Music Beat: Victoria Faiella

Victoria Faiella is a singer who was born and raised on Long Island, and describes her sound as an eclectic melding of many genres. Faiella will be playing at this weekend's Great South Bay Music Festival, and took time to answer a few of Patch's questions for this spotlight.

Patch: Where is your hometown(s)? 

Victoria Faiella: Although born and raised on Long Island, I've done my fair share of moving from town to town throughout various parts of the tri-state area. That being said, I will always consider Port Washington, Stony Brook & Holbrook to be HOME.

Patch: How would you describe your sound? 

Faiella: My latest album Wild Butterfly is an eclectic melding of many genres. It incorporates string quartet arrangements with rock, soul, alternative pop, folk and world music instrumentations. I think 'the sound' is exemplified in the Middle Eastern styled version of Black Sabbath's War Pigs that appears on Wild Butterfly. It ended up being an effective & true fusion of what we were striving for sonically with the use of string quartet, world percussion and exotic instruments including Djembes, Tabla, Persian Santur (hammered dulcimer), Duduk (Armenian woodwind) and Zourna (multinational wind instrument). Part of an elevator pitch that is often used to describe the album; Wild Butterfly sounds as if "Sarah McLachlan, Tori Amos, Apocalyptica & Janis Joplin had a love child born into a drum circle in Kashmir..." 

Patch: What are your performances usually like? 

Faiella: I am incredibly blessed to work with a myriad of tremendously talented musicians, many of whom I have developed a profound rapport with throughout the years. That camaraderie makes performing an even greater joy. Together we try to emote our songs from a true place, hope to connect with our audience and have fun while doing so. Needless to say, attending a live performance is worth a thousand words (hint hint) so for anyone interested in seeing us we'll be at the Great South Bay Music Festival on Saturday, July 20 at 1:20 PM in the Jambalaya Tent!

Patch: What is the future for your music career? 

Faiella: Writing, performing & recording more albums for sure! The concept & songs for a new full length CD is complete. I just need to get into the studio to start the recording process. I also hope to perform more shows with the same ensemble I'll be playing the Great South Bay Music Fest with as well as finding placements for some of my music. There is a cinematic nature to much of the music I have recently recorded and would love to find some of the songs a fitting home in TV/film productions.

Patch: What has your experience been like working on the current/most recent album? 

Faiella: A true delight and labor of love! My producer Barry Hartglass and I were very particular about every detail that went into the making of Wild Butterfly - from the musicians, the arrangements, the studios, to choosing microphones, etc. We visited various studios just to find the absolute perfect piano sound we were looking for. It took about 2 years to finish and we traveled all over to many different studios to record, mix and master the album. Given all that I can't say it was painstaking, I loved it ALL because I knew we were going to end up with a product we would be fiercely proud of! 

Patch: How can people reach you? 

Faiella: I can be reached through my Facebook Page, Twitter and official website:

www.facebook.com/VictoriaFaiella
www.twitter.com/VictoriaFaiella
www.VictoriaFaiella.com

Wild Butterfly is available at CD Baby, iTunes, Amazon, Rhapsody and many other online retailers:

CD Baby:
http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/victoriafaiella

iTunes:
http://bit.ly/15qc6H9

Amazon:
http://amzn.to/m3dMZd

Rhapsody:
http://bit.ly/gsylWX

Are you part of a local Patchogue or Medford-based band? Or playing in the Patchogue or Medford area soon? Have Patch interview you in Music Beat by emailing patchogue@patch.com or medford-ny@patch.com.