News
Featured Artist: Icevena
24 Nov
Writing, producing, and recording music from her home in Sydney, Icevena is carving a new path in underground dance music with an ear for pop structures and strong hooks. Taking her classical upbringing into the realm of dark electronic, Icevena melds her diverse influences into a unique sound that defies genres.
We had a chat with Icevena about her latest single, Heart to Break, and her approach to creating music.
How and why did you start making music?
I started out playing classical flute in school concert band and orchestra. I loved the feeling of making music with a big group. I decided to continue music study at UNSW, I entered the degree with flute as my major. In second year I wanted to switch to composition stream- but I wasn’t allowed to! My lecturer, bless him, thought I would be better off sticking with flute. So I finished my degree with flute. But then, I took an honours year where I just wrote and produced electronic music full time for the whole year. Haha. And then I kept going with it, eventually adding in my own vocals.
You write, produce and record your music at your home studio, that’s impressive! How important is it to you to be able to do these things yourself?
I love producing at home, I feel like I can really do anything I want creatively and take it anywhere. But recording my own vocals at home is really tough, it gets messy and disorganised, and the room isn’t soundproofed so I have to be careful. I usually record on the weekend when there is slightly less traffic! I’m going to try recording my vocals in a studio soon to really up the quality.
What is your creative process like?
I start with producing the instrumental- I get down a lot of ideas and then pick the best ones to put into an arrangement of a song. There might be some gaps at this stage though. Then I gauge the mood and emotion of the song and look through my notes of lyrics. I have a note app with lots of lyrics that come to me at different times. From this I write more lyrics until the song structure is complete. This is the hardest part of the process for me.
Your latest single, Heart to Break’, is out today - congrats! Can you run us through what this track is about?
Thank you! Heart To Break is a triumphant revenge anthem. It’s not a heartbreak song, though it might seem like one at first glance. It’s basically a victory dance on the grave of a failed relationship. It’s about the time when the rose-tinted glasses finally come off and you see someone for who they really are.
What's coming up for Icevena?
I want to develop a live show including my own vocals, and start playing shows next year. I’ve got plenty of songs to come, lockdown was a very productive time for me!
What advice would you give to anyone who is thinking about pursuing music?
You have to be dedicated to the craft, always improving and investing in your own self-development as an artist.
You can listen to Heart to Break here.
Find out more & follow Icevena:
Facebook
Instagram
Youtube
Triple j Unearthed
We had a chat with Icevena about her latest single, Heart to Break, and her approach to creating music.
How and why did you start making music?
I started out playing classical flute in school concert band and orchestra. I loved the feeling of making music with a big group. I decided to continue music study at UNSW, I entered the degree with flute as my major. In second year I wanted to switch to composition stream- but I wasn’t allowed to! My lecturer, bless him, thought I would be better off sticking with flute. So I finished my degree with flute. But then, I took an honours year where I just wrote and produced electronic music full time for the whole year. Haha. And then I kept going with it, eventually adding in my own vocals.
You write, produce and record your music at your home studio, that’s impressive! How important is it to you to be able to do these things yourself?
I love producing at home, I feel like I can really do anything I want creatively and take it anywhere. But recording my own vocals at home is really tough, it gets messy and disorganised, and the room isn’t soundproofed so I have to be careful. I usually record on the weekend when there is slightly less traffic! I’m going to try recording my vocals in a studio soon to really up the quality.
What is your creative process like?
I start with producing the instrumental- I get down a lot of ideas and then pick the best ones to put into an arrangement of a song. There might be some gaps at this stage though. Then I gauge the mood and emotion of the song and look through my notes of lyrics. I have a note app with lots of lyrics that come to me at different times. From this I write more lyrics until the song structure is complete. This is the hardest part of the process for me.
Your latest single, Heart to Break’, is out today - congrats! Can you run us through what this track is about?
Thank you! Heart To Break is a triumphant revenge anthem. It’s not a heartbreak song, though it might seem like one at first glance. It’s basically a victory dance on the grave of a failed relationship. It’s about the time when the rose-tinted glasses finally come off and you see someone for who they really are.
What's coming up for Icevena?
I want to develop a live show including my own vocals, and start playing shows next year. I’ve got plenty of songs to come, lockdown was a very productive time for me!
What advice would you give to anyone who is thinking about pursuing music?
You have to be dedicated to the craft, always improving and investing in your own self-development as an artist.
You can listen to Heart to Break here.
Find out more & follow Icevena:
Youtube
Triple j Unearthed
