Band Interview: Scorching Winter
Scorching Winter is a female-fronted hard rock band based in Melbourne, Australia. Their current lineup consists of: Konstantina Papadimitriou, Vocals; Rafael Katigbak, Guitar; Natalie Bellio, Keyboards; Glenn Treasure, Bass; and Nick James on Drums. In Aug 2015, the band released their first EP “Peripheral” earning them airplay and new fans around the world. This year, the band is set to reach new heights with their first full length concept album “Victim” which contains their fiercest work to date.
In contrast to other female-fronted rock bands, they offer stronger emphasis on instrumentation and composition. They like catchy guitar riffs with unexpected style changes. This is what gives their music a slightly progressive feel. Scorching Winter delves into a unique dark artistry, inspired to take listeners on a musically satisfying, metal-edged journey.
1. How did you get started as a band?
SW Rafael Katigbak: Back in 2012, I got together with Nick (drummer). We jammed on a few songs I had written. We liked the way it sounded so we pushed on and formed the band.
2. How would you describe your sound?
SW Rafael Katigbak: To put it simply our music is hard rock/metal with melodic female vocals. The exact subgenre is a bit hard to classify, we have been called prog metal, symphonic metal, old school heavy metal and so on. Some people classify it as female fronted metal but I don’t think this is even a real genre.
3. What bands/artists would you say have influenced your style of music?
SW Rafael Katigbak: The common influences are Dream Theater, Metallica and Iron Maiden. Individually we have more specific subgenres we like. Tina (singer) likes Theatres des Vampires, Marilyn Manson and Slipknot and because of these influences she brings a bit of theatre to our music. Glenn (bass) is a prog man so basically Rush, Ayreon, and Yes. Nick (drummer) likes the classics like megadeth, Iron maiden. Natalie being a classical pianist / musician has influences, we have never heard of. However, she is still a metalhead and is into Opeth, DT and Tool. I like epic sounding bands like Dream Theater and Kamelot.
4. Has the rise of YouTube & music streaming helped or hindered you as a band?
SW Rafael Katigbak: It has definitely helped us. If we relied on the traditional path of musos we would have quit a long time ago. And a lot of bands we started out with have done just that. What really kept us going is that we have reached beyond the borders of the local circuit. It gives you motivation that there are people out there who want to listen to your music. There is something more to this than just playing the same type of shows to declining audiences in your local area.
5. What do you enjoy doing when you’re not making music?
SW Rafael Katigbak: I’m a big foodie so I quite like cooking and eating out. I have an Instagram account where I document my culinary escapades.
6. What are your future plans musically? Tours?
SW Rafael Katigbak: In the immediate future, we’re looking to ramp up our online activity like music videos, online performances, etc so we can reach more of our overseas fans.
We would like to thank Scorching Winter for their time & Stencil PR for arranging the interview. You can find out more about the band by going to their official website, checking out their Facebook page, Instagram & YouTube Channel.
