A Russian Rocker Chick Hits America
For some of us, this lockdown has been one long string of boring days mixed with wine-soaked nights. Every morning checking the news for clues on the latest developments and any word on how long we will be confined to our homes and away from friends and activities we love.
Some musicians in contrast are having the time of their life! Often to makes ends meet, to pay for studio time, to shoot videos, or hire a choreographer, a musician takes a job with a little more stability, pay wise, than a new career in the music industry offers.
The drawback to all this bill-paying “freedom” is the time stolen from their passion. They end up having to steal moments to hone their craft and to keep it up becomes a struggle. Now most are home practicing social distancing and music is being produced at lightning speed. It’s amazing what one is capable of when given the time and freedom to solely create.
In a few months it will feel like musical Christmas. All the pent up ideas and riffs that have been pushed to the backs of these musicians’ minds will be available for our listening pleasure and there is one thing I am pretty excited about - New Metal Music.
There is one artist I have had my eye on and was fortunate enough to get a chance to interview. Anastasia Luna. I met her about a year ago when out for drinks in New York. Her personality drew me in and then after some fun conversation, amused by her Russian accent, I was surprised to find out she was a stonecold, recording, and performing metalhead! I have been following her music since and can’t wait to see what she has coming out of the recording studio next.
She grew up in Obninsk, a small military/science town near Moscow where the first Nuclear Power Plant in the world was built. Her grandfather was a scientist, her great uncle, Russia’s Ambassador to NATO, and her father, an opera-singing actor, and engineer in the military. Her mother was a theater director and her grandmother, a piano player. “I had no chance of a normal life”, she recalls.
Luna started Classical Music School at the age of Seven. Classes, six days a week, exams, and performances that also included the piano.
She credits her good taste in rock music to her father, explaining that she grew up listening to Deep Purple and Freddy Mercury. She feels that rock music is very similar to classical with the dramatic instrumentals and metal takes it a step further and is akin to sped up classical.
Anastasia came to New York a decade ago from Russia with $300 in her pocket and the self-confidence to jump into the music scene. She worked six months as an AuPair and the rest is history. She met master voice teacher Judy Hages who is one of the only teachers in the world to teach Bel Canto, an Italian vocal technique from the18th Century. She was then introduced to triple-platinum artist Tony Lewis and started recording and producing with him.
She has a killer stage presence which was obvious at a Gay Pride event hosted in the meatpacking district, (have I mentioned she’s a smoking hot lesbian?) and energy that doesn’t quit.
Today you can definitely hear how unique her music is. There is a lot of new metal out there - black metal, death metal - but no one-word or genre quite describes what Luna is contributing. You can hear the classical training in her voice, the rhythmic patterns of dub-step, the driving force of rock, and just the right amounts of aggression and virtuosity of metal.
In the world of Metal Music, the ratio between men and women is way off so I definitely agree with the amazing shredder Nita Strauss, "it's cool to see more women stepping into this role." and I would love to see more edging their way into the field. We need more girls in metal and more all-female metal bands.
When I asked Anastasia what we can expect from her next, she replied:
“What's coming now is gonna put me on the map. I can't tell you much now, it's still in the early stages, but it's gonna be something very special. The musicians that I’m working with right now are classically trained, but metalheads at heart, it's gonna be awesome.”
I suggest keeping up on your metal news because from this chicks level of determination, I’m guessing it won’t be long before her name is popping up on Metalinjection.net.
While we wait for her new stuff check out her latest video to her single, Hourglass, and give her a follow on her Instagram.