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caitlindeville promo conquestInterview with

Caitlin De Ville

Caitlin De Ville is a Zambian violinist, born in Chingola, living in South Africa now. She grew up in Kitwe and then moved to Cape Town at the age of 18. Caitlin uses an electric violin to play various covers, she plays classical music in a modern and dynamic way, she also employs contemporary musical genres such as Pop or Hip-Hop. On stage, she combines musical performance and spectacular choreography. In 2019, she toured Europe where I had a chance to see her playing with Metal band TURISAS. The same year she released an album compiling her covers. Her shows and charisma are spectacular and unforgettable and I was happy to ask her a few questions about music, concerts and inspirations.

Reflections of Darkness [RoD]: Caitlin, so far I had a chance and pleasure to see you live only once, with TURISAS, during “Wayfarers and Warriors Tour” in 2019. It was an exceptional outburst of scenic power and joy! Where do you take your energy from?
Caitlin: What a crazy good time it was. I don’t think I’ve ever experienced an audience quite like a TURISAS audience before, I spent the first few nights of the tour trying to work out if it was actually normal for people to be so amped at a gig. It sounds cliché but I always feed off of a crowd, the more energy they have the more I have.

RoD: Could you tell me more about your cooperation with TURISAS? I know Olli Vänskä took some time off at the time the tour was to start, but you are not actually associated with Power Metal to be frank…
Caitlin: So I covered ‘Stand Up and Fight’ in one of my YouTube videos about seven years ago - that song was the first I’d ever heard of TURISAS and I loved them straight away. I’ve often said since then that my “dream job” would be to be a Symphonic Metal violinist but there’s just no way I’d make a living off of doing that in South Africa. Turns out the band had actually seen my video years ago and thought of me when they needed someone for the 2019 tour - when they contacted me to see if I’d potentially fit in with them I actually thought it was a fake email and had to double check the domain name it was sent from because it was so surreal to me.

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RoD: How did you feel in the world of Power, Symphonic Metal and the associated ambience of the concerts?
Caitlin: Like I was home. I honestly have never felt more comfortable on a stage, maybe that’s because nobody has a problem if I drink between songs. On the first night of the tour I was more nervous about going on stage than I have been about performing in 13 years, it really mattered to me to get it right. I don’t really know what I was expecting but the level of professionalism that it takes from the entire crew to make a show happen is amazing to be a part of and makes you want to be the best you can be night after night.

RoD: What first brought you to music?
Caitlin: There was always music in my home growing up. My dad was in bands before I was born; my mom had helped her brother DJ when she was younger - so myself and my siblings were raised as music lovers. I was always one of those kids that loved the spotlight; sang and danced the most enthusiastically in school plays but then I saw the electric violin being played on TV when I was nine. I was very specific about wanting to play electric and not a traditional acoustic from the very start. My parents were offered a Fender electric violin, I think it’s a 1969 model, by a muso in my small town of Kitwe who had wanted to learn but never got around to it and they made everything happen for me. I still have my Fender.

RoD: You were born in Zambia, raised in the city of Kitwe - how would you say the music that surrounded you from early years influenced your music taste? In what way did it change when you moved to Cape Town?
Caitlin: The music you’d hear on radio or at parties was pretty much the same as you’d hear anywhere else in the world - International Top 40s Pop, R&B, Rock etc. with the odd local track thrown into the mix. Traditional Zambian music was only something we’d hear at Independence Day celebrations really. My sister listened to some heavier rock in her teens, she also listened to R&B and Hip-Hop and eventually electronic music so I was exposed to all of her taste and sort of got to decide what I liked and would explore some of those paths more. When I moved to Cape Town I was exposed to genres from Afro-Jazz to Psy-Trance to Metal thanks to the friends I made.

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RoD: What determines the choice for covers you do?
Caitlin: I’ve tried all sorts of things over the years - from asking for fan suggestions to just covering whatever is trending to basically saying screw it and covering whatever I liked even though it wouldn’t necessarily appeal to my fan base. I look back now and wish some of the covers didn’t exist but they’ve all played their role in helping me work out what I want to do.

RoD: What is so special about the electric violin that you chose it to be your instrument? I do not play any instruments myself, but I heard that playing the violin is like patting one’s head and stroking one’s belly at the same time - so quite difficult actually. How many hours a day do you practice?
Caitlin: Haha, I didn’t have much formal training so nobody told me it was meant to be difficult and then one day it was too late to turn back I guess. I’m not going to lie and tell you I practice every day. I practice when I have something I’m trying to figure out or a big gig coming up. I don’t have that daily sort of discipline but when I do need to, I get completely obsessively immersed in rehearsing something over and over till I don’t have to think about it anymore.

RoD: You travel a lot while doing concerts - would you say there was a place or person you met during the journeys that had the greatest impact on you? How do you feel now when the travelling options are so limited?
Caitlin: That’s a tough one, I’ve been on some pretty crazy adventures. I’d say I’ve had the most varied gig experiences in India. A solo concert at a University in Mumbai that I wasn’t expecting to be an arena show; a short residency in a fancy club in Delhi and a private concert in the jungle in Bandipur - I’ve met people from all walks of life there but humility seems like a very common trait no matter their status in life and it’s amazing. Not being able to travel this year has been really strange. On one hand, sure, I feel like my wings have been clipped but on the other it’s been really great to spend the time at home for a change working on music, being able to focus on it without having to be somewhere or working towards the next gig.

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RoD: What can we expect from you in the future? Are you planning to release any original compositions in the future? Any tours once the covid-19 restrictions are over?
Caitlin: Yes! I’m starting to release all of the music I’ve been working on this year, kicking things off with ‘Untamed’ and then the current plan is to release a new original once a month. Of course I’m hoping that things do get better worldwide but I’m not counting on that happening anytime soon - I’m dying to be back on stage though and plan to be just as soon as it’s safe for everyone.

RoD: Do you live by any motto? What, apart from music, is important to you?
Caitlin: Not really any motto that I live by no. Quality time with friends and family is important to me - they make sense of all the crazy.

RoD: Thank you very much for your time!
Caitlin: Thank you!

Live picture by Raido Photography

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