2023-09-08 14:00:03
IVI. Photo: Evgeny Blinov (photographer) HEARTINA (designer)
From September 7 to 10, the Station Narva festival will fill the border city of Narva for the sixth time with music from artists from Estonia and abroad, allowing you to look at the urban space from a new angle and think about the traditions and future of Ida-Viru County. Among the Estonian artists, the singer-songwriter IVI is announced. She comes from Narva, now lives and works in Tallinn.
News from inside
The Station Narva music program will be presented on Friday and Saturday, September 8 and 9, at the Vaba Lava Narva Performing Arts Center and Ro-Ro Coastal Art Club.
IVI is a star that shines brightly in the Estonian musical sky and is shaking up the pop culture landscape with its talent and passion for music. Stylistically, her bold performances gravitate toward future burlesque. IVI attracted the attention of the general public with the single Day x Night, which became the most played song in 2021 on the Estonian Raadio 2.
This year IVI performed at both the ESNS festival in the Netherlands and the Raadio 2 showcase as part of the Tallinn Music Week festival. Now the artist is saving energy to conquer the world of international pop music together with her partner, producer Coullin. At Station Narva, IVI and her band will present a special show, imbued with the spirit of the vibrant 80s.
Who is who
IVI’s name is Victoria Savicheva. She was born and raised in Narva. I have been involved in music and singing since childhood. For as long as she can remember, she has always sung, composed and wanted to perform. “Since childhood, I went to singing clubs, then we studied with a teacher at a music school. What I remember most from my childhood was a song competition in Tallinn, at the Lindakivi cultural center, where I came to perform, as it seemed to me, completely unprepared: without a costume, without any kind of staging… I performed with the song “Barmaley” and took some place, which was surprising for me, because there were candidates with bright numbers, but they noted me,” shares Victoria.
Young Victoria’s first experience in writing was poetry. At that time she did not yet know how to accompany herself; she had neither a synthesizer nor a piano. But there was an Instagram account where the girl published her poetry. As soon as she was able to accompany herself, she immediately began writing songs. As a tenth-grader, she entered a music school and completed four classes as an external student in two years. Then Victoria took the path of songwriting (a songwriter (English: song – “song”, writer – “author”) does not just write texts or music, he is responsible for the harmony of the composition as a whole).
– I started studying music seriously at the age of 16. For five years, my friend and I had a duet called Round and Round. We performed in many restaurants and bars, first in Narva, Narva-Jõesuu, then at various events to which we were invited by various companies. And in 2015 I came to Tallinn and continued performing here,” says IVI.
At the moment, IVI does not yet have a manager who would control the entire work process. She handles management on her own, but would really like to invite an artist-manager to the team, as she understands that this will contribute to creative growth.
– There are two people involved in the creation of our music – me and my sound producer Coullin, but the more we develop, the more we meet different talented people who bring an important contribution to our songs and the creative process. Usually it happens like this: Coullin writes an arrangement, it can be quite simple, not yet very rich in instruments. If I like the idea, the harmony, we start working. I come up with a melody, write the words, and in the studio we finalize the idea. After creating the demo, we consult with our producer friends, listen to their constructive criticism and bring the song to perfection,” says Victoria.
Now IVI and Coullin focus on Western music from the 80s and 90s, which inspires them a lot. It is in this style that they are writing the singer’s debut album, entitled CHANGES, which will be released in late November or early December.
– Coullin and I would really like to collaborate with world-class producers from the USA who have worked with artists such as Alicia Keys, Beyoncé, Nelly Furtado. This way we could develop our sound. Many people say that we sound Western. We want to combine our essence with Western culture, and I think this has its own zest,” shares IVI.
According to the singer, there are a lot of opportunities for making money from music in Estonia, because this area is just developing. IVI has chosen for itself the path of writing songs, performing, creating promotional campaigns, promoting creativity online, including the music of young performers.
– I would really like to advance in dance music, progressive house, techno house. This direction energizes me. If I want to feel a surge of energy and inspiration, then I listen to this kind of music. I also really like the direction of drum’n’bass (a genre of electronic music). Since last fall we have been working with the famous Estonian drum’n’bass producer Sound In Noise. We’ll be releasing a joint track soon. I wonder if listeners will like my new sound? – Victoria asks.
IVI doesn’t like labels like “the most important achievement,” but she is very proud that she has found her style, her sound, that she likes her own work so much that she is ready to listen to it on repeat. She also feels proud that on the path to success there are a lot of difficulties, which she perceives as an opportunity to become better and therefore never gives up.
“My dream has always been to live from music and make a living from it. If you think like that, then I’m already living my dream – writing songs, working with talented people, performing on stage with my creativity, which resonates with listeners,” says the singer. – However, I don’t really like the word “dream”, because in essence it is a desire without a plan. And we have a lot of goals and plans, which I don’t want to share yet, because I’m very careful with my words and I get upset when something doesn’t work out.”
By the way. The stage name IVI is derived from the singer’s real name. A combination of the English pronoun I and VICTORIA, I + VI.
What can the audience expect at the festival? “At Station Narva we will perform on September 8 at 20.00 in Vaba Lava with the same program as at Tallinn Music Week 2023, where the first concert with my band took place. We combined live instruments and electronic music. In my opinion, it turned out to be a very bright and memorable live. We will also present several new songs from the upcoming debut album,” shares IVI.
Another life
Victoria has been living and working in Tallinn for eight years now. It’s interesting that she lived in music all her life, but eventually received an education as a French philologist. However, this area turned out to be not very close to the future artist, and she decided to retrain as a digital marketer. This is what he currently earns. Victoria is also the director of an educational center in Tallinn and has recently been writing international projects.
The girl is fond of sports, loves billiards and the sauna, which she visits two or three times a week. Her hobby also includes creating music podcasts, Müstic Room, which she records with her friend, singer and songwriter Leja.
Rotary Day
Three simple questions:
– Do you have a favorite place on Earth, where you feel the best?
– Any place on Earth I feel peaceful and happy if there is a sauna there. In it I find maximum peace.
– What qualities do you value most in people?
– Initiative, determination, ability to think outside the box. Lately I really appreciate spontaneity, lack of complexes, and self-acceptance in people. With such people you become better, and life becomes more interesting and takes on new colors.
If you could go back in time, what advice would you give yourself?
– I would force myself to be more proactive. As a child, I had many reasons not to be who I wanted to be. But these reasons were imposed on me. As soon as I began to act the way I wanted, I realized that all the obstacles that I was told about were imaginary, they did not exist.
The post Singer IVI: All the obstacles they told me about are fictitious first appeared on gazeta.ee.
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