At the Wacken Open Air festival in Germany, we got the chance to interview lead singer Julia Sanina of the band The Hardkiss, after their show at the Louder stage.

Benedetta

I’m here with the amazing Julia from The Hardkiss. How are you doing today?

Julia Sanina

Oh, great. Yeah, we just played our show at Wacken Open Air, Louder stage, like the big one. It was huge, massive. I mean, the audience was so cool and so supportive. I was nervous a bit before doing the first step on the stage. But, yeah, I relaxed, like, at once when I saw their eyes, that they were ready to drive the energy.

Benedetta

How does it feel to play in Wacken on the anniversary edition?

Julia Sanina

Crazy. We’ve been here last year for the first time ever. And we played last year the acoustic performance in the Metal Church. And, of course, we dreamed about the full performance with the band on the big stage. This year we are lucky, it’s the anniversary. I’m the same age as Wacken. So, yeah, I can’t imagine, that when I was a little girl, this festival already has been legendary. It’s a big honor for us to be here.

Benedetta

Since you have a lot of experience in live shows, but also in recording music, do you think that the artistic life is a lonely life?

Julia Sanina

I don’t know, because we’ve made the band with my beloved Val. He is the love of my life. So, I’m never alone. We are 24/7 together. And we are laughing that we are discussing the band, the music, all the time, from morning till night. So, I can’t imagine myself without him. I guess this connection, these singles of different characters, it is the hard case itself. So, yeah, I’m lucky to have my soulmate with me. Maybe for the others, it’s quite a lonely life. But I’m an introvert. I enjoy sitting at home. So, I enjoy performing on the stage or being at home, creating something new.

Benedetta

Do you think that we will ever have equality between men and women in the metal world?

Julia Sanina

You know, it’s different in Ukraine and in Europe. We are new in European market now. So, we just learn the rules here. We just see how it works here. And, of course, here there are much more bands with female front women or female playing the instruments. I see more and more of that and it’s really enjoyable to see. So, I’m lucky to be here when the business is changing. And I have the opportunity to feel comfortable and proudly present the music that everyone enjoys on a great level. In my band, I was always like the leader so, I don’t know how it feels like when you’re not. It was always important for us to play with and to work with people respectfully to everyone. So, yeah. We picked every person in our band, in our community, thinking of that human comfort to work with. So, yeah.

Benedetta

Has it ever happened to you that someone treated you differently than Val or the other guys in the band?

Julia Sanina

I’ve been to other bands before The Hardkiss, where my opinion was not counted. I was young, like 17, 16 years old. And I was the girl. So, it was sometimes like, “Keep your opinion“. But, again, I had this courage to just go, to just leave that kind of community, that kind of band. And, yeah, The Hardkiss is the dream team for me. Unfortunately, we have not so many girls in our community. So, we have a manager, but it’s not on purpose, you know. There are lots of photographers who we work with. Amazing women. Some specialists that we are working with, they are amazing women with amazing talent. We always look on talent offers.

Benedetta

On a scale from 1 to 10, how technological would you say that you are? 

Julia Sanina

I guess 6 out of 10. I cannot build a computer. But I can pay bills through the internet, you know. I do all that boring stuff. So, yeah, I hate emails. I love more WhatsApp or Telegram. I’m doing our social medias. I’m the queen of our Instagram. That’s my world. I make all these photos, videos, posts, reels, it’s truly mine. Yeah, I mean, Val is more responsible for, for example, when we shoot something. He’s like the director, he knows everything about cameras, photos, and everything. I just put my ideas, like the creative side of that. That’s it.

Benedetta

Thank you so much for taking the time to do this interview with me. Is there anything else that you want to add to our readers and viewers?

Julia Sanina

We just want to share that we’ve just released the album, Grey Hound. That’s why I’m in a grey suit now. So, please listen to the album. And, of course, we are inviting everyone to our autumn tour. We also have an anniversary tour. The Hardkiss is 15 years this year. So, we have the big tour in Europe, you can choose any city. We have the tour in North America next year. You can find everything on thehardkiss.com. So, yeah, we would love to see everyone there.