Present yourself to the readers
We are Linda and Steffen from Hamburg /Germany and met for the first time a year ago.
He was on facebook in a musician group lookingfor a guitarist for a Cold Wave / Post Punk project. This caught my eye because I've been into this genre for a couple of years and was also looking for a person with whom I could realize my musical vision. So we met and finished the four songs of the EP within a few months. We both noticed quickly that we complement each other musically very well.
What’s the story for THE BEAUTY OF BROKEN PEOPLE ?
To be honest, Steffen and I have both been living with mental illnesses for years, like depression and anxiety. We want to deal with it openly, because we don't see it as a weakness or a taboo subject. We have learned to live with it and we have even grown very much in it. Nothing brings you closer to yourself and to the centralvquestion: what kind of life do I want to live? One becomes much more conscious and in a certain way also wiser through suffering. Vulnerability makes people beautiful and authentic. That's the topic of the EP and also of our band.
A little excursus here. I think it is still quite difficult to deal openly with mental illness, especially in work life. It took me a while to tell my friends and even longer to tell most of my family.
Why the name VIRGIN TEARS ?
We wanted a name that was tragically beautiful. We love contrasts because they emphasize the beauty of things and make them shine differently in a new context. Personally, I've always had a weakness for the aesthetics of tainted innocence.
What are your personal musicaltastes and your influences ?
I love the sound of 80s goth, wave and synth pop since my childhood. Bands like Depeche Mode, The Cure and Sisters of Mercy have always triggered something in me. However, it was only through the band HOLE that I got to make music and play guitar myself. About 13 years ago I developed a passion for metal, more precisely black metal. When I first heard Lifelover's album "Pulver" it was like a revelation. I called the style "Joy Division Black Metal". Regarding Virgin Tears my most important influences are bands like Drab Majesty, Forever Grey and The Agnes Circle.
My personal taste in music goes from Black Metal to Post-Punk, Dark Wave and so on and my influences are mainly Night Thoughts, a really great band from Cardiff UK, This Cold Night, She Past Away, Forever Grey...
In studio, what was the atmosphere for your E.P. ?...etc....
Well, looking back, our stay in the studio was pretty bad. We didn't even plan to release the recordings because they didn't meet our expectations at all. Only after close friends encouraged us, did we take the step and tried to make the best of it. Meanwhile, we even think the EP is really good for a first release and considering the fact that we actually went to the studio way too early. We were just very euphoric back then. But actually hurry is the enemy of quality.
That is true. For me the audio engineer is a nice guy, so it quickly felt familiar. Otherwise it was unfortunately not possible for me to feel any atmosphere.
How does it work for the great design of the CD ? and why this title ?
Thank you very much. Linda mainly did most of the artwork, I just added a little extra, but again, we both complement each other quiet good in artistic manners.
Thanks for the compliment. Marble is an important visual element for us. It is like pure, cold white that is permeated by black fog. The painting is called "The Death of Love" and was painted in 1888 by Stella Tennant. Unfortunately, I don't know anything about the artist, but the painting takes up the title of our EP very well.
One or the other will also recognize the influence of the purist designs of Joy Division albums. Our artwork is as minimalistic as our music.
What are your projects ?
Before Virgin Tears, I had a solo project called Sister Devil. I wrote a whole album with it, but only as raw demo versions. Actually I composed and wrote everything with the garageband app for the iPhone. This resulted in an electronic sound, of course the possibilities were very limited with the app. But also here the minimalistic approach is a special attraction for me. Recently I also recorded a duet with Konstantin Michaely for his Folk Noir project "Morgue Poetry". We did a beautiful photo series on a cemetery. The text of "Enlightenment" speaks from my soul.
My other project is called life and how to deal with it. A little sarcasm is called for.
What do you expect from the future ?
We've got some plans for Virgin Tears. We are going to make a video soon, write new songs and want to perform live as soon as more songs are finished. Therefore we plan synths as well.
Website to remember
They are www.virgintearsofficial.bandcamp.com and www.facebook.com/virgintearsband.
What would you like to say to the readers ?
We are ready for a goth revolution.
Linda & Steffen
Thanks for the upkeep
Hugues B.
