Violet is a German band that recently released its sophomore album called “Mysteria”. Truth be told here; this is one of the best hard rock releases of 2024 and we are not exaggerating at all! These guys have managed to capture the atmosphere of the 80’s to an absolute degree and the least we could do was to track down Violet’s guitarist Manuel Heller for all the details…
Interview: Sakis Nikas
Rockpages.gr: Guys, congratulations on an excellent work on “Mysteria”. Second studio album…which are the main differences compared to the debut “Illusions” that was released in 2022?
Manuel Heller: First of all, thank you so much, we can’t believe it’s finally ready to be released! We put somuch work and so incredibly much time into this album! The main differences are most probably that the songs themselves are way more “mature”, and the arrangements are sounding more like a real band – this wasn’t really given that much on our debut album, since it was composed mainly on synthesizers only. “Mysteria” has way more guitar work/presence in it, and has a very different approach!
Rockpages.gr: Once again you have captured perfectly the 80s spirit not only with the song structure but most importantly with the sound and the production that brings to mind all those great mid-80s AOR tunes. I was wondering if you use some old-school technique or even 80s equipment in order to bring out this nostalgic yet authentic sound…
Manuel Heller: Wow, that’s a really cool question right here! Well, the approach in regards with how to mix it was very old-school, since our producer didn’t use 637828 effects, reverbs, delays, parallel compressions etc. just for the sake of it, but he only used a very limited amount of them – just like back in those days, when you didn’t have those options. For instance, the recording of the drums was also very “old-school”, using a classic Gretsch and the classic old-school microphones & pre-amps through an old Studer Console. Also we used old synthesizer models like Rolands legendary Juno-60, Jupiter 8 & D-50 just to mention some of them. But the most important oldschool thing we had was probably our dear producer Andi Konstandaras! He is our studio wizard, and responsible for this authentic production sound!
Rockpages.gr: I grew up as a teenager in the late 80s and I lived and breathed that era. Yet, you are much younger but you leave us under the impression that you are fully aware of what was going on back then. How’s that possible? Did your parents or maybe older friends told you all about that era?
Manuel Heller: Lots of people are asking us this question, and it’s not that easy to answer it. Of course we heard this great music from our parents at some point, like on the kitchen radio or in their cars. Jamie was visiting many many concerts together with her mom when she was a kid, so in her case it probably was a big reason that she found her way into this music! But talking for all of us, I personally think that most of the things we know about that era we learned on our own somehow, learning about 80s bands online & listening to their albums straight ahead, doing even researches about bands and songs just because we have a huge interest in it, and all of those kinda things. So, yes our parents were definitely an important part of this, but sometimes even our parents are wondering like “how in the world do you know this song?”! (laughs)
Rockpages.gr: Even your video-clips set out an 80s aura…like there were shot on an old camera with a VHS tape. By the way, congratulations on the perfect video for “Bad Dream …
Manuel Heller: Thanks a lot! Yeah our 3 music videos from our debut album ‘Illusions’ were actually filmed with a 90s handcam and were made completely by ourselves! But for the 2 new ones (“Angelina” & “Bad Dream”) we started to work with a good friend, Christofer von Collas, who absolutely nailed it! He filmed with a very modern camera, but of course we made sure that it still looks as authentic as possible, and we think the result is just beautiful! Personally,
Rockpages.gr: I believe that “Mysteria” is even better and more diverse than “Illusions. What do you think?
Manuel Heller: It’s definitely different. And you’re probably right, that it’s more diverse, since the songs are partially longer, and many have some special parts in it, which I personally love very much! In general I really like to have an album which shows different sides of a band. So it has ballads, power ballads, songs with more pop approach, rock anthems, and even some more “demanding” songs. There’s just something for everyone on it, and that’s pretty important I think!
Rockpages.gr: What’s the feedback so far in Germany? Do people support this old-school sound of yours?
Manuel Heller: The feedback is amazing! There are actually so many people being open for this kind of retro sound, and their support just means everything to us! Regarding the modern music having more and more of those 80s elements in it, we do think, that this old-school sound is pretty much in trend lately, and it definitely shows!
Rockpages.gr: What does it take to make the music of Violet more well-known and why not established, in a wider, global audience?
Manuel Heller: Probably lots of luck and good timing! You really can’t predict that as a musician, you just gotta play gigs, have fun on stage, do your thing, and maybe someday you catch radio’s attention or go viral on social media for example. Times have changed, and now you can never know what will happen next – there are so many possibilities!
Rockpages.gr: Is there a thin line between being fresh and at the same time nostalgic?
Manuel Heller: Actually I don’t know! There are modern songs which are absolutely nostalgic, and old songs which are absolutely (still) fresh nowadays.
Rockpages.gr: I hear influences by bands like Starship, Kim Wilde and Roxette…how would you describe your sound to someone who doesn’t even know Violet?
Manuel Heller: We would definitely say, Violet is a mixture out of bands like Heart, Starship & Roxette, with the love for choirs mainly inspired by bands like ABBA & Journey!
Rockpages.gr: Future plans…will you tour for the promotion of “Mysteria”?
Manuel Heller: We will see how many gigs we’ll get in for 2025/2026, but we wanna visit as many places as possible! Also Greece would be a dream coming true!!
Rockpages.gr: Last but certainly not least: what’s the very definition of success nowadays?
Manuel Heller: I think it’s been the same definition since always: when people listen to your music, connecting it to their feelings, their experiences & their mood. Music is made for the heart and if you can make someones day or guide them through tough times just by listening to your music, you’ve achieved everything a musician can possibly achieve.
