Los Angeles-based artist Vik Kovacs talks early music influences in London and Manchester, his band “Telling Secrets” and some of his favorite music releases.
We caught up with Vik to find out more...
Hi Vik, how have you been? Amazing, thank you! Living the dream in Los Angeles right now.
What got you into music and made you realize that it was your chosen path? It was a performance with Station Road in London. We were playing Lonely Boy or Johnny B Goode and it was time for a guitar solo. The crowd were chanting my name and I felt invincible. As if I was in Motley Crüe or something like that. I got a taste of the admiration and I’ve been chasing that ever since.
How would you describe the music that you typically create? It’s hard rock driven by thunderous guitars, angelic vocals supplemented by dark, atmospheric synthesizers.
Tell us about the song ‘The Fall’. Yes so “The Fall” – Telling Secrets is the final release from a visual trilogy that is comprised of two earlier releases, “Secret Lies” and “Casting Stones” which form a modern twist on Romeo and Juliet. This was written in 2020 and recorded in Manchester and Surrey during the Covid-19 pandemic and was mixed by Zack Baker in the US. The music video was shot just days before my departure to the US to study music in Hollywood.
What is the inspiration behind the lyrics? The lyrics are a representation of the on-screen events of self-destructive behaviors which can be found on my YouTube channel. A big inspiration for the riff started off with the opening soundtrack from the film School of Rock and then later evolved into its own thing.
Tell us about the songs process – instrumental first or lyrics? The opening riff was the very first thing that came into fruition and I was influenced by Escape the Fate’s “Dying is your Latest Fashion” album as well as “Boulevard of Broken Dreams” by Green Day for the chorus and bridge riffs respectively.
What elements are there for the instrumental? I used about 10 guitar layers in the bridge section to create a wall of sound and combined it with some atmospheric and eerie vocals to create an interesting bed for the powerful lead vocals.
How many versions did you go through before finalizing? Just one. This song happened very naturally and quickly. The vocal takes were already sounding absolutely amazing without processing as they were recorded with David Coyle in a studio in Wigan, UK using the very same microphone that was used by Freddie Mercury on “A Night at The Opera” amongst other albums and was also borrowed by David Bowie. It was a very surreal experience.
The full story is found on YouTube and the order to watch the music videos in is Secret Lies, Casting Stones, The Fall.
Another great song release is “Fragile” – Telling Secrets. What’s the story behind that one? I always save my first writing session on my computer as the date and this song was written in December 2021. This song came together quite quickly if I recall correctly. The only thing I didn’t have nailed down was the title as it ended up having a name that doesn’t feature in the lyrics at all.
Tell us about the lyrics? The main theme of the song is having to make the decision between being truthful with someone and potentially hurting them, or whether it’s worth shielding them from the truth, at least until they are ready, or whether that is dishonesty regardless of the intention.
Instrumental first or lyrics? Music first. The guitar riff almost always starts the process for me. The chorus’ melody usually follows and then I fill out the verses and go from there.
What's the best way to follow you online? Spotify, Instagram or TikTok are my most active pages. Tickets to our UK show in London, Soho on June 30th are available through the link on the Instagram, Facebook and TikTok pages.
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