A few months back, I had the pleasure of reviewing Infy's debut album, "A Mortal's Tear". Time has passed since then, and Infy has gained quite a following. Playing as part of a festival and launch gig, it would not shock me if Infy soon enough emerges onto the scene with a dedicated following that will boast her and her bandmates to metal infamy. With all that said, I got a chance to speak with her about herself, her history, and her debut album and a little more. Read on below to learn more about Infy:

Hi there! Let's start off with history. You are a very talented individual, and I know you began singing and playing instruments from a young age. About what age did you start playing an instrument and what was it that you first played?

Infy - "Thank you! While I've been singing and composing for as long as I can remember, I to your disappointment as well as my own, don't in fact play any instruments.

I loved playing the piano as a kid, but as soon as I started taking 'serious' lessons, my passion for it died. I must have been traumatized by my teacher, as ever since this horrible experience I never dared touch a piano nor any other instrument. Thankfully the singing lessons were a different matter altogether, I've always loved these, even when they became so challenging I ended up crying.

Incidentally, in recent years I've considered learning to play a guitar, only to discover that I simply don't have enough passion to dedicate myself to it, and I rather focus on things I really love doing so I can more easily master them. I stick to improving my singing, writing and composing, and my most recent passion- the art of performing.

So, If I ever learn to play an instrument, I bet it's going to be a harp. I absolutely love those.

Finally, I'd like to note that I compose all of my songs in my mind and immediately hum the tunes to a recording app in my phone so I don't forget them."

I understand that you were a bit shy when you were younger, but still composed songs and the like for quite a while. What was the even that helped you get over your shyness? Did you have family and friends help you along with it, as well?

Infy - "I have indeed been very shy, to this very day. People don't often see me this way, because most people know me mainly from my internet persona, where I feel much more liberated to speak my mind and be bold, but in real life, I am still the socially awkward, shy little Infy.

I occasionally work as a bartender in the most prominent bar of the alternative scene in Israel, 'The Rebel', where I feel at home and can always tend to work duties when I feel uncomfortable chatting, so people who meet me there might as well be unaware of my shyness. But I always awed criticism, always tried to please everyone around me, which explains why as a teen I simply preferred to avoid being around other people and spent most of my free time alone, playing computer games or interacting over the internet. Only recently, as I've become more popular, am I learning to cope with criticism, and even better - to draw strength from it. It has become a necessity, because while I do have more friends and people who strengthen and support me in my life, I happen to have haters too, something I never had to deal with before. First it was shocking and somewhat spirit-crushing, but the more I think of it today, the more I enjoy this notion- that people actively spend their precious energies on expressing hatred towards me."

Your long time friend and multi-instrumentalist Omri Lahav has been on board since day one, I believe, with Infy. How did he and you meet and how long have you known him?

Infy - "I must have been 13 years old when Omri and I have gotten to know each other. We both used the same online platform to share art, where he commented favorably on a couple of very raw drafts to my songs. We kept contact on ICQ or MSN messenger, and he started working on a playback for 'Black Light' for me. But we happened to live quite far from one another and I was but a little girl and so we never really finished. We hadn't been in touch afterwards but had renewed our contact later on, after I left my parents' house in the extremely isolated Southern region of the county, for a big-city life in no other than Tel-Aviv.

Omri offered his studio and talent to help me record a song or two, and I happily embraced the opportunity. It didn't take long before I decided to kick it up a notch and start working on a full length album."

In what ways has Lahav helped you in creating music? I'm sure there are a multitude of things that you can list, but what was the most important thing he helped you learn?

Infy - "He was definitely very involved in many aspects, but the most important thing I believe is his ability to bring my visions to life. I could sing him the song and describe how I want it to sound like, and he could play it and make it sound the way I wanted. It was especially useful on orchestration, a field Omri is highly experienced in. Also, the fact he could understand what I was referring to in a song when I name sounds in weird names such as 'the snow-flakes violins' or 'the dolphin guitar'. We just clicked."

Your band's name is Infy. Where did the name come from and when did you first think of it?

Infy - "It started off as a solo project, named after me. I officially changed my name last year to Infy Snow.

Infy is a an abbreviation of Infernity, an ICQ name given to me at the age of thirteen by my best friend at the time (who later became my spouse). Infernity stands for infernal eternity. I do however absolutely love the connotation of it to infinity.

After my 'A Mortal's Tear' launch gig (which happened to be my first full length stand-alone performance), I figured it would be a good time to find a solid group for Infy. And yet I did not expect the gig to be such a major success; and as things turned out, it seems like I am going to bring about a second gig in January with the current temporary lineup, before I consolidate a permanent band. I love working with each and every one of them, but sadly some might not be able to stay. And so after the upcoming gig I will begin my search, after I know who's staying for sure."

Right now, your band line-up consists of yourself and Lahav, as well as Lev Kerzhner, Auria Sapir, Dror Goldstein, and Sapir Wolloch. Has this always been the crew for Infy? Or has the line-up changed?

Infy - "I partly answered that. I will add that on the album recording itself Omri played all the guitars, bass, and keyboard roles, while the drums and percussion were done by Jeff Willet.

I have also had guest artists in my album, that include the cellists Hamutal Tzur Marom and More Engel, the growler Yotam 'Defiler' Avni, the singer Yochai Davidoff and the flutist Marta Mc'cave Dayan. The last three also featured in my recent gig."

And, where did you meet all these people? Did you have connections with them already or did you find them as Infy gained popularity?

Infy - "My very first performance as Infy was as a guest singer in the song 'Dreaming Neon Black (Nevermore)' on Warrel Dane's gig in Tel-Aviv. The guitarist Auria and the drummer Dror were part of the assembled band that played that night. That's how we met. It was really a great experience working with people I already knew what they are capable of. Nevermore's songs were fairly challenging, so I could tell I was dealing with pros.

I first met Lev a couple of years ago on an open stage night at The Rebel bar. I soon learned that he is a talented singer and a true natural-born performer. This guy knows how to rock the stage. Other than playing the bass for me, he sang the backing vocals. Lev is also the main star in my latest music video 'Greed'.

Sapir, to be honest was a last minute life saving keyboardist. We had to replace the keyboardist about 3 weeks before the gig, and Omri happened to know him and recommended him. Thankfully he too is a pro and did a great job."

"A Mortal's Tear" is your debut album. While the music was swell in the album, your vocals really, really took the spotlight on the album. Where do your influences lie? Does any one singer or another really inspire you when you get in the recording studio or on stage?

Infy - "Thank you! When I come to think about it, I realize the only song I drew direct inspiration from another singer while recording was 'Greed', for it was written when I was 13 years old and had James Hetfield's voice ringing hard in my head which might explain why it's probably the most different sounding song in the album.

I am often told that sometimes I sound a little like Shakira, which I believe has a lot to do with the fact that as a girl I used to adore her, and I may have subconsciously embraced some of her unique singing features that people identify with her.

However, I feel as if I recorded the album today all of the vocals would have sounded much better, as it took 3 years to make, during which I managed to take more singing lessons and greatly focus on self improvement. On the bright side, I find it easier today to beat the expectation of people from the album while performing live, so I absolutely don't regret it."

The album plays out as if there is a story interconnected within each of the songs. Did you write out a story when writing the lyrics? Or are each of the songs independent?

Infy - "The songs were written throughout many different years and periods in my life, most of them between the ages of 13 to 15 or 16, and some later on; only a few were written during the album making period itself. While I never intended to compose a narrative that directly connected the songs, I probably drew inspiration from the same source so that songs that date back to the same period of time in my life may feel connected. For instance, on 'The Flower Collector', I sing 'and the moon gleams white with the shining brightness from the last song', and that 'last song' is 'Vanishing', that mentions 'the pixies' light is shining in the moon's brightness'; those pixies are mentioned again on Black Light, '...where the only candles are blue-fire-blazed fairies', etc. I did however try to have the song list put to an order that makes sense, so those who listen to it closely could get a sense of a journey.

And lastly, the name of the album came easily to me, because while there is no concrete story, it all comes down to the same grim point. 'A Mortal's Tear' pretty much describes the whole concept of the album."

And, on the musical side, what were your intentions? Were you trying to go for a harder metal sound, something spiritual and eclectic, a mix of both, or something entirely different?

Infy - "I wanted the album to be metal, I love the combination of heavy distortion guitars and killer double bass with complimentary melodic elements. Other than it being dark and melodic, I couldn't and wouldn't try to define it. I don't care what genre I make really, I wouldn't want to limit myself to something like that. Which is why it's all very eclectic. I just do what feels right in my heart. I already have so many ideas for the next album, and that too includes many elements of various sub-genres, from nu-metal with slight 'popish' sound even, to dark ambient and tribal elements. Some people might even say that what I make is not metal, but then again, I am just happy that people can relate to what I love doing."

When you finally finished "A Mortal's Tear" and had the mastered copy in your hands, what did you think of it? Were you proud of what you accomplished?

Infy - "Oh I was definitely proud of it, 3 years of never-ending work, I couldn't believe it's all done. I of course could come up with a million things I'd change and improve, but one thing Omri told me is, 'A song is never finished, and you can't make it perfect, you just have to learn to let go, otherwise you'll never have a single song out.' This is true. I am way too perfectionist and I could work on 'fixing' my songs forever. Instead, I will implement my ideas for improvement on the next album."

And what is next for Infy? Are you guys attempting to record another album or is that on hold?

Infy - "I have so many plans! After the gig sold out, which apparently didn't happen to any local metal artist during the last 5 years, we plan the next gig to be something remarkable that would require a lot of work. After that I would have to see where we stand in terms of permanent band members. I don't mind working on my next album as I have now, just me and Omri, and Jeff, though it could be really nice to go out touring out of the country, provided most of the band members will choose to remain with us. Other than that I am currently working on several music videos for songs from the album."

Do you have any tours planned for the album? Or shall you be playing live shows spontaneously?

Infy - "Other than the grand gig I plan for January, there won't be any spontaneous gigs. There wasn't even supposed to be a second one until everything is settled with the band members. A tour is one of the plans, like I said, but this is yet to be arranged nor is it the top priority at the moment."

And now I would like to thank you for your time and I wish you luck with everything!

Infy - "Thank you so much! This was a very insightful interview."

Infy

Oct 2015

Goth, Metal