KRISTINA BAZAN and sharing stories in a virtual era

“VR” the latest track from KRISTINA BAZAN’s forthcoming EP EPVH1 is a sparkly, colorful, ecstatic and sexy song that questions realities, illusions, and relationships in the virtual era. It’s like a portal that magnets you to a realm created by Bazan and her beautiful mind surrounded by 80s synth and bass sounds.

Bazan, at 24, is a successful model, digital influencer, author and musician. Kristina is the brain behind Kayture’s creative vision and aesthetic. She is regularly featured in editorials and magazine covers such as Vogue, Elle and Grazia and had her own story feature on CNN.

Kristina was also chosen by Forbes as one of the 30 under 30 most influential personalities of 2016 in the category Art & Style.

Since May 2018, Kristina Bazan has been the first « Music Beauty Talent » for YvesSaintLaurent Beauty.

Kristina Bazan’s first EP will be released on October 26th and her first album is expected to be out January 2019!

Does music run in your family? When and how did you get into the field of music?

No, not at all in fact. Both my parents are very theoretical, pragmatic people. My mother is a mathematician, she works in finances and my dad is incredible when it comes to technology, coding etc. I'd say that I definitely got my love for the digital world from him. So when I turned 17 it was so natural for me to make my own website.

However, they truly didn't understand what was happening to me when I started singing, painting, dressing up while growing up... I'd be at the age of 6 setting up proper shows for them in the living room, stealing my mother's satin bras and wearing them over my ninja turtle sweater. They didn't really know where this love for art and creativity came from.

Do you write your own songs?

Yes I do. It's very important to me and it's probably the aspect of making music that I love most. The introspection it incites me to constantly do. I would actually say that in life one of my favorite things to do is to write. And especially tell stories.

I am definitely above all a story teller, before singer, before blogger, before anything else. I love telling stories, and not just mine but also those of others. So whether it's an entry on my blog or a song, it makes me feel just as happy to be able to write and share, I just do it in different ways when it comes to music.

When it comes to a song, you have to make a message pass very quickly, you don't have time to really elaborate like when you write an article or book, you don't have all that space. And also you need your story to fit the right melody and rhythm. I absolutely love songwriting and I wish to be able to do it more and more for other artists too.

Who/what shaped your musical style?

I guess life, aha although that's a very boring answer but it is true!

Why do we all react in different ways to what happens to us? Why do we have different personalities, different tastes? Is it a matter of where we were born, how we were raised?

I like the idea of going to the root of an idea, or an emotion and making it universal, understandable for everyone. So that no matter where you come from, the message can speak to you.

I think we all have our personal influences, a specific taste or stylistic preferences. I have always been very curious and attentive to what's happening around me. I'm kind of like a sponge constantly absorbing information and trying to share it back with my own grain of salt in it.

I think movies mainly shaped my love for music, I love to have an image when I hear a song. I love also how when you listen to music and close your eyes, a whole movie starts playing. It's magical what music triggers in our mind. It's quite mysterious actually.

I would say the work of David Lynch influenced my taste of music massively, I love how he uses sound in his work to direct the story and the emotions of the audience, creating tension, suspense. Also, Angelo Badalamenti who is the genius behind most of Lynch's movie soundtracks has been a huge source of inspiration, especially when it comes to that retro-futuristic 80’s vibe, with a lot of sensual, dark synthesizers.

Tell us more about your song VR. What’s the story behind it?

I love 80’s music and all the glam, psychedelic rock scene from the late 70’s, bands like Blondie or Siouxsie and the Banshees. I wanted a sound that would be dark, enigmatic and melancholic yet fun and sensual.

I wanted to create a track that can be listened on several layers, the first one is just the one where you want to dance and have fun, but if you pay attention to the lyrics they change your perspective of the song in a way.

The subject itself is one that I am really interested by. I am fascinated by technology and our progression in that field. I think VR is going to take over the world in a massive way and will revolutionize entertainment in general as well as our social dynamics. So the whole point of this track was to question reality and illusions.

Were you a part of the conception of the beautiful music video?

Absolutely, I co-directed it with my amazing director Giovanna Gorassini. Usually when I write any new song, I always have a visual storyline in my head and so when I wrote VR I knew exactly from the beginning, as soon as I set my pen down on the table, what the music video would have to be.

The first thing I saw, was actually the hostess of the club, a futuristic manga like figure, and the club itself. Then I wanted a character that anyone could identify with, so in order to make that happen, it had to be a fantasy character, so I imagined this fish boy. Then I say the disco lights, the guitars, the glitters and yet the predominant darkness and mystery. Giovanna managed perfectly to capture the essence of the song and add the surreal, magical feeling to it.

Any updates on your upcoming “Honey and Venom” album? What can the audience expect from it?

The album is still in the works. I want to take some time to adapt it to the reactions of the audience when they will get to discover the EP. I want to know what they want to hear, what they prefer and so on as I also do it for them. I could have kept doing music for myself, for my own pleasure, jamming with my friends and such. But the reason I decided to go public, is to have this sharing, this interaction with them too. I want them to be involved, in a way, in the songwriting process.

A lot of what I write about are also reactions or emotions I base on the relationship I have with them, what they write me, whether it's love or hate. I think this first EP is a very honest introduction, it reflects very well the different layers that I want to explore on the album. It sets down all the main ingredients. But truthfully, I don't want people to expect anything from the album.

I want them to approach it with a free mind without any set expectations, but to give me a chance to tell them something new. Because knowing myself, I feel like people are expecting something too specific, I will tend to flip it and do the very opposite..

Dream project?

Well, of course I would absolutely love, love, love to get to work with David Lynch. It would be an absolute dream come true.

If you ever do karaoke, what will be your go-to karaoke song?

It has always been Madonna's like a virgin! I also have a little dance routine to go along with it.

What’s the last song stuck in your head right now?

Childish Gambino's Summertime Magic.

Top 3 songs in your playlist.

Hard one... my top 3 keeps changing all the time. Right now I would say:

1. Feelin' Lovely - Devonte Hynes

2. Red Moon - Mehari

3. Cherry-coloured Funk - Cocteau Twins

Who would you like to collaborate with and why?

I'm a bit superstitious actually so I feel like if I say who I wish to collaborate with, it will never happen haha. But I am really so open to working with anyone with who there could be great chemistry and mutual creative respect.

I think music is so beautiful when it's collaborative, wonderful things can come out of it and having that kind of perspective and second outlook is so special.

Tell us more about your bestseller book “ON THE GO.”

Wow, it's been a while since anybody asked me about this book. Very funny. Actually I am really proud of it.

Like I said, I always absolutely loved writing and it was really special for me to write this book at such a young age and to have these words on paper for the rest of my life. I had to be really careful about what I said because in your early 20’s (I started writing this book when I was 19) you don't have anything figured out and your opinion changes a lot.

So I had to be very objective and really think twice about what I said. It was an incredible experience putting it all out there, I feel like it helped people understand me better. It was still in a time in my life though where I was searching myself, when I still felt like a child.

Now I feel like a woman, a lot has changed ever since. But I feel very touched every time I read it again, because it reflects who I used to be, the questions I asked myself, this pursuit of purity I've always been after. I am proud of what I've achieved and I've gotten the most incredible letters of readers who really got moved and inspired to pursue their own dreams after reading it. And this is the biggest achievement I have made so far. Is to be able to give confidence to others through sharing my own life experiences.

If you’re a book, what book will you be and why?

I am torn between two books. The first "Letters to a young Poet" by Rilke, because it talks about art, purity, love, the right way of creating. It's a book that I re-read regularly because it's so sincere, so timeless, so elegant and goes really in depth into our human nature and it's paradoxes.

I care sometimes a bit too much about what other people think, this book really helped me take perspective and stop justifying myself constantly.

The second book would have to be "Steppenwolf" by Hesse. It's a book that changed me, truly. For the best. A lot happens, I don't want to spoil the story, but it talks about femininity, masculinity, our inability to understand and confront pain, our ignorance most times when it comes to the relationship we share with our own selves and the absolute misunderstanding we have of it.

But above all, it says that the most important thing to learn in life is to learn how to love, how to laugh and how to dance.

Check out Kristina’s new music video for her song, “VR” from her new EP, “EPHV1!”