In Today’s Interview, you will read a chat with the wonderful Iva Toric, a multitalented singer straight out of The Bay Area.
She creates melodies that carry you to an exciting dark universe. What grabbed my attention first about her is how she pays attention to the small details and has a magical style with crystals, candles and natural motives. As one of her songs says, ‘Finally Today’ you have the chance to get to know her. Do not forget to start with her newest single called Trust Fall.
It’s nice to meet you, Iva. How would you describe your music in one sentence to people who haven’t heard it yet?
My music is melodic doom rock/metal with emotional lyrics.
Your previous single, called “Time to Die” is about your mental health issues, like anxiety. Was it a hard decision to share this experience with your audience?
No, not at all. One of my goals with my music is to tear down mental health stigma. Music is like my therapy and my lyrics are like journal entries. I hope there are people out there who can relate to my stories. My latest single “Trust Fall” is about finding the courage to leave a toxic or abusive relationship or situation and the fear and exhilaration that can come from such a decision.
Your overall design looks incredibly awesome and demanding (CD covers, merchandise, website). It surely took you a lot of time to find the perfect artists for this job. If you had to choose, which artwork would you pick as favourite?
Oh thank you! I think the best is yet to come, actually. I have some amazing artwork coming for my next album “Dead Reckoning” by artist Travis Smith (Devin Townsend, Katatonia, Opeth, Avenged Sevenfold, Death). I love visual art and it’s always so fun for me to work with talented artists to put images to my songs.
You also share some make-up content on your social media. Do you like making your own makeup even in professional photos and videos?
I love makeup, and yes I’ve done a few of my own looks for videos and I always do my own makeup for live shows, but for the larger music videos, I have a makeup artist. One of my favorite makeup looks was in my Goodbye music video, and that makeup artist was Lexi Kleyla.
Wonderful! Do you consider yourself goth, and if yes, what does this subculture mean to you?
My soul is goth to the core, but I’ve always struggled with my physical appearance not fitting the mold of a goth. I’m naturally blonde and my skin tans easily even with tons of sunscreen. I’ve never been able to achieve that goth ideal of dark hair and pale skin. So without my makeup, clothing style, and tattoos, I look more like a surfer girl. But I’ve always loved the things that go with goth culture. Dark music, macabre literature and film, dark fashion, and body modification. I think all of that embodies “goth” to me.
What would you ask for if you had 3 wishes from the Jinnee?
I would wish for human rights and equality. In my country, many people have lost the ability to make decisions about when and whether to reproduce and whether they can do so safely. My LGBTQIA+ friends still do not feel safe, respected, and equal. This must change. I would wish for healthcare to be available to all who need it. People are unable to afford the most basic services. We are experiencing a mental health crisis like we have never seen before and there is no way to help people. I would also wish for safety from gun violence. Our schools aren’t safe. Our public places aren’t safe. Our public transportation isn’t safe. The next concert we attend might fall victim to a mass shooter. I just want us to all live in a safe healthy world. I’m sad I only have 3 wishes, but I guess those are my priorities. I didn’t mention ending climate change, ending hunger, ending animal cruelty, fixing the housing crisis, oh the list goes on and on doesn’t it?
Important aims, the world would be peaceful thanks to you. What can we expect next from you?
I have a new single called “Trust Fall.” It’s about finding the courage to leave a toxic or abusive situation and now leaving can feel terrifying – like falling into the unknown. You can check out my original music on all the streaming sites. I also post a lot of acoustic covers of just voice and piano on my YouTube channel. You can find everything by visiting http://ivatoric.com
My life philosophy is that Dutch Metal is so underrated. I’m an introvert, but you can spam my inbox with memes anytime you want. I study environmental engineering, but I am a chemical technician too.
