Iveta & Simone are New Zealand’s edgy female vocal duo taking the region by storm with tracks such as “PSYCHO BABY”, “More Than A Man”, L.O.V.E., ” Weeping ” and the newly released ” She Used To Be Me “.
Interview conducted on June 18, 2020
By Dan Locke
Auckland, New Zealand, bombshell vocal duo Iveta & Simone have announced the release of a smooth new single, “She Used To Be Me “on May, 29th, which outlines heartache and freedom from a woman’s perspective.
Band Members
Iveta Vasileva
Simone Brook
Awards
AKADEMIA 2016 Award
Award: Best Song
Artists: Iveta & Simone
Song: Free
What is your upbringing?
IS: Iveta was born in Bulgaria, and Simone was born in Levin NZ.
Currently, they both live in New Zealand.
How did you discover music?
I: I was fascinated by music at a very early age.
S: My whole family is musical.
How did you start to write music?
IS: We worked with a producer named Hermann Unterwurzacher from Austria. He produced the music and we wrote the song.
How did you get your first guitar and do you still have it?
S: A guitar was always around our house growing up, we used to pick it up all the time and play it. Yes, we still have it.
What was your first performance at like?
IS: As a duo, we so believe in each other no matter what happens we had each other. Fear was not an option for us.
What was the title of your first original song? Did you record it?
IS: Our first song was FREE, yes, we recorded it.
How did you start the band?
IS: At the time we meet in a girl band that we both audition for. After a while, we saw a deep passion for singing in both of us.
So, Simone quit the other band she was in and Iveta and herself formed a duo.
How did you decide on what to name the band?
IS: We wanted to keep it simple.
Tell me about your single “Psycho Baby”? Is it based on a true story?
I: We recorded a demo version of “Psycho Baby “in 2016. We decided to release it in early 2020. In the meantime, COVID – 19 happened… and because of the lyrics or the unusual music and video, it became a hit. We released an unusual song in interesting times. That explains the success, more than 2 million views!
Is there a backstory to Psycho Baby?
IS: We were visualizing a horror movie…” Psycho “will be the perfect soundtrack 🙂
Was it shot during the virus lockdown?
IS: Very…. It was frustrating for us both not to be able to get together, however, this was a great opportunity to release new songs, to study courses to start building our business higher.
Are you into Japanese Anime (She used to be Me)?
S: At one time I had a Japanese student and she really loved animation, so she used to drag me to the computer to watch them, I’ve liked them ever since.
What is your favorite track on the album?
I: L.O.V.E.
S: More Than A Man
How do you stay healthy while touring?
IS: It is always important for us to look good and sound vocally strong. So, what we eat relates to both. No fatty foods before singing, we find that a small glass of wine before singing relaxes our vocals straight away, and the rest of the night is water.
What are you’re feeling about streaming music?
IS: Good luck with this one, people love it because there is nothing to hide about you, no second chances lol, if you make a mistake it cannot be undone. But on the positive side, you become more engaged with the audience.
It is also ok if it’s only you but 2 people is a bit harder. Luckily, we both know how to bounce off each other.
Digital vs. vinyl?
IS: We think currently that we will stay with electronic formats as being the best medium to deliver our music to the biggest audience, having said that, we can’t help but like the nostalgic idea of releasing a vinyl record at some stage.
What are your feelings about the social uprising going on in the United States?
IS: To be honest, it is not just happening in the States but all over the world, however, to lose a loved one is always devastating.
What song from the past is in your mind right now? And what is the meaning that song means to you?
I: “Psycho “…. because of the Coronavirus and how the people felt what the song did to them.
S: “She Used To Be Me “…. mainly because when we got together people were saying this song touched them so much, and these last couple of months when recording them, that’s all we had time for were our songs.
Your last live show was at the Kalah Bar, about the same time Covid-19 hit. What did you think?
S: “Oh know, our last gig” I’m going to miss singing.
I: Is this really happening?
How do you feel the Covid-19 virus going to affect the music business in the future?
IS: Because of the amount of studying we were doing and following, we already knew pretty much what to expect. So, we prepared for it.
What have you been doing with your self-quarantine?
IS: Study, Study, Study, and writing music.
Have you discovered or rediscovered any new hobbies?
IS: How to look after our own Brand of Iveta & Simone.
Lots of people are doing nightly concerts over either YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. You are doing something different. You are showing people how to make food with your series of Cocktails, Healthy Recipes. How did you come up with that idea?
IS: One day Iveta brought up in a conversation about making a “Almond Lemon Cake,” She explained to me what was involved, so I suggested let’s film it, without a second thought we got onto it straight away and it became a very popular hit. As for the Cocktails, because our followers are a lot of males, we wanted to involve them also so this is why we did this.
How do you keep the pounds off?
IS: Luckily, we have each other, so we challenge and encourage each other consistently.
What is your go-to food for comfort food?
I: Prosecco and chocolate.
S: Raisin biscuits.
How did you get onto the Festival of Hope?
IS: They invited us. We were honored to be part of this concert. A concert in aid of front-line workers, a charity concert with lots of acts from around the world.
Do you think it will be possible to make a living doing concerts this way?
IS: Yes.
First, it was an article in the New York Times, then Rolling Stones talked about it and finally, Live Nation CEO said that concerts may not start again until the fall of 2021. Do you think this could happen?
IS: Yes (this epidemic is very unpredictable)
With Social Distance being the norm. Do you feel that it may be the end of the music fest for the next couple of years?
IS: It is like anything in life (play safe, work together, stop spreading, listen to the experts,) It all starts with us. IT’S ALL UP TO US!
What about Holographic concerts in our living room?
IS: Wow that would be amazing.
How do you see yourself in the next five years?
IS: Very busy and extremely focused.
Anything you would like to say in closing?
IS: These questions were great, thank you so much for your time. IS x
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