give them the unfortunate news. This led Victoria to take refuge in her pain in the music, feeling more deeply each melody composed, and each song written, as the intense ballad called “Missing you”, dedicated to all the loved ones that have left us at some point in our lives
Victoria discovered together with the musical power, her skill in poetic literature, creating her first book of poetry entitled “Premises of an Unruly Universe”, selected by a Spanish editorial, to be edited and published in the coming months. It has also been consolidated in a short time, as a young Spanish-American poet, selected by the Chiado publishing house, to be part of the Book: ‘Anthology of Contemporary Hispano-American Poetry <And the rest is Silence> Vol.III, to be published in March 2019, in the city of Madrid, Spain.
Victoria is currently waiting for her book release, and working with the fund of music won through the Government of Chile, for the next recording of her album in a professional studio abroad. She is also preparing new releases of music videos and news regarding ‘Imperium Of Vanity’, among them, new material that will be announced through social networks. Meanwhile, Victoria is waiting for all the plans related to the trip to Europe for the production of the album and concert tours, to be as they want
Nick Abarca – Music teacher, guitar player and composer.
Nick Abarca, guitarist and composer of ‘Imperium of Vanity’ with Victoria Parodi, was born on December 24th, 1991 in Santiago, Chile. Since he was a child he was connected to music through his father, who plays guitar. In his family he always heard a varied musical repertoire, such as classical music, rock, pop, folklore, etc. His interests have always been very diverse, reaching the point of always looking for ways to develop them as much as possible, such as martial arts, table tennis, music, reading and philosophy. He grew up listening to groups like ‘Congreso’, ‘Simply Red’, ‘Phil Collins’, ‘Kansas’, ‘Emerson Lake and Palmer’, ‘Jim Croce’, ‘Los Jaivas’, ‘Los Prisioneros’, ‘Charly García’, ‘Víctor Jara’, ‘ACDC’, ‘Mr. Big’, the soundtracks of ‘John Williams’ (Nick is a big fan of Star Wars) , ‘Richard Clayderman’, etc. At school, Nick was always the most applied student, and his interests were so diverse that he would never think of deciding music as his main development. However, since he was a child he knew a couple of chords on his father’s guitar.
It is at the age of 13 when he decides that it was time to switch to the electric guitar, for which his parents give him his first Stratocaster (which still has). Along with this, discover the metal, by consciously listening to his favorite ‘Metallica song’ “Don’t tread on me”, with which he decides to devote himself to listening to metal and rock. Since then, he begins to discover bands like ‘Iron Maiden’, ‘Disturbed’, ‘Slipknot’, ‘System of a Down’, ‘Hammerfall’, ‘Nightwish’, ‘Stratovarius’, ‘Guns n ‘Roses’, ‘Dio’, ‘Whitesnake’, ‘Kiss’, among others.
When he was 15, he began to compose his first songs thanks to the Guitar Pro program (which is still a great composition tool), he learned to play drums, bass and piano, forming tribute bands with friends.
At age 17, in his last year of school, Nick starts his relationship with Victoria Parodi, a friend since age 13, with whom he begins to motivate himself in the world of music little by little. However, Nick enters the career of Architecture at the Universidad de Chile, where he quickly notices a bad decision, so he decides to change to pedagogy in music with mention in direction. Together with Victoria, they enter the choir of the university and enter the choral world. Along with this, Nick begins to be interested in the symphonic metal product of musical complexity and seeing in this style, an opportunity to deliver all the knowledge he acquired in the university, especially in harmony. Nick learns classical guitar with his teacher Christian Gutiérrez, and quickly stands out in the interpretation of complex works, such as “Prelude, fugue and Allegro BWV 998 of J.S. Bach”, which makes his teacher select him for a master class with the famous teacher and lute player Mr. Joachim Held.
In the year 2014, Nick obtains a scholarship to finance his home studio and his 7string guitar, which he widens his record and musical possibilities. Gradually, Victoria and Nick decide to start composing their first ideas and demos. In 2015, they decided to dedicate themselves to the creation of the first Latin American symphonic metal duet, which until today is called ‘Imperium of Vanity’.
From the year 2016 until now, Nick has served as choral director, instrumental ensemble director and music teacher, proposing a current and playful pedagogical method, respecting all styles and musical genres, exploiting talent and motivating his students to form his bands, to create music and appreciate the different music of the world without limitations.
In the year 2017, they decided to record in Nick’s home studio, their first 6 creations, all this, recorded, edited, mixed and mastered only by Nick and Victoria. Nick played and created the drums, bass and guitars. For her part, Victoria recorded all the choral voices in all the registers, main and secondary vocals, orchestrated the string sections, and created the lyrics.
In 2018, as an ‘Imperium of Vanity’, Nick and Victoria won the “Music Fund” from the Ministry of Culture, Arts and Heritage of the Government of Chile, receiving a large sum of money, with the objective of realizing their first record production in Europe, and take off with the dreams for which both have fought. Already with friends and fans around the world, the project that Nick and Victoria have created, is just beginning, and has no limits. Nick owes his success to perseverance and perseverance, to family support, and to the enormous artistic potential of Victoria, which undoubtedly will go far. From the end of the world, ‘Imperium of Vanity’, metal to think and enjoy.
“To wake up, you have to dream”
Credits for the information I used by : ‘Imperium of Vanity’
All pictures by Ricardo Byr (Instagram: @fotograforicardobyr)
ONS NIEUWS MUSIC 