Fallcie- extreme metal band from St.Petersburg, Russia
Interview conducted August 12, 2021
By Dan Locke
Fallcie – female-fronted metal from Saint Petersburg, Russia. Valentina Lavrinenko – vox. Alexander Korsak – guitars. Dmitri Chernykh – bass. Nikolai Kondratiev – drums.
How did you discover music?
Alexander Korsak : My parents are big fans of rock music, so I have listened to hard rock since childhood. My father always took me with him when he went to the vinyl store to buy some discs.
How did you start to write music?
I think that happened when I was around 15 and my parents bought me an electric guitar. First, I started to play my favorite songs, but soon I found that a bit boring and composing tunes seemed more interesting for me.
How did your band form?
If we are talking about Fallcie, it was formed in 2017 by me and our bass player Dmitri. We played in several bands before, one of them was split-up, so we decided to start from the beginning. After some lineup changes Nick, the drummer, joined us. And we changed a couple of singers, but in 2018 we finally found Valentina. And finally, one year after that Gleb joined the band as the second guitar player.
How did you get your band’s name?
I tried to find a name that wasn’t used by someone before. This is very hard nowadays, haha. Actually, I changed Fal’cie, which is taken from Final Fantasy to Fallcie by adding an additional letter. Fallcie means nothing.
How did you get Valentina?
We were searching for a singer for a long time, was really hard to find a girl who is good in both cleans and extreme voices. But one day a friend sent me a link to Valentina’s page in socials, I sent her a message and she replied me that she’d like to try.
Describe your music.
It’s kinda hard to do. We try to mix everything we like, actually we are trying to make brutal and aggressive metal with catchy pop choruses.
What was your first performance at like?
I don’t really remember the first Fallcie show. But I remember the first show with Valentina, it was in Prague, Czech Republic. I day before I got my new signature guitar, and on this show, I really enjoyed playing on it.
Royalties never appear like magic. Royalties are only sent to you through work undertaken by a PRO to ensure that their members are getting paid. If you’re not yet signed up to a Performing Right Organization like ASCAP, BMI or SESAC, you may not be receiving all the royalties you deserve.
Do you belong to any songwriters’ organizations like the International singer-songwriter association, SESAC, BMI, or ASCAP?
No, I don’t.
What makes a good songwriter?
I think a good songwriter listens to totally different styles of music and gets the best there. If the songwriter is in extreme music only, for example, he cuts 80% of music from himself.
How did you become part of the Sennheiser family?
Basically it was the same way as with other brands. We contacted them, discussed that, and here is the result.
What was the title of your first original song? Did you record it?
The first Fallcie song was Rock’n’Rolla. We released it as a single in 2017 and re-recorded it for the first LP in 2018. If we are talking about my song, I think it was titled in Russian and can be translated to English as ‘Ring of The Bells’. I believe we recorded it on voice recorded on a rehearsal.
What is the process of writing your music?
I don’t really know. I take a guitar and here it is, haha.
Recently you released a cover of Adale –Rolling in the Deep and Christina Aguilera- Fighter. How your fan base enjoying the covers?
It was an interesting experience. Honestly, I haven’t read bad mentions. Some people said our versions are better than the originals, haha. Anyway these 2 songs are great, making these songs was a paying tribute to Adele and Christina.
Have you gained any new fans because of it?
I am not sure. Hard to say what brings new fans, especially at quarantine times.
What is your favorite track on your album?
On the first one (Born Again’18) it is ‘The Black’, on the second one (Bad Blood’20) it is ‘Parasites’.
What are you’re feeling about streaming music?
I use Spotify, so I can’t have anything against it. I think we, musicians, have to deal with that, doesn’t matter if we like that or not. World changes permanently, we should do our best to bring our music to people in the way they’d like.
Digital vs. vinyl?
Digital. But I love physical CDs, with booklets, etc.
What song from the past is in your mind right now? Moreover, what is the meaning that song means to you?
About A Girl by Nirvana. I remember the times when I first listened to it. I was on a countryside, so when I hear this song, I see the pictures of the place where I spent summers when I was a teenager.
You were going to play the Hills of Rock in July. Then the virus hit. What were you thinking at that time about how the virus was affecting the world?
We should’ve been playing there in 2020. First, they moved the festival to 2021, and now it is moved to 2022. To be honest, in April 2020 I thought that the pandemic ends in September 2020.
If “Video Killed the Radio Star” do you think that the Covid-19 virus has killed live music? Do you feel the Covid-19 virus going to affect the music business in the future?
I don’t think so. You know, here in Russia we almost didn’t have lockdowns. We had a strict lockdown in April-June 2020, first live shows started in July, and in September everything with concerts returned back. But only with local bands, cause of closed borders. Anyway, right now I am very happy to see many shows in Europe and The States, as well as announced tours.
Do you think that Covid-19 has been a plus to an artist career?
No, better if we wouldn’t have Covid. For our band it was a disaster, because we mostly tour in Europe, and we still can’t get in there.
The last live show you did was The Dark Tunes E-Fest #2 Metal Edition on twitch TV. How is that different then a live gig?
It wasn’t a show in general. We filmed the live performance in Saint Petersburg and sent it to our label. So, it was completely different.
What have you been doing with your self-quarantine?
We composed a new album. But apart from that, we had a kinda vacation from Fallcie, each of us paid more attention to families.
How do you stay healthy during the lockdown?
I practice muay thai, it helps to be in good condition.
Have you discovered or rediscovered any new hobbies?
Computer games. Seems like I played all the games I missed during last 10 years, haha. But right now, I don’t have that much time for games again.
With more and more live music happening. And the virus is still here. Are you willing to play large concerts and festivals and what precautions would you like to have in place?
As I said before, in Russia we don’t have that much restrictions with live shows. But of course, I think that better to be careful anyway. Not only cause government says but also people should think about others. Like here in Russia in each show announcement you can read something like ‘if you feel bad – please stay at home’.
Is pay to play still a thing? Now pay to play also means thinks like playlist on the internet and opening slots for a major band on tour.
Yes, it still works. Everywhere. If that works for somebody, then it’s okay. It’s understandable why people charge money for something. If you are popular, you don’t have to pay, if not – it’s one of the ways to become popular, haha. Like it’s one more way to become famous. The more ways the better, I think.
What about Holographic concerts in our living room?
I don’t like the idea. I still go to cinema instead watching Netflix.
In the past if a musician stops doing music, they find a new career. For example, David Lee Roth from Van Halen became a licensed EMT in NY for 6 years, San Spitz (guitarist for Anthrax) became a master watchmaker, Dee Snider (Twister Sister) voice over work for SpongeBob SquarePants. If you can’t do music, what would you like to be doing?
Each of us has regular works, so I’ve already chosen my occupation. I film music videos. Anyway, in music, but not making.
What is your happy place?
Of course it is my home.
Red Hot Chili Peppers are about to sell their entire song catalog for $140 Million. In the past year a lot of musicians such as Stevie Nicks ($100 Million), Bob Dylan (over $400 Million), Taylor Swift, Journey, Def Leppard, K.T. Tunstall, and Shakira have sold their catalog rights within the last year. Bob Dylan sold his entire catalog for a reported $300 million. Neil Young song 50 percent of his worldwide copyright and income interest in his 1,180-song catalog to Hipnosis Songs Fund limited. Once you get to the age of about 70. Publishing is far more lucrative than the mechanical royalties paid to artist based on sales, airplay and streams. A good example of this is Michael Jackson brought the rights to the Beatles catalog in 1985. And in the late 80’s the Beatles Revolution appeared in a Nike commercial.
The lump sums being offered by publishing firms are more tax-friendly concerning estate planning.
Someone who was totally against selling his rights was David Crosby. He did not want to sell his publishing rights. And it was not an easy thing for him to do. But by making a deal with Irving Azoff’s Iconic Artists Group, it took a big weight off of his shoulders. He could pay off his house and cover other bills. And now he doesn’t have to work for a living. It should be noted that David is battling tendinitis in his hands which hurts his ability to play guitar.
Do you think you would be willing to sale your back catalog if someone like Universal is will to buy everything, such as all the rights to all your songs?
To be honest, I can’t imagine this situation. We are still a small band and it’s hard to talk about the thing which is too far from your reality, haha. But I think if Universal is willing to buy the songs for $100mln they have a plan to earn more with these songs.
There are many platforms out there that allow artists to get their music heard. Artist Republik
, DistroKid, Tunecore & plenty others offer distribution services. These services enable independent artists to put their music on some of the most popular streaming services globally, from Spotify to Apple Music & everything in between. If you’ve been in any part of the music industry in recent years, you probably know someone that has distributed a song.
Spotify reports that in 2021 there are about 8 million artists on the platform. Of those 8 million artists, about 57,000 are raking in a whopping 90% of the total revenue from streams. That means that .71% of the artists on Spotify are making good money. In 2020, there was a total of around $5 billion paid out to artists on the Spotify platform alone.
Therefore, it’s reasonable to assume that, by the end of 2021, SPOT will be home to over 90 million tracks. And that in the early part of next year, it will surpass a catalog of 100 million for the first time.
What do you think what that could mean to the independent artist?
I have no idea, haha. But I am sure their numbers don’t affect independent artists. The only thing is clear – you should be on Spotify if you want to reach people.
Over half a billion active users around the world share their favorite music on TikTok either with something like a dance challenge and lip-sync videos or creating a funny skit or candid camera moment.
TikTok has become a great platform for music promotion, sharing songs, and finding new listeners. In which it has become a place for music artist to earn revenue when people use their music. Which in many cases the daily promotion on TikTok has led to hug boosts on other platforms like Spotify, Facebook and YouTube.
TikTok does this with the become algorithmically generates a feed of content for each user, which you see as the displaying of #. The more a user engages with content, the smarter TikTok gets at guessing what kind of videos the viewer wants to watch.
Because a song can go viral because of this.
Sony Music and Warner Music Group-, The ByteDance-owned video app revealed that it has struck an “expanded” global licensing agreement with Universal Music Group. Now that TikTok is now fully licensed by all three major record companies, will you start using TikTok more?
I don’t really know. I don’t use TikTok and honestly, don’t plan to use it.
Breaking news: TikTok is launching TikTok Radio, a full-time SiriusXM music channel going live this summer. The station will be available in vehicles and as a streaming channel on the SiriusXM App, desktop, and all connected devices.
Some of the on TikTok include Cassyette, YukoEXE, Ashinikko, Palaye Royale, Josh Dun (Twenty-One Pilots), Yungblud, Morrissey, Ozzy Osbourne, Joan Jett, Gene Simmons, and Mick Jagger.
The station will be part of a new TikTok collaboration with SiriusXM and its subsidiary, Pandora, to jointly promote emerging talent. Do you think this platform could became a force in the future of streaming music?
Honestly, I don’t think so.
Val- What is Hell Scream Academy?
It is Russian online music school. Val is a vocal teacher, she works there.
Anything you would like to say in closing.
I’d like to say thank you for the interesting questions. And of course, for your support! Hope to visit The States with a show someday. Take care, be healthy!
