The name ‘Argentina’ derives from the Italian term that means “made of silver”. However, our Argentine interviewee is made of pure gold! (figuratively) Nathalie Astrada, the new voice of Swedish Metal band Carmilla, has stunned the masses with her golden voice right from the very first single she released with her new band. ‘Surrender or Die’ and later ‘Psycho Man’ are wonderful showcases for Nathalie’s beautiful voice.
Besides her talent, Nathalie Astrada also has a compellingly wonderful personality. And we witnessed that from her knowledge and wit-loaded answers as we asked her questions about her new band, her life as a musician, and many other things.
We hope you enjoy, as much as we did, this interview with the vocalist of Carmilla: Nathalie Astrada.
Interview
Mirk: Hello Nathalie. It’s a pleasure to chat with you. How are you and the other Carmilla members today?
Nathalie: Hi! The pleasure is mine, I hope you are very well. We are very excited about this new stage that we are living and I am particularly eager to meet my colleagues personally and to be able to share in real time the music that we like to do so much.
Mirk: You have recently joined Carmilla. Would you like to tell FemMetal readers a bit about yourself? Where are you from and is Carmilla your first band?
Nathalie: Well, I’m from Argentina and Carmilla is not my first band in terms of experience, but it is the first band that takes me seriously. The interest in music and companionship exceeds up to the thousands of kilometers that separate us.
Mirk: You have released ‘Surrender or Die’ with a music video in the final days of last year. How are you feeling about the reception this song received?
Nathalie: We had worked hard and I was surprised how well it was received. Personally I felt very excited. Suddenly many people inside and outside my country were listening to me and I received several messages from colleagues and people in other parts of the world, supporting us. It was incredible.
Mirk: What got you into Metal in the first place? Who was your inspiration that made you want to be a vocalist in a Metal band?
Nathalie: Metal, rock, punk and all its branches among several things have in common a very important thing: saying what one thinks regardless of what others think. We live in a world where people lie to us and practically tell us what to do, what to believe and how to live. These genres are characterized by criticizing that and making a difference, that is what makes me choose to sing metal. Many people have inspired me but what motivates me the most is to show that it is not necessary to be a man to make good music, that women can be whatever we want regardless of the masculinity that surrounds us and that we can break any barrier imposed by society.
Mirk: What are your music-related dreams? And do you feel that joining Carmilla is the first one step in the thousand-mile journey?
Nathalie: What I most yearn for is to send a message to the people and I hope it helps them. May what I sing inspire you to fight for your dreams and ideals and do not lower your arms against the injustices of the world.
Definitely Carmilla is the first big step, it is the most professional and most important project I have been to and I bet all my confidence that we will go far. My teammates are very talented musicians and good people, so I have no doubt about that.
Mirk: Are there any plans in the near future for a big release with Carmilla? Maybe an album?
Nathalie: Yes, we have many plans. If you follow us on our social networks, you will be aware of what we are going to do. We are working on new songs, melodies and lyrics, but it takes us more time to work remotely.
In a few days we are going to release a new single so we are very excited.
Note: At the time the interview was held, Carmilla’s new single ‘Psycho Man’ was not released yet. The new single was released on the 1st of March. Check it out!
Mirk: Music has no borders and you’re a good example of that; you are an Argentine vocalist in a Swedish band that sings in English. What countries or cities are you eager to perform at with Carmilla?
Nathalie: We can reach more public using English so my list would be very long, by the way we communicate in this language because it is the midpoint in Swedish and Spanish. But first of all I would love to travel to Europe, Latin America and North America. Obviously I would like to play in several cities in Sweden where Metal is well accepted, there are many listeners and we can share the stage with many colleagues in the genre. In my country Argentina, I would also like to play with Carmilla, although here there is little public and Metal is not so popular.
Mirk: Away from music, what other hobbies or activities do you enjoy doing?
Nathalie: It is difficult to separate music from my life since it is what allows me to live (in every way). Apart from singing I am a violinist, I like to practice classical pieces and I play the piano, the guitar, the bass and the drums in a self-taught way. I am quite melomaniac and I spend a lot of time researching new artists and stylistic issues of works and / or genres.
Apart from that I am also a clothing designer and I like to sew from time to time, especially when I have a presentation I try to make my own costumes.
I jog often and spend a lot of time with my dogs and cats. I like to watch cult, psychological and horror movies and also sometimes read some literature. My favorite authors are Lovecraft, Poe, S. King, Baudelaire, Bukowski among others.
Mirk: Have you ever been treated in a sexist way, maybe on stage or in your daily life dealings with people? How did you react and advice would you give to other women and young ladies who get discriminated against based on their gender?
Nathalie: Yes, I believe that no woman on the face of the earth is saved from that. Both in the artistic, work and everyday environment. Unfortunately, we live in a patriarchal world where several things we do as women is discredited only by our gender. At first as a child and teenager I did not react to discriminatory situations on the part of “machismo” (by men and women too) because even in my family it was normalized to treat us like this. Growing up and understanding that this is wrong, I began to question myself and then defend myself against any attack. From denigrating comments to sexual bribes for work, and many other things I had to endure just for being a woman and I am sure that they all passed or will go through these situations if we do not defend ourselves. That is why my advice is to stand up to these issues, not to keep quiet, raise your voice and not let the world continue moving forward in this way. Do what your heart asks you without being afraid and no matter what others say. We are all sisters and there are more and more demonstrations and groups where we can ask for help or report any type of aggression. We all deserve respect equally.
Mirk: Thank you Nathalie for the interview. It was really nice to talk with you. Good luck to you and your band in the future projects.
Nathalie: Thank you very much for the space, for the interest and the warmth. I wish you the best.
Follow Carmilla
