Initially starting up in the pop and EDM scene, Katerina Nicole took a turn towards heavier material and found her calling. The first evidence is her EP, Serene in Violent Oceans, an introductory piece that showcases her carefully balanced contrasts. It’s heavy yet melodic, melancholic yet uplifting, and graceful yet chaotic. It doesn’t simply pull from the metal world either, bringing in fresh outside influences and perspectives that give it an intriguing appeal that should bring in listeners from across the spectrum. We sat down and chatted with her about her beginnings, the ins and outs of her first EP, wishlist collaborations and touring options, and the future ahead.
Dead Rhetoric: You were involved in the pop and EDM world for a bit. What made you move into heavier directions?
Katerina Nicole: I started that about 2.5 to 3 years ago, but I went in a heavier direction because I felt like it was something I needed to do. I wasn’t giving enough of myself. I wasn’t being completely honest with myself, and I think it was really showing in that type of music. Even though I love the tracks that I did, the last few ones I did, “Everwanted” and “Underwater,” became very melancholy. I didn’t want to be a downer to the EDM scene, so I decided to go in a different direction for now.
Dead Rhetoric: You did some screams on the EP. Was it the first time you had done them?
Katerina: Yes it was. I have been training for a while now. It’s been over a year and a half. I will say that I am leaps and bounds to where I was when writing the EP.
Dead Rhetoric: So is that something you’d like to explore further in the future?
Katerina: Absolutely. EP 2 is coming out [laughs]! We are eager to work on it, it’s already in the works and we have found lots of placements for screams. I did rough vocal takes already. I got back in there doing my lead vocals and I’m like, “I can do better! Let’s keep this going!”
Dead Rhetoric: Do you feel your time in the EDM/pop scene made any impact in the way that you approached the music on Serene in Violent Oceans?
Katerina: That’s a good question. It’s important that I talk about my team, because I have two co-writers on this EP and I think they influenced me a lot too. They taught me to not be so on the nose with my lyrics, coming from a pop background. They would write some things that would make me think in a completely different way with a different perspective, and I think that’s a really beautiful thing in a different way, that you can say things or express yourself, or have metaphors for something much deeper.
Dead Rhetoric: Talk about the contrasts within the music. How important are they, even with the title of the EP?
Katerina: I think what I want with this EP, when people are listening to it, that they do give it a full listen from track one to track five. There’s a reason I put it in that order, to take people on a journey with me into very turbulent waters and this big storm. It’s a lot of my life and a lot of my traumas. I believe it can be interpreted in many different ways for many different people. Staying true to who you are, staying centered, staying at peace, no matter what is going on around you or within you, that’s a powerful thing.
Dead Rhetoric: How important is the atmosphere in each track as well? You mentioned a distinct tracklist. Was it important that the atmosphere or feel was important too?
Katerina: Yeah, even taking my listeners into the depths of my despair, it’s important to feel the light at the end of the tunnel. To feel like you can reach up for air.
Dead Rhetoric: We are in a single-driven market, and you have three singles out with videos. When you are aiming for this atmosphere, how does that playlist/singles movement contrast with that?
Katerina: There was a thought put into which tracks were released first, because they were not released in [track] order. But I wanted to start with the heaviest one, “Catch My Breath.” It’s the most meaningful one to me, it’s like “whoa.” So I wanted to show it first. Finding such a great producer and director for the video for “What I Know Now,” I let them choose what track would make a great visual. I really wanted to have that cinematic visual to go with the story of these songs. So that meant a lot to me that they took it as seriously. Releasing it in order, after the fact, it gives it a different experience than just hearing the singles first.
Dead Rhetoric: With the cinematic piece in the videos, is that something you want to strive for in the future, when you are writing new material and thinking about how the material will be visualized – is that something you want to go further with?
Katerina: Absolutely. I want to have listeners on a journey with me, visually and musically. That’s really important to me that we have this starting point. But as I evolve and heal through this process with this EP, there is going to be new versions of me and new stories to tell. There will be new things that come up to share. I want each track to hold its own in that way.
Dead Rhetoric: What else can you say about the EP, as your first release? What do you hope people will take from the experience?
Katerina: The biggest thing I took away from this experience was to take a look at, because it was during the pandemic as I had pushed music away many times in my life. During the pandemic it came back to me really hard. I really needed to give this a good shot. For me, it’s about doing what I really love to do in life. I have had this conversation with many people, and some might say that my dream has passed, or that I didn’t follow my dream, or it’s too late. To a young person or an older person, depending on who is reading this, you don’t have to do exactly what you think you lost as a dream.
For example, maybe down the line a door will open up for me in the future where I can have a different place in the music industry. But I’m for sure going to keep music close to me, because it’s what my heart and soul wants. So for someone listening to this EP, I hope they pick up on following their heart and their path – whatever is in the back of their mind, whatever is nagging on them to do what is going to make them really happy.
Dead Rhetoric: Like we said before, you have a few songs out there already. How do you feel the reaction has been, as three of the songs are already available to listen to?
Katerina: It’s been amazing. Everytime someone says that they have listened to it, or taken the time to listen to it, or it resonated with them in some way, it means the world to me. I hope that they feel better or can find some sort of healing. Or I hope they enjoyed the music or the visuals, all of that stuff. It’s pretty awesome.
Dead Rhetoric: Given the musical landscape, are you attempting to get signed by a label or are you looking to stay independent?
Katerina: I haven’t decided. I’m not going to be the one to shut it down 100% on signing with a label. I will be very careful and will negotiate something that is beneficial for me, and protect my art for sure. But I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t have a team that I have created and built. I definitely am looking to expand my team in different ways to help me out and make it easier to expand and grow. A manager would be great. An agent. My PR right now is fabulous because Tori and Amy brought me to you and I’m doing this because of them. All of these opportunities are because you have a team. It’s not easy to do things alone.
Dead Rhetoric: What are some of the challenges you face trying to make a name for yourself?
Katerina: Marketing is definitely not an easy game. It’s one that I think has to do with a lot of luck. If the right person hears you…networking is very important for me at this time. Being patient and being okay with the slow build.
Dead Rhetoric: Your songs don’t match a traditional ‘genre’ per say. What are some of the positives and negatives that are involved in that?
Katerina: I have found in this space that it is not easy to pinpoint an artist’s genre. A lot of us are trying to trailblaze and bend and not get put into a box. We aren’t as simple as country artists. The sound of country is really well known. You know it when you hear it, same with pop and a lot of other genres. This one is kind of unique in that it’s up to other people what they think it is, depending on the category. Even with playlisting, I have been added to some interesting playlists that I wouldn’t think that I would fit into, but they did so that’s where I’m put.
Dead Rhetoric: What are your hopes then, if you look forward with the music industry? What would you like to see, given these branching pathways? Personally or professionally.
Katerina: I hope that I can continue to build up my team that truly believes in me, and is trustworthy. To grow in that sense. That’s really important for me. I really want to just be performing. I want to put myself out there, I want to be in person. I want to meet people and have them get to know me, and see that my music is really who I am.
Dead Rhetoric: Have you played much live yet?
Katerina: I have been performing live since I was a kid, but I took a break for a while. It wasn’t until the pandemic that I started jumping on creating deep house tracks. That was all done online. I have been practicing with my band and we will be doing an EP release show February 22nd. That will be my first time live to showcase this EP and I hope it just continues from there.
Dead Rhetoric: If you could choose groups to open up for, since it’s easier to build yourself up more with someone headlining above you, who would you see as ideal picks with the music of this EP to go with?
Katerina: I have had a lot of inspiration, especially during the month and a half that I was in the studio creating, I was trying to pull as much inspiration as I could while finding what suits me. Who I would enjoy opening up for would be groups like Dayseeker, I really love Gore., I enjoy Cane Hill. Lamb of God would be a dream come true. My younger self would love to open up for a band like Rise Against, and they just came out with new music so that makes me really happy.
Dead Rhetoric: Do you feel too that your music can appeal to a broader audience than just the heavy music scene?
Katerina: Yeah, and I’m really okay with that. The broader music scene hasn’t had so many opportunities to get to know a lot of the metal world. If they aren’t born into that, or not actively seeking it, it’s hard. It’s not so mainstream. I hope that I do have enough of a soft side to find a place that is able to go mainstream and maybe help guide or take some fans by the hand to some deeper areas and explore it together. To help them ease into it. I think that’s okay.
Dead Rhetoric: Everyone looks at the term gateway band and a lot of people have a negative stereotype, but someone has to be the one to do it too. Otherwise you don’t get new blood into a scene.
Katerina: It’s a risky move [laughs], and probably some backlash on that, but I would be doing it for the benefit of everybody. I hope that it is received well if that’s the way things go.
Dead Rhetoric: I think too, with your first EP you are setting that tone from the start. It’s not like you are starting from a different spot and changing styles completely. You have set this open space to begin with, and the people who are going to find it are probably going to be more willing to take that trip with you, so to speak.
Katerina: It’s interesting how many metalheads I have talked to that really enjoy electronic music, or country or folk. As artists, we are diverse.
Dead Rhetoric: I saw you are into cooking/baking dishes. How would you compare the processes to songwriting in terms of creativity?
Katerina: I have always been the person to wing it [laughs]! That’s always been my motto. Sometimes it has bitten me in the butt [laughs] but I like to take risks, I like to be creative and just let things unfold as they may. I do the same thing with cooking. If I am having a bad day, I’ll just go and bake something. It might not turn out [well], but I’m going to do it anyway just for the process. That’s the same mindset I go into the studio with. I’m open to what sonic sounds I am going to hear today, and what I’m going to feel, and what I’m going to write down, and all that stuff.
Dead Rhetoric: When we started talking, you mentioned that EP 2 is coming. How much thought on the process have you done so far in terms of sound and what you are aiming for with it?
Katerina: I’m coming in with two feet now, because I have made it to the other side of this first EP, and I’m here, and here to stay. It’s a totally different feeling getting back into the studio and writing down different stories and feelings. I already knew I wanted to go in with more high energy, so that’s a bit of a teaser. I want more energy, I want more screams, I want my listeners and fans to be on that journey of growth, because it’s coming.
Dead Rhetoric: You have a release show planned, what else is coming up this year?
Katerina: I’m happy to say that I’m a free bird. I’m actively networking these opportunities, like talking to you and getting to know more people in the scene. Collaborations would be great, I’m dying to do a duet with any artist, male or female. I don’t have any requirements for that. If anyone is interested, I would absolutely love that. You don’t see that nearly enough I feel. When you see live performances and you see those duets happening, it’s magical. I’d love to create that in the studio and to perform. It’s standard for people to book early for festivals, so if I can get on anything this year, if anyone can hook me up with an opening slot, I’m ready and available.
I’m putting together a band as well. The band I have now is amazing! The guys are local and they have families. My producer is my bassist, so he’s full. My drummer is a full time studio musician now. So I can’t exactly take them across the world with me. I want to put together a band that wants to learn my songs and I can take them around…that would be great.
Dead Rhetoric: So who would be some names to do a duet? What’s the wishlist look like?
Katerina: Courtney LaPlante is going to be at the top of my list, because she was very inspiring to know that being heavy and screaming is possible. She’s been in the industry for so long. She has been making music forever. She was in iwrestledabearonce, which was crazy and hardcore. She’d be number one for sure. I love her melodies as well, as she portrays some very soft sides in her music too. I would also say Rory Rodriguez from Dayseeker, he also has a softer side and I think we would match very well. Bad Omens too, not just because they are so relevant and hot right now, but their song “Just Pretend,” I related to it so much. Palisades, those guys too! I’d love to collaborate with Sleep Token as well, they are so great! It’s really all about the right song, the right opportunity, and timing.
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