Interview: La Ventura - With Their Own Sound & Following Their Own Path

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The La-Ventura is a Dutch band, a country that has shown and has several big names in the metal scene, which has been gaining ground in the scene, with two albums released, "A New Beginning" (2008) and "White Crow" (2013) and search from the beginning hone their sound and identity, making a Symphonic Metal more directed to guitar, mixing groove, weight and melody, as well as Gothic Metal influences.


The band has been working a lot in the promotion of their work, and the new compositions to take the next steps, and the EP "La-Ventura 2.0" (which will be released on november 7th) aims to show the evolution of the band, betting a lot of the new songs, which they say will show the entire potential of the group.We had talked with singer Carla Van Huizen to know more about La-Ventura, the new EP, the plans of the band and more! See below. 



RtM: To start, for those knowing the band now, you could tell us a little about the beginning of the band and how would you define the sound of La Ventura?

Carla Van Huizen: Hi everyone! La-Ventura is: Carla- vocals, Mike-bass, Saz-guitar and Stef-drums.

Our music is defined as: Female fronted Rock Metal with melodic and gothic influences.

RtM: At first, the sound of La Ventura and sometimes your style reminded me a little of Within Temptation, following a similar line, with symphonic elements, but with more modern nuances, something that the WT has also been showing in recent years. They are an influence for you? 

Carla: Nope, no influence at all ;) We have been the odd band out for nearly 8 years. Never had opera/soprano singing, never had too thick arrangements on piano etc, nor straight forward blastbeats.

It has been from the start groove, mixed with melody; combining Metal and Rock where it suits best for my voice.

So at first nobody could label us, but  "hey there is a girl in the band" and "wow they have piano in it", so it must be Gothic ;)!

RtM: And where the La Ventura fits into Dutch and European Metal scenario?

Carla: Nowadays we are seen as a band with their own sound, following their own path and doing what it does best.  
Maybe we now are in front of the line, instead of this odd little band from The Netherlands...!

RtM: And for you,  which the band’s differentials that will help you to consolidate your place in the scene?

Carla: I don’t really know, cause so many bands lost their vision; making music which seems forced instead of sounding natural to the band. Yes, it is good to try to better yourself in every step, after every album, so to speak. But, be aware of the thing that makes the band sound unique or sound as it should be. Don’t loose sight of it.

For me personally, I hope La-Ventura stays strong with what it does best; mixing styles genres etc to a blend which captivates a large group of music lovers. Hopefully the new (mini) album will let people hear the new La-Ventura, "La-Ventura 2.0", without having the feeling we lost it or going down  the wrong path.

We know we have to step our game if we want to be part of the big leagues. We have 4 songs ready to put out in the world after the Summer. A little few fortunate souls have heard the tracks and confirmed that we are doing the right thing...

RtM: What are the main differences that you point between the debut "A New Beginning" (2008) and the second full length, "White Crow" (2013)?

Carla: Things have changed a lot since the release of New Beginning, like a new drummer and label. We started the band in a time when Gothic was totally hot. For the second  album we picked up other genres and with what we have choosen , makes it much more guitar orientated album.

But White Crow is just the start of where we want to go to. So the new stuff will finally let you hear the full potential of the band.

RtM: What about the lyrical part, which themes the band likes to talk about, about what do you like to write and what inspires you?

Carla: I do all the writing of the lyrics and most of them are based on my own personal experiences in life, on memories and my observations regarding various subjects. At some point in life it was pure therapy to write some of my frustration down.

RtM: I really liked the album "White Crow", which I believe brings the band more mature, and since the first album was already showing personality. Two of my favorite songs are the title track and "Song for an Idiot". I wish you to comment a bit more about these two songs and its lyrics.

Carla: White Crow comes from the famous quote “A lucky man is more rare than a white crow” by Juvenal (Decimus Junius Juvenallis) Satires (VII, 202). And it is true; luck is definitely rare, intangible and even hard to define. To be lucky as a person, or a band is something special. Perhaps by hard work and good planning it may give the right push to fortune or success; however luck is something we all need in this world. 
The lyrics for  "Song For An Idiot" was written in earlier days and is not meant for a specific person... who are we kidding here? (hehehe)

About writing the lyrics: Sometimes I let the music speak for itself and I create lyrics to complement the tunes and sometimes it is just the other way around. I also created a small archive with pieces of lyrics written in the spur of the moment waiting to be processed if necessary.

RtM: Recently the lyric of "A New Beginning" was used in a Novel, by the Dutch writer Karen O..Tell us a bit more about it? What is the history of the book and why does she decided to use the lyrics of this song?
Carla: I asked the writer herself to answer this question personaly: “The book, Forever, is a story about the friendship between two women, which grows stronger and stronger until one of them suddenly ends it. The consequences are huge and emotional for both of them. I fact, another story begins....
A New Beginning is a beautiful song and releases emotions. Using these lyrics makes Forever complete”.

RtM: Great! Nice words! And the writing process and production within the band, how it works?

Carla: Well, the guys in the band create the music and I write the lyrics and vocal lines. We start with an idea that will be worked out as a blueprint, to see if it is suitable for the band. Then the creative part follows, where every one in the band contributes their ideas. Only the best blueprints will make it to an official new song.

RtM: And a new album, when is provided? And what are the next steps that the band plans to seek further growth in the scenario?

Carla: A  new mini-album will be released after the Summer. The goal is to attract the right partners in the music industry, to convince people of the potential of the new material. Then hopefully in 2016 we can release a full lenght, recorded the same way like White Crow and released with a strong partner.

La-Ventura new EP, 2015

RtM: The Netherlands has a very rich scenery, including also reveling great female vocalists such as Anneke, Sharon, Simone, Floor, to name a few, and you come conquering your space too, could you tell us a little more about how you started in singing career, your influences and inspirations?

Carla: From a young age I was inspired by Abba, Clasical Music and Top 40 Hits. I dreamed of being a singer but couldn’t find the courage to climb the stage. When I asked me to step in for a singer that was injured by the accident, and I didn’t want to let the band down, so I managed to gather all my courage and it went surprisingly well. They asked me to join the band and that’s how I got into the bussiness. I took singing lessons to learn the basic techniques and skills and a few years later we started La-Ventura.

RtM: Carla, thanks for this interview, we hope to talk to you very soon, we wish many success to the band’s plans. Well, I let this ultimate space for your message to the Readers and fans around the world. 
Carla: I would like to thank you very much for your support! Road To Brazil...you rock \m/ !!

Interview by: Carlos Garcia

EP Pre Order

La Ventura Facebook   
Official Site

La Ventura:

Carla van Huizen – vocals

Mike Saffrie - bass

Sascha Kondic – guitar

Stefan Simons - drums