SEVI: Dynamic Alternative Rock/Metal from Bulgaria

📸 Dimitar Kichukov

SEVI: Dynamic Alternative Rock/Metal from Bulgaria

Sevi is a hard rocking metal band from Bulgaria who are absolutely ready to break through into the worldwide big leagues.  They’ve opened for a vast and varied selection of bands, including the likes of Europe, Nightwish, Geoff Tate, and Evanescence!  Their latest single is the vibrantly emotional World That Doesn’t Fit from the recently issued Genesis manifesto.  Johnny Gioeli of Hardline and Axel Rudi Pell may be found making a guest appearance on Genesis as well, with a standout participation on the song Drowning.  Highwire Daze recently interviewed vocalist Svetlana Bliznakova to find out more about Sevi and their stunning auditory artistry.  Read on…

Introduce yourself, tell me what you do in Sevi, and how long the band has been together.
My name is Svetlana Bliznakova (Sevi) and I am vocalist, co-writer and co-founder of the band SEVI. Along with the bass player and my husband – Rally Velinov. we established the band 14 years ago and we are purchasing our dreams since.

Where is the band based out of and what is your local music scene like there?
We are based in Sofia, Bulgaria but we travel a lot all over the country and abroad. I must say that for a small country like Bulgaria we have a really strong rock and metal scene, a lot of potential, Rock FM radio stations, many, many talented creators and an amazing warm audience. In the past couple of years also the festival life here is quite strong. You should come some time.

Is there any overall story or concept behind the album title Genesis?
Sure, “Genesis” it’s not a random title. We worked 3 full years on this album, and I think that it gathers emotions from a really dynamic and dramatic period of changes and painful events for us and for the world as well. So, the overall feeling and message refers to our perspective regarding all these changes and processes. I can’t think of better title but “Genesis” for this album. Besides this it somehow was a genesis for the band, too and we started the new year with a new line up.

What was the new single World That Doesn’t Fit influenced by?
I think the message is quite direct, so it doesn’t need a lot of explanation. It’s influenced by the world that we are living in in the past couple of years and how all the strange things reflect on me as a person and as I see from the comments – on the people as well. We all feel kind of lost and confused. The worst part I think is that in all this madness we forget about the human and humanity and the really important things in life as well. I will quote Captain Jack Sparrow who once said: “World is the same, mate. It’s just less in it”

How did Johnny Gioeli of Hardline and Axel Rudi Pell become involved with the recording of Drowning? Any plans of performing the song live with Johnny?
We met Johnny on a Festival here in Bulgaria in 2019 and when we got off stage, he was quite impressed by us. He was playing right after, so we enjoyed his performance as well and after that we sat for a long time in the backstage talking about music and life. We all knew it was not gonna end in that night. We exchanged contacts and soon after we started making plans to record together. “Drowning” was a demo for our upcoming album at that time and I knew it was the right song to feature Johnny. We recorded also the duets “Song of Hope” and “Jaded” later on, and we performed all these together many times in Bulgaria and in our featuring tours in Switzerland. We are getting back together this summer for two shows in Bulgaria and one concert with him and Hardline in Switzerland. We are also working on a new duet. Stay tuned.

Select any other song from Genesis and what inspired the lyrics.
Well, speaking of Johnny, let it be “Drowning”. It was inspired by the feeling of hopelessness and the need of miracle or a savior who would be ready to just take your hand and jump with you in the unknown no matter what…

What was it like opening for Evanescence and did you get to meet or hang out with anyone from the band?
Actually, our acquaintance with Evanescence started two years earlier on a Festival in Bulgaria. We had a good talk in the backstage area and when the time came for our next album we invited their guitarist at that time – Jen Majura to feature the track “To Hell and Back”. Soon after we also recorded a video and when we find out that they were coming to Sofia it couldn’t be better coincidence. Opening for them was double emotion, because Jen Majura entered on stage to play “To Hell and Back” with us in front of more than 6.000 people.
Amazing experience that would be hard to explain with words
You can watch the LIVE from that moment video in our YouTube channel.

What could one expect from a live Sevi show?
For sure one can expect big energy and emotion that comes from Eastern Europe and it’s really pure and different.
The rest you will feel when you come to a show.

Has Sevi ever played here in the States or is that something you would like to do in future days? If so, what was the experience like?
Well USA holds the second place in our listener’s statistics! We never played there but we have many fans from US that write us and order our CDs so we will be happy to have the chance to come one day. Recently I hear that rock and metal are not in their best times in USA but I hope they will have their renaissance in America.

Are you involved with any other bands or projects outside of Sevi?
I have a solo project that I started in 2020, more country rock. I wanted to try to show my softer side to the fans. I even released a solo album “Tomorrow”, you can check it out. Also I was invited to be part of the Finnish project “Circus of rock” last year while we were presenting their second album featuring artists like Mark Boals, Rick Altzi and more. We made couple of great gigs and had lot of fun together.

What’s up next for Sevi?
Genesis tour that starts in few days. We will be touring Italy, Serbia, Switzerland, UK, Belgium and more. Check out the full tour list in our website: www.seviband.com

Any final words of wisdom?
Well, I will permit myself to make a message to your readers hoping that it won’t sound like a cliché but more like something to think about:
So, try to keep your soul and uniqueness, because this is maybe the most valuable thing that you have on this Earth. No matter how many online platforms for music and chats are out there, try to experience emotions LIVE, not online. Going at a show or on a meeting with friends you will be able to experience feelings that you can never experience through any device or monitor.
And of course, listen and read Highwire 😊

LINE-UP:
Svetlana Bliznakova • Vocals
Stone Angel • Guitar
Rally Velinov • Bass
Peter Petrov • Drums

(Interview by Ken Morton)

Sevi on Instagram