Introducing...(1)
Nicol
Who is Nicol?
"I’m Polish, born in Ukraine, living in Latvia, my native language is Russian and I write songs mainly in English. So why 'Nicol'? The name Nica (later transformed to Nicol’) was given to me, when I was baptized in Orthodox Church. Until I 14 years old I was in professional sport - officially I’m a Master of sport in Artistic Gymnastics! I gained some success at an international level, but the political situation and my family situation obliged me to interrupt my sport career. Music was always in me. I started from Russian and Ukraine folk songs. Later I got acquainted with classic and Russian pop music (When Latvia was in The Soviet Union) But,when I first heard Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston – they just turned my world around! Then came Alicia Keys, Blue Cantrell and others. I studied at the Latvian Music Academy for two years as an opera singer. The following year and a half I developed my craft with some of the best Jazz musicians in Latvia (special mention to Nic Gotham, my mentor, tutor and band leader, www.nicgotham.com )"
How long have you been going as an artist?
"I’ve been performing for nearly 10 years. But for the general public I became known, thanks to the Eurovision Contest 2003 heats in Latvia, where my song 'One More Dance', placed me in the finals and was voted first place by the international jury." 
You are quite famous in Latvia, aren't you?
"I’m happy that people like my songs and enjoy my performances. They know me as a singer, songwriter, choreographer for my shows, actress and now they start to recognize me also as a record producer for the young generation of singers. I write music and lyrics in English, Russian and Latvian.
I’ve recorded and presented 2 albums in Russian ('Between Stars')and Latvian ('Black and White'):
The songs from these albums can be heard on the Latvian and Russian radio stations, and had success on Latvian radio Charts. English songs are also known in Latvia, some of them in Baltic and Scandinavian countries. I’m a laureate of several International awards: 'New Wave' 2003 (You can read more on newwavestars.com) 'Golden Hits' in Belorussia 2004, 'Slavonian Bazaar 2005' and others.
I was happy to play the main role (Maria) in the musical 'The Sound Of Music' in the Russian version (the Latvian version starred Marija Naumova-singer who won the Eurovision Contest 2004 in Estonia)
In the new year in January I’ll play the lead (Nicoletta:)in the one of the greatest shows called 'CABARE.RU' Check out on www.virusart.lv
What's the music climate like in Latvia?
"There’s a good area for pop-rock music and some kind of Latvian pop mixed with country. But for my styles R&B-Pop, Soul-Jazz , Soulful House there’re are few opportunities and conditions for development .
The main problems are:
1. pop music educational level is very limited
(There's ONLY ONE(!) Music Academy only for classic vocal)
2. We don’t have local producers and other experts with experience in this field who would be competitive at an international level.
3.There’s no adjusted system in show-business, Widespread piracy means few sales for popular disks."
What do you feel SellaBand can offer you?
"It’s a great opportunity to have people listening to my music all over the world, to receive some feedback and to comunicate with other musicians. But the dream opportunity that Sellaband can offer is for me to work with producer James Poyser, who has produced a lot of my favorite artists."
Do you have any special tactics to raise the $50,000?
"At the moment my tactic is to be open and sincere with my Believers. But I have many ideas on future tactics, but these are a secret..."
What are your ambitions?
"I want my music and poetry to touch as many people’s hearts on this Planet and on othersī I would like to work with a great team of producers, musicians, dancers… and create an interesting professional show, supporting my new English (I hope very successful) album. To have smart managers and the main point is: never to stop in growing up as an artist, creator and a good person!"
Introducing...(2) Erotic Death
With the ever growing number of bands on SellaBand, we’ve also seen a big increase in metal-acts from all over the globe. To some it’s just plain noise, to others it’s a way of life. One of the HEAVIEST bands on our platform is Erotic Death from Texas, USA. Lead singer Darlene Le Fay introduces her band...
Who are Erotic Death?
”We are a female fronted melodic metal band from the edge of Texas founded in the year 2002.
Darlene Le Fay - female vocals
Steven Sin - male vocals
Chris Saldana - lead guitar
Chris Olivas- rhythm guitar
Jose Mueto - bass guitar
Ivy - Keyboard
J – Drums”
What does the name stand for?
”’Succumbed by the beauty of flesh and soul’, Erotic Death is a spiritual destruction or grim state of mind due to an overwhelming desire for the human flesh and soul. In other words, if you ever had your heart broken and found yourself alone in the dark, you could take those feelings and understand our title. The name of the band can also be related to the eroticism of Vampire Lore.”
How did you come to join SellaBand?
“I was online at GothMetal.Net and ran into a Nemesea link. I visited their home page and saw the banner for SellaBand and was curious about the site for weeks. I had doubts if Erotic Death should join something like this, so I ended up e-mailing lead singer Mandy. I wanted to hear from someone that actually signed up with SellaBand and asked her what was the deal and if it was worth going for. She told me, ‘I wouldn't hesitate joining SAB. It is amazing!’ I then saw their success and now was confident that this concept is a good idea to try out.”
With a sound as heavy as yours, do you think its going to be possible to make it to the 50k?
“I think anything is possible as long as you set your mind for it and with a sound as heavy as ours, it is still desirable to music lovers especially the metal scene across the world.”
Any special tactics to attract more Believers?
“Something special is on its way and I'm thinking of organizing a music event for Erotic Death with supporting acts, specifically to promote what SellaBand is about and what it will do for us and our fans with the listener's interest.”
Why should people Believe in Erotic Death?
“People should Believe in us because we Believe in ourselves. We aim directly toward making good music for us and our listeners. This is something we live and love to do.”
Are there any other SellaBand artists you guys like?
“As for myself, I enjoy Nemesea, Elleanore and Dandelium, who have a beautiful taste in sound. Steven Sin (vocals) likes Seduced by Suicide and has been a fan for almost a year now.
For more of us, you can visit:
Q + A
Nearfield
The United Nations of SellaBand
Active and outspoken from the moment they arrived on the SellaBand scene, Portugal’s Nearfield have made a lot of friends. Slowly, but gradually, they are climbing the budget-ladder so a further introduction was well overdue. Judging by their lengthy posts on other artist’s pages, we predicted their answers could be quite long. They have not disappointed us...
Who is/are Nearfield?
Alexx Name: “Nearfield is basically an aesthetical concept put into electronic music. While being an architect I see music as a space conception and that’s basically how Nearfield builds all its tracks. It may seem eclectic and may sound musically not that coherent just to quote an expert, Tony Platt, but it’s very rigorous in composition. Besides that, electronics is pure invention and can be whatever you like. For example, we could create 20 different songs out of the same inspiration, with such a variety of sound styles that it would be difficult to pinpoint any specific musical stimulation. Campuslegend, one of our Believers, commented: “Every one of your songs is different. But you still know its Nearfield”. What keeps our tunes under the same Nearfield ‘brand’ is the way we think we manage to season our sound with ‘that’ Nearfield touch. We started 15 years ago, composing music scores for the catwalk and have always been closest to the fashion world. Fashion and music match perfectly in everyway… I first met Sylvie when she came to live in Portugal 14 years ago. She also did some modelling for a fashion magazine, besides being an actress. She’s an incredibly versatile singer best known for her ‘casino’ style voice. She has already 2 CDs on the market and she performs regularly at Casino Estoril, the largest one in Europe.”
The name is not far removed from dance-heroes Leftfield. Is that a pure coincidence, or...
“It was pure coincidence, but surprisingly quite a few people have compared us to Leftfield lately. For those not into recording studios and music production, Nearfield is the name that Yamaha gave to the natural sound speakers placed at work in the environs of the producer’s audibility field. We liked the name and registered it as a bands name. Leftfield is also a pretty inspiration for us. Not only were they quite good at composition, but also did a great job as producers. It’s truly flattering being roughly compared to Leftfield. GD Alan commented just one week after we ‘had settled with SellaBand iconic project’: “Hey dudes, one of my favourite albums of the 90's was Leftfield's ‘Leftism’, and you guys definitely have that flavour!” That’s too kind GD!”
What's the music-scene like in Portugal?
“That’s the worst question you guys could ask! Honestly! Chatting a few days ago with this guy from Radar FM radio station (the best, actually!) he asked us to guess how many Portuguese projects were being settled for the upcoming Christmas season. Knowing too well the situation we kicked a low number of 5 to which he responded ‘zero’. It looks bad doesn’t it?! Still there’s a number of bands recording and performing but unfortunately Portuguese audiences seem more keen on foreign bands, but may not be so enthusiastic regarding homebred bands. Still we leave you here with some bands and artists that are worth listening to: The Gift, David Fonseca, Loto (they have recorded their latest album with Peter Hook from New Order and Del Marquis from Scissors Sisters), MoonSpell, Da Weasel…”
How did you find out about SellaBand?
“Oh that! Yes I remember that accurately…
It was the same day we registered to SellaBand, October the 15th. That day I was reading the economy supplement of a local weekly newspaper from the previous week (I always read the news one week later, to soften the impact) when there it was a quarter page article comparing SellaBand to iTunes! God! Journalists can be weird and truly subvert reality!”
You guys are very active on our website. Are you determined to raise 50k?
“Definitely. Our activity on, in and out of Sellaband is non stop until catastrophe happens…He he! 50K is quite a goal to achieve and no one can be sure of pulling it off. We think that the Nemesea phenomenon was quick but let us remind you that everyone was really anxious to see some results. SellaBand is new and unproven so this was somehow expected, right? This was an extreme situation followed by a natural slow down that will change as soon as the Nemesea experience is completed and running smooth as scheduled and Believers finally get a return of their investments.
Tell us about your initiatives to attract more Believers?
“Work, work, work and even more work is what…Converting new Believers from outside is complicated. It’s really hard work because SellaBand is too new for the great majority. First you have to explain all about it countless times and then you have to be sure they won’t forget it among other things. Converting experienced Believers is even more work because those are like big brothers watching you in a positive way, encouraging you to get working on your project. Still, if you do all your homework it’s not taken for granted that they would believe in you! It is worth truly defying to go all the way. As you know we have 2 projects registered with SellaBand: Nearfield and SillyMotel. So we have to double our efforts to keep everything under control. However since Nearfield is clearly more universal we have put some extra power focusing most of the visible activity on it.
The next thing to happen short term is the launching of a promo ‘digipack’ CD next January 2007. A copy of Nearfield’s Black Board will be sent to every one of our actual Believers. It will be a limited numbered edition of 1000 units. 700 of them are to be sold at the shops of an international media chain for a limited period of time and also directly to friends in order to raise more funds to invest in SellaBand. The rest is going to be sent free of charge to a selection of SellaBand friends who wish to receive it for free, to curious potential new Believers and to the press. After that we will throw a Nearfield party at a local club. Half of the earnings made by ticket-sales are going straight to invest in SellaBand. It would better if every single one would register and invest directly but unfortunately younger people do not have credit cards so this was the solution we came up with!
Also some new songs will be posted to our profile with this SellaBand tribune! A Xmas one too! ‘Love Me’ With these initiatives on the loose we will come up with some more!”
Are there any other SAB-artists you really like?
It’s quite difficult to name just some without being unjust. Sure we have our favourite acts but those are chosen from a very small group of those we have been listening to so far. Picking the ones we really like can be a tricky situation too because some are better liked because their music is so amazing and others we love for the reason that they’re such great individuals although not necessarily our musical preferences. But regardless, we guess that we are expected to fling some names of our likings anyhow, aren’t we?
Here they are randomly presented: Muaw Dibe & The Awakening (ahhh! the funk we love), Headphone (She’s Electric is really something), Delicate Noise (its pure electronica), Second Person (Julia Johnson was blessed with that voice and those tunes are just great) , Maitreya (he is the mighty rebel), Sasha Vella (she’s all about emotions), Knaeckebroedt (super creative dance tracks), Emily’s Playground (just plain beautiful), Jap Jap (a top sound of his own), The Fakes (these guys could be the next super band)… and there’s also fantastic Jake’s world of Cubworld, the impulsive sound of Kirt, Simeon symphonic hip hop, the wonderful eclectic Vegas Dragons, Kane Sole’s urban folk, Brown’s innovation, GD Allan cool experiments, our dearest friends Light, etc etc etc. Forgive me those not included for lack of space…
Why should people believe in Nearfield?
“That’s simple. First, we deeply believe in our project and are into it 120 % heart and soul. Second, we have been getting a lot of positive feedback from it which gives us the strength to keep working and improving. Third, we love what we’re doing and just couldn’t imagine our lives without music. Finally, we won’t let our fans down ever! Even though we need to be realistic and aware that our music isn’t going to please everyone, we are already receiving the response we needed to be confident about our project. With that in mind, and a lot of hard work and persistence, fans will came naturally. Finally, we want to thank our actual Believers for their crucial support and all others alike because they are a vital collective member of this community. As well as the bands themselves for believing and adhering to the SellaBand philosophy. We also would like to give a special thank to Lucretia to whom the Sellaband community is immensely indebted for all the professional caring altruistic support she’s been giving away for nothing. And last but not the least a reference to praise the SellaBand team for this incredible project and the opportunity you are giving us today.”
Weekly Update
Chart analyses
A truly great week on SellaBand lies behind us, with (once again), almost 2,000 Parts ($20,000) sold and some exciting chart action to be reported as well. 
The new weekly chart, that was published this morning, at noon CET, shows that Cubworld is once again the biggest ‘selling’ act on SellaBand. Last week we were happy to announce that our favourite Tongan Troubadour was almost at $25,000, cue seven days later and the mighty 30k might be well within reach. French chanteuse T-ka made an impressive jump and is now in the Top 10 of our overall chart, and Lovely Lily is now on her way to 10k. A brand new entry comes from France in the name of Brice Davoli. We predict his beautiful blend of styles will go very far on SellaBand. Other big gainers? Mandyleigh, after being featured in last week's Tribune, Mysti Mayhem and Uncle Ben's Mua'Dib and the Awakening (note the very arty name change!). Nice to see IGT return to fine form as well and the Heavy Department, represented by Diafanes and Dandelium are doing fine too. In short, it's been an interesting chart-week!
Music lightning strikes twice...
Not one, but two SellaBand artists have uploaded a song that, in their own words, was inspired by either SellaBand or the Believers.
IGT have uploaded a song called ‘SellaBand’, includes some great sampling, as well as the catchline: “I’ll teach you people how to Sellaband”, now how cool is that? Check out the song here.
And then the very active and outspoken Mysti Mayhem (who is also part of the group Spellbox), just released a song entitled “BELIEVE”. A great piece of acoustic music that contains the following lyrics.
“i wonder if anyone feels like me
and im hoping that someone will start to believe
and im not here to partake in any war
im just too small and i dont have the time
lily started spamming
lucretias words are damning
magnus feeds the children
we all want plastic willem”
While we do not necessarily agree that Lovely Lily was actually ‘spamming’, or that Lucretia's words are indeed 'damning', (these are two of our favourite Sella-ladies, you know) we are pretty sure that plastic willem will be quite chuffed to find his SellaBand-name immortalized in a song!
Another collaboration
So much action going on on SellaBand right now, with dozens of artists uploading new (and old) songs all the time. We try to keep an eye on everything but with almost 1,200 artist pages and some 3,000 songs, this is not an easy taks. So, as you as you spote something noteworthy for the Tribune, do not hesitate to drop us a note at info@sellaband.com
Mighty Maitreya has informed us that Episode Two of his hilarious video-diaries will be uploaded today. 
What should make this one very special is that he has created his own rap/hiphop take on Kane Sole’s song ‘Here we go’. Since it will be on both artist’s profile pages, we gues we can call this the first official Kiwi Kollaboration on SellaBand...
Free Demo-Mastering
Yes, the offer still stands. Any SellaBand artist who gets to $1,000 in budget before January 1, 2007, is invited to have one of his/her/their tracks digitally remastered through Sony Music Studios new online mastering facility, SIM. Since we introduced two weeks ago, Mandyleigh, Mesa Street Exit, Snelle Jongens, Jesse David and Phil Tweed have all reached $1,000, making a total of 31 artists eligible for this special, free of charge sound-improvement. The rest of you have at least 10 more days to get there as well, so let’s see what happens in the final moments of 2006.
X-mas Jukebox
In less than one week (it was only a spur of the moment request in last week’s Tribune), almost 20 SellaBand artists have decided to share their holiday moods with our community. They have recorded and uploaded a Christmas song. Check out the special Jukebox, with contributions from:
- Vegas Dragons
- Spellbox
- Mysti mayhem
- Bellz
- Hello Kelly
- Diatriba
- Eric Meany
- La Banda Del Carnot
- You n' Tea
- Silly Motel
- Cubworld
- Victor Sierra
- Mandyleigh
- Cees Boede
- Tequila Funk Experience
- Nearfield
- Light
If this does not get you in the right mood, then we don’t know what will.
Merry X-mas y’all!
This is the last SellaBand Tribune of 2006. This time next week, we’ll all be digesting the Christmas turkey and we have allowed ourselves some time to rest. Yes folks, even your hardworking Team needs to have a bit of a break every now and then. So, the next Tribune will appear on January 2, 2007 and it will probably be a great appetizer for the New Year’s Party.
SellaBand has been going for only four months, but boy, what an exciting one third of year it has been. So many great and genuinely talented Artists, so many inspiring and loyal Believers, so many new friendships and so many great stories to tell. This, we can assure you, is only the beginning. There’s so much we want to accomplish in the twelve months that lie ahead. For now we will simply leave you by thanking every single Artist and Believer for their trust, patience and true community-spirit. Without you, SellaBand would not exist. We wish you all a merry Christmas and a healthy and prosperous 2007. Cheers,
A song inspired by...
One of the really exciting and truly inspiring songs on SellaBand is the collaboration between Lily and IGT. Not only a clash of musical styles, but also a blend of cultures, the song ‘Deja-Vu’ is a true musical adventure. Here’s the lowdown of the song’s history.
By Lily
“First, let me start by saying that I'm part of SellaBand thanks to IGT. Cheech, from IGT, is my best friend's brother. Obviously my best friend joined SellaBand as one of their Believers and convinced me to join as well. I must admit that rap was not my style of music but I did like their songs a lot and after reading their bio I knew they were true professionals. It was so disappointing to see how quickly they were losing Believers due to their lack of interaction, so I decided to get in contact with them through my best friend and told them my idea, having 'Deja-Vu' in mind. The collaboration came to mind because I wanted to bring ‘Deja-Vu’ to life and knew they were excellent candidates to work with and learn from. Also, I wanted to help them get noticed again, being that I would let the world know. Obviously they accepted my proposal and three days later we were exchanging ideas and recording!
A Juggling Act
I know some of you might want to know why IGT was so distant from SellaBand, well in their own words: ‘I can honestly say that our dedication to music is real and anyone doing this as well as balancing all the factors of life can back me up when I say life is a juggling act. With so many things in the air, you eventually drop one. It wasn't easy to see things for what they were worth at the time because we were worried about a lot of other things we were involved with. SellaBand became important when we saw that we can connect with people more personally. That proved more important than anything, so here we are....Thanks for re-receiving us with interest and concern.. It feels great!!!!!!’ - IGT
Total Stranger
To conclude, I must add that IGT are talented, hard working musicians who have been disappointed by the industry many times, yet their passion to succeed is undeniable. I have to thank IGT not only for indirectly introducing me to SellaBand, but also for allowing me to work with them side by side and opening their hearts to a total stranger.”
I’m A Believer
In the Top 10 of Believer countries, you can find the usual suspects such as the USA, UK, France and Germany, but also a relatively small country like Austria. So, high time we invited one of that beautiful nation’s representatives, to introduce himself in the SellsBand Tribune. He calls himself Keep it Unreal, but that is not his real name, you know...
Who is Keep It Unreal?
“My name is Thomas Höffinger, I'm 25 years old and I'm the vice-president of a little transport company. I invest my money in a lot of things just like stocks or sport bets, but with my investments in SellaBand I don't expect more money back but this is a place where I like to support bands who deserve it. I've just started to play lacrosse in the pretty fresh Austrian Lacrosse League...by the way: we are still looking for some sponsors...so if you're interested, just drop me a line ;)”
What's the music climate like in Austria?
“Well, our Popstar is Christina Stürmer, she won the ‘Austrian Idol’ contest, called Starmania a couple of years ago...but all other stuff in our charts is the stuff you can find in all European charts, like Robbie Williams, Christina Aguilera, Nelly Furtado or Justin Timberlake...”
How did you come to join SellaBand as a Believer?
“There was an article on the national Austrian TV-station’s website on november 5th... As you have probably noticed, a lot of Austrians joined SellaBand on that day.”
What does an artist need to deserve your money?
“There’s not really a scheme or something like that... the most important thing is that I'm enjoying myself when I’m listening to their music. the more information the artists have on their websites the better! I also like artists who do something new, like Lily kept it unreal and made a song feat. IGT called Deja-vu, which is really cool!”
You are quite active in moving your Parts from one artist to another. What makes you do that?
“Well, I actually have never moved my Parts from one artist to another, but sometimes I find an artist I like and buy about 10 Parts to put him in the ‘biggest gainers’ list, so that he gets some attention of other Believers but in the end I only keep 1 Part of each artist.”
Is there anything you'd like to change/add to our website?
“No, not really actually...”
Who is your absolute favourite SellaBand Artist?
“Hmmm...i don't know if there is one favourite Artist... Cubworld is number one as everybody knows... but there are many amazing Artists more or less close behind him... but if I had to name one, I guess GD Allan would be the one...I love his song ‘It's as Good as This’...”