After breaking into the mainstream in June with her stunning single 'Where Do We Go', award-winning Austrian composer and producer Veronika Hanl has been utterly unforgettable. Alongside the single, she's also shared a new video for 'Dancing in Nylon', one which features vocals from singer, songwriter, dancer and collaborator Julia Romana and exudes sensuality from the very first note.
With the success of both releases only growing, we thought it was about time we got to know a bit more about Veronika and how everything has blossomed.
Veronika, it's lovely to speak with you. Let's dive right into things! How did you first start making music? Where did it all begin?
"I trained in classical music and played the clarinet for years. I started to teach myself the piano and guitar, and wrote my first track when I was 14. It was something very simple for piano but thats how I started getting into composition. I just could not stop listening to scores from Thomas Newman, James Newton Howard, Rachel Portman and Hans Zimmer. When I was 16 we had to create our own little short film in school, and I wrote the music for some of it. That was the moment where I realised I wanted to get into music production and composition for media."
Can you tell us about your new project 'Dancing in Nylon' and how it's come to be such a massive release?
"'Dancing in Nylon' has been a collaboration between me and Julia Romana. We wrote this track together in Lockdown, and soon after finishing it I had this idea for a music video with a dancer in an abandoned warehouse. The music video has been out a couple weeks now and we are really happy with the feedback we got for it so far!"
"When working with a talented team like I got to work with for 'Dancing in Nylon', its just an absolute pleasure finishing a project like this."
What is your songwriting process? How did it all come together?
"I usually start with some chords and basic vocal ideas, create a couple of bars and send them over to Julia, my writing partner. She is so good at coming up with lyrics and melodies for the vocals, its such a pleasure working with her. We go back and forth a couple of times and then I usually finish the track with the instrumentation and arrangement, before we go into the studio and record everything, get it mixed and mastered."
There are so many adjectives that can be applied to your sound, but how would you describe it?
"Alternativ & Acoustic, Atmospheric & Filmic, Soundtrack-like & dreamy."
What influences most define your music?
"I would say probably all those film composers I mentioned before. Also, you can definitely hear in my compositions that I am classically trained. Vocal and production wise Some of the influences I have I would say are Florence and the machine and Massive Attack, as well as Pop music and Folk music."
So far, your last singles have become something of a joint phenomenon, but what's next for you as an artist?
"As an artist and producer I am already working on new music atm, for now I am finishing off Julia Romanas upcoming album, and am starting to work on different collaborations and projects, which I dont want to say too much about yet."
What has been your best moment as a musician/band so far?
"Writing additional music under Isobel Waller-Bridge for the Apple TV Series ‘Roar” starring Nicole Kidman."
One last question before you go, what advice would you give to band’s who are looking to make it big?
"Hard to say. I think some advice I can give is: Trust the process. Certain things take time and you have to have stamina to survive in this business. Consistent effort, the right connections, hard work and a bit of luck help finding your way to success."
Alongside her film work, Veronika now produces music for other artists regularly and is fast becoming part of the new wave of women contributing to their creativity in the industry. “It’s good to see more and more women in the industry - when I started as an intern, I was often the only female in the room. Nowadays more and more women are being trained as engineers, composers and producers, and one of my main goals is to always try and keep it as diverse and balanced as possible when working in a team on music projects - I think it’s very important."
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