SOURCE – We love your album, which blends electro, pop, and metal so well. Those aren’t obvious musical companion genres, but you make it work superbly. Which band members bring which parts of the music spectrum to your sound?
Jessica Allanic (Vocals, Guitars, Keyboard) – Jess creates the initial demos when writing the songs, then gives them to Ben and Alizon so they can add their elements for drums and bass.
This is how the sound evolves, with Jess incorporating their contributions into the final demos to establish the sound of each song before the beginning of the final mixing and production process.
SOURCE – Promoting an album in the digital age presents unique challenges, especially with so much content vying for attention. How do you ensure that your album stands out from the competition?
Jessica Allanic (Vocals, Guitars, Keyboard) – Honestly, that’s something we don’t really know how to do, but we have a fantastic team of managers who handle those aspects of the industry in an efficient and friendly way!
SOURCE – You put a lot of effort into your music videos ‘W.T.F.’ and ‘Aimless.’ Who comes up with the ideas for them? They also look very professional and expensive. How much do you shoot yourselves, and how much help do you have?
Jessica Allanic (Vocals, Guitars, Keyboard) – From the beginning, Jess has based her video scripts on a story she began writing and illustrating at age 10. With each new experience, she refines her scripts to convey the Calva Louise story in a multidisciplinary way, expanding the story with each new song and video.
Since Calva Louise never had a significant budget, we handle every step of creating our videos ourselves. The team consists of the three of us. When we don’t have a budget, we even take out loans to create at least our performance videos, all designed by Jess to reflect elements of the story.
For the characters appearing in the videos, we count on our best friends and sometimes our fans to help fill in parts of the story, as we did in the video for ‘La Corriente.’
Jess also learned how to create special effects using software like Blender and After Effects, because we can’t afford to hire someone for that.
We constantly face the challenge of making time to do everything, especially Jess, who is almost always risking burnout by doing more than she can while touring, preparing video shoots, creating social media clips, and designing artwork for each release.
This is a never-ending effort because there are so many ongoing tasks for all of us. But we always support each other to persevere, overcome every challenge, and achieve every goal.
Given that everything is difficult, laborious, and excessively expensive, especially regarding equipment and logistics, our motivation to provide an immersive experience for our audience keeps us strong and helps us find solutions to every challenge we face.
We are constantly seeking resources to finance equipment, sets, and props—which are always built entirely by Alizon—and other essential details handled by Ben during shoots. Alizon and Ben also manage the transportation of all our band equipment, along with the sets and lighting we need as filmmakers, especially for the character performances, all under Jess’s direction.
Our main goal is to show through the videos how all the songs connect, whether as prequels or sequels to our first Lore-themed production, the video for the song ‘Camino,’ which we released independently in 2020.
Currently, we’re making great progress because we’ve finally gained a level of experience and skills, even though it’s never enough to reach the quality we aim for. The hardest part has always been securing even a minimal budget to improve our work, which currently stands at zero.
SOURCE – You’re able to deliver your songs in both English and Spanish. Why do you choose to do this, and what do you love about it? Could you tell us about the songs ‘Lo Que Vale’ and ‘La Corriente’?
Jessica Allanic (Vocals, Guitars, Keyboard) – For Jess, writing in Spanish is completely spontaneous because it is her native language. The ideas and sounds that come to her in Spanish are left as they arise because translating them into English can make them lose their essence. When she writes in English, it’s the same process because the ideas come spontaneously in English too, as Calva Louise is a British band.
Using both English and Spanish helps us build a strong connection with our new followers. The meaning of the lyrics resonates more with Latin American audiences, especially in songs like ‘Lo Que Vale’ and ‘La Corriente,’ where the lyrics represent real experiences that Jess connects to symbolic representations of different perceptions of reality.
SOURCE – You’ve less burst onto the scene and more built up a solid fan base over time while also maturing as musicians.
Jessica Allanic (Vocals, Guitars, Keyboard) – We are constantly working to solidify the foundations of our artistic output and strive to achieve the high quality necessary to reach a wider audience, especially those who have yet to discover Calva Louise as both a band and a visual art project.
SOURCE – Do you think that has helped you understand both the music industry and yourselves, benefiting you now when you need it most?
Jessica Allanic (Vocals, Guitars, Keyboard) – Our project focuses on capturing the story’s abstract ideas as comprehensively as possible—not with personal ambitions, nor with the goal of understanding the industry or life—but solely with the intention of establishing a closer connection with the audience, to whom all our efforts are directed.
SOURCE – In a scene awash with bands, you manage to stand out for all the right reasons. Are there any other emerging artists you think have a cool sound? Is there anyone you’d like to give a shout-out to?
Jessica Allanic (Vocals, Guitars, Keyboard) – Yes, Bobby Wolfgang, who is re-emerging after the dissolution of his band with a new project that has a truly great sound, impressive techniques, and an outstanding live show.
SOURCE – Streaming platforms like Spotify have dramatically changed how music is consumed. How has your relationship with them evolved, and do you feel they’ve had a positive impact on your career?
Jessica Allanic (Vocals, Guitars, Keyboard) – Our relationship with streaming platforms has evolved alongside changes in algorithms and trends. Although progress is slow and time-consuming, we’ve established direct contact with many more followers, especially new audiences who often share how they discovered us. The algorithm is crucial for our visibility in organic digital streaming, which, along with live concerts, remains the most valuable way for us to access new audiences.
SOURCE – As album promotion increasingly moves online, do you miss traditional aspects like live TV performances, radio interviews, and magazine spreads? How do you adapt to the digital-first landscape?
Jessica Allanic (Vocals, Guitars, Keyboard) – There are still excellent radio and magazine interviews, and we’ve adapted fairly easily to technological advances. Since our beginnings in 2016, digital promotion has consistently reached wider audiences than traditional media.
SOURCE – Jess, how was your move from Venezuela to France? Do you still stay connected with what’s happening in Venezuela?
Jessica Allanic (Vocals, Guitars, Keyboard) – Changing countries of residence is a very complicated process with many variables to consider. But the important thing is that Calva Louise is a multicultural band with roots across three continents.
We’ve received many positive messages from people in Venezuela, as well as from Venezuelans living all over the world.
SOURCE – Your support has grown hugely over time. Is there anything you’d like to say to those who have been with you since the beginning, as well as those just discovering you now?
Jessica Allanic (Vocals, Guitars, Keyboard) – We’ve personally known many of our fans from the beginning and built a bond of trust that we continue to express on social media, especially on our Discord server.
To those just discovering us, we warmly invite you to our Discord, where we share everything related to our music in a more personal way. We’re also currently revamping the entire explanation of the sci-fi lore we explore in our videos.
Contacts:
Video:
Photo Credit: band
- NOTE ABOUT AI USE IN THIS DOCUMENT!
This document has been thoroughly reviewed and corrected for spelling, grammar, and syntax errors using advanced AI-driven proofreading tools. The AI system used is designed to analyze and enhance the language of the text, ensuring it adheres to proper English conventions while maintaining the original meaning and tone.
The proofreading process involved identifying and correcting typographical errors, sentence structure issues, and inconsistencies in punctuation. The document has been refined to meet the highest standards of spelling, grammar, and overall readability.