Interview withAnna Graves (vocals and synths) and Sara Rock (bass guitar and backing vocals) from Soft Scent
One band who really piqued my interest last year, was Italian darkwave trio SOFT SCENT. Formed in 2023 and comprising of Anna Graves (vocals, keyboards and synths), Sara Rock (bass guitar and backing vocals) and Enrico (drums), their music is an exquisite fusion of Darkwave and Post-Punk. Their sound blends beautiful, moody synths with heavy, driving basslines. The staccato edginess of Anna’s vocals is reminiscent of German 80s outfit X-MAL DEUTSCHLAND.
SOFT SCENT’s popularity is soaring and subsequently, they have been invited to numerous alternative music festivals all over Europe this summer. They also delighted new audiences in the UK, with tour in 2025. I had the absolute pleasure of interviewing Anna and Sara who took time out of their busy schedule to chat to us, from their native Italy via Zoom.
Reflections of Darkness: [RoD]: I am so glad we finally managed to sit down for a chat! I have been following your journey on Facebook; it looks like you guys are very busy...working on a new album and playing at festivals in Europe. Which has been your favourite so far?
Sara: Yes, yes, we are!
Anna: So far, this year - Spain was very cool, but I have to say that all of them have been very good. Every one of them is different and you never know whether there may be technical problems or not.
Sara: But we enjoy it.
Anna: Yes, we enjoy it, people are very warm with us, very enthusiastic and they are emotional. So, we are happy so far.
RoD: I first heard of SOFT SCENT when you were supporting THE IN-SECT in York. How did you find that? Did you get s good reception from the York crowd?
Anna: Yes, first we have to say that we don’t mean to imply that the shows on the rest of the tour were any less enjoyable, but the show in York was particularly good and there were a lot of people there. They were very welcoming. I think it was our best gig of that tour.
Sara: The last and the best.
Anna: Yes, because we had done four shows before York, it was the fifth day and we were very tired, but it was the best.
RoD: Well, that would be our famous Yorkshire hospitality and there would have been a lot of people from Leeds who went to that gig too.
Sara: I think there were people from Leeds, there was one guy who we have become friends with, and I think he was our biggest fan there, he was from Leeds.
RoD: Did you get to see the historical city... with its old castle walks and museums?
Sara: No, unfortunately not, we didn’t have time, we fell asleep backstage, but Enrico our drummer went to visit York. In fact, we have to go back, because he said it was amazing. We would like to see the city, but we were very tired.
RoD: So which cities did you go to on that tour?
Anna: London - London was the first: The Hope and Anchor.
Sara: Then we did Preston.
Anna: Then all the way down to Brighton, then we did Stockport. And you know Preston was difficult - not the venue itself, the venue was very cool, but we had to go all the way down to Brighton, the next day.
RoD: Who organised that? Someone with no knowledge of the geography of England, no doubt!
Both: (Laughing) Yes!
Anna: It something of an endless trip, because after Brighton, we went to Hyde near Manchester because we were sleeping there, I think we were like five hours in the car. Anyway, we survived. (Laughs)
Sara: We are alive!
RoD: I noticed that you Anna, and Sara come over to London quite a lot. Do you have connections there?
Anna: Yes, even before the band, we were travelling to London. Before we knew each other even, I studied there for a time and she [Sara] went there for other stuff. And then after the Hope and Anchor show, there were some promoters there and they invited us to play last October to The KitKat Club Night in London and we became friends.
RoD: I saw that you were DJing there [London] last weekend. Looks like you had quite a blast - apart from the boat sickness:
Anna: Oh Yes, the boat sickness arrived later.
Sara: In the night!
Anna: Yes, it was strange because, at the time we were completely fine. Then we had this DJ set at Dark Scene London and they asked us to play a set as a band, but we already did the same show in October.
Sara: It was impossible to bring all the instruments with us.
Anna: Yes, and also we wanted to do another London show with the new album, instead of repeating things, so we did this DJ set and as soon as we entered the venue...
Sara: I said to her, “Anna, we’re on the sea!” (laughs)
Anna: The sea sickness arrived and I thought “Oh shit, I’m about to vomit on the decks!”
Sara: Yeah - punk!
Anna: But we didn’t!
Sara: No, we didn’t!
Anna: It was quite a big boat that we went on in the afternoon to see the BUZZCOCKS - where they do events, two floors and a very cool stage also!
RoD: That sounds cool
Anna: Yes, it was, they do parties and events, but the problem was that that day, the Thames was very busy, and it was raining, so the water was a little rough.
RoD: But you continued playing, so... rock n roll! [Apparently, this is known as ‘Mal de Debarquement Syndrome’ or ‘Land Sickness’ according to Google].
Anna: Yes, it was very cool, people in London were very excited about our DJ set and they danced until the end.
RoD: Excellent!
Anna: Yes, we may have been seasick, but we still enjoyed it very much.
Sara: We had a great end of the night. Everything was perfect.
Anna: Everything in London is perfect for us. We are more in London than we are in Rome, because it takes as more time to fly to Rome or Milan, than flying to London.
RoD: I notice there are a lot of Alternative / Goth and Darkwave festivals in Germany or Poland and Spain, but I’ve not seen any in Italy?
Anna: No, there was just one - that I personally organised. We did four editions. It was quite a big festival. It was called Moonlight Festival, we had a lot of bands, also I had the honour of having DAF there, SPECIMEN, PETER HOOK, and a lot of other people. Also, we had SEX GANG CHILDREN, because I’m good friends with Andi Sex Gang.
Sara: And SIGUE SIGUE SPUTNIK!
Anna: Also, in Italy the government don’t like to help with this kind of music, while in Germany they have three or four festivals.
RoD: Yes - I know so many bands who play German festivals and they have an amazing time there... So how do you find the UK Darkwave scene compares with the European ones?
Anna: Well, a few years ago I didn’t see much of this type of music in the UK, it was kind of dead, but now it’s really coming back - the scene.
RoD: So, SOFT SCENT is a relatively new band. How did you guys get started?
Anna: Oh, that’s a great question. We started three years ago - in 2023. The project is young. We knew each other because in this area of Italy, there are not so many people who listen to this kind of music. The drummer who is not here today, kept in touch with us and said, “Why don’t we do a band?” and we said, “Yes! Why don’t we try!” We started to write songs and here we are!
RoD: So, you have both played in bands before?
Sara: Yes, more than 20 years. This project started out as an experiment but sounded really pretty so we said let’s continue and here we are.
RoD: And it’s really cool and now you are getting invited to a lot of festivals.
Anna: Yes, we have a toured a lot over the last two years. Every weekend, we were at different cities in Italy.
Sara: Or in Europe.
Anna: Or in a different country in Europe.
RoD: So, who are your favourite bands to listen to?
Anna: Oh, there are so many! I don’t only listen to Darkwave music. I have had this shirt [Queen] since I was a child and there are many others... so I listen to all different kinds of music.
Sara: The classics for me are like JOY DIVISION, I have a tattoo on my body.
Anna: We were recently at the BUZZCOCKS gig - one of my favourite bands... also THE DAMNED.
Sara: THE DAMNED, yes! We went to see THE DAMNED last April in London.
Anna: So, there are many different bands that we like.
Sara: I also like NIRVANA - why not?
RoD: Who would you most like to share a stage with?
Anna: Oh, we have to say names? Well... at the moment, I would say that I would like to share a stage with TWIN TRIBES - but of course there are other bands that we would like to share the stage with.
Sara: But with TWIN TRIBES at the moment, we really like the music and also, we feel that our music is quite similar to theirs - not the sound, but the feeling of the music, the atmosphere.
Anna: They are Mexican, but they are actually from the USA. Latin America is a very cool scene.
RoD: So, as we wrap up this interview, what does the rest of the year look like for SOFT SCENT...
Anna: Ah... the rest of the year? Well, we are in the middle of making our second album, we’ve recorded the first half and that is now in the mixing process.
Sara: We will be finishing off the album in September.
RoD: Hopefully next time you tour, we can arrange for you to play in Leeds.
Anna: Yes, that would be cool. We don’t care if we headline or support, we just want to play [laughs].
RoD: That’s a great attitude to have! On that note, thank you so much for the interview, it’s been a pleasure.
Both: Thank you.
Website: https://softscent.bandcamp.com / https://www.facebook.com/SoftScentMusic / https://www.instagram.com/softscentofficial
Artwork by Sara Rock / Prom o pics by Erika Audisio and Barbara Tonti
