HOME
NEWS
MUSIC
PRESS
VISUALS
WRITINGS
FASHION
RELEASES
GALLERY
CONTACT
TRIVIA

WRITINGS

Walking Down Memory Lane

How I got into dark and alternative music? I always had this natural attraction to the dark, the unknown, the unusual. I always read a lot and thought a lot about Life. I always had intense dreams and strange magical visions. Thus, I have always been artistic and quite rebellious and didn't feel comfortable with the main crowd around me.

Music has always been important to me and, thus, I was really drawn to unusual and melancholic music. So it was obvious that I was getting into Post Punk, New Wave and British Synth Pop at an early age. I really loved Ultravox and I remember quite many times in my room, crying, alone and misunderstood, and then I listened to Ultravox's Lament or
Serenade for comfort. Later, a friend of mine introduced me to a great influence for me: New Model Army. I just loved the lyrics and when I was alone, angry and misunderstood, New Model Army spoke to me. From there I got more and more into gothic and extreme underground sounds. When others went to discos, me and my strange friends would drive all night listening to Dead Can Dance and stopping eventually by a cementary to "hang out". I'm sure you all did that, hehe.

As a child, I lived in both Britain and the USA, and I found inspiration in both countries. But I always felt a deep connection to Britain. I just loved all the old mysteries, the villages, the cool trendy cities, plus it was here one could find the most diverse trends and bizarre underground cultures. I started to explore them all: from music scenes, to fashion scenes, to secluded occult scenes. And I lived a pretty wild and extreme life.

Who doesn't know the infamous Slimelight club, or the Batcave club? Boy George used to go there. One of my favourite clubs in London was the Hard Club. Martin Gore from Depeche Mode was also a frequent guest there and we started to hang out together. I remember we often used to dance Der Mussolini together. I actually have to credit myself for that the infamous Londoner Fetish club Torture Garden was named just that. The Torture Garden is a well-known club that attracts a large number of celebrities, like Dita Von Teese. We never thought that this club would ever become that big.
Many years ago, I was living next door to the founder of the club, Dave. And I came to visit him often, talking about decadent books, films, etc. and I introduced him to the great song by Six Comm, In The Torture Garden. He really liked the song and the name. I remember I once had a bizarre night out in the Torture Garden with Boyd Rice. He is a really
charming man. By that time, I was involved with LaVey, his church, and the Left-Hand Path magical scene. I was a priestess of an infamous Left-Hand Path order as well. I also got more and more involved with the Neo-Folk and Ambient/Noise artists, such as Ian Read, David Tibet and Tony Wakeford, since they connected their music more to the occult scene. We had some pretty crazy and funny times.

All this is a long time ago now and, as you know, I have become a professional artist since then. My work is very individual and I don't mind attracting mainstream with it. So, to be honest, I really don't know what is going on anymore in today's alternative music scene. The kind of music I listen to today is diverse. I like Editors, White Lies, Interpol, or even Lissie, for example.

So, for me, Gothic or Punk Rock or Independent are really about the "good old times" in the past. Sometimes when I need time out from everyday life, I put on the old records and dance to my favourites: The Chameleons, The Bolshoi, Virgin Prunes, Fisher's Z, NMA, Ministry, Alien Sex Fiend, Danse Society, Coil, etc... and I walk down memory lane...

(Feature appeared in the book Schillerndes Dunkel and Darklands magazine)

Back