Vikowski is minimal, "deep", indie, (synth)pop coming from Italy. It appeared in 2015. with first demo containg three tracks. The reactions were so good that Vikowski decided to make a brave move and go on tour where he visited 40 cities in Italy and Eastern Europe. On Pending Lips festival in 2016. he was spotted by the crew from Costello Recordsa and they offered him to release his first full lenght album "Beyond the Skyline". The album was released on last day of March in 2017. The album was followed by spring tour, and now Vikowski is going to his autumn shows. While he is packing up his stuff for the tour he will tell us more about him self and his work...

At the beginning please introduce Vikowski a little bit to our readers. You started in 2015. right?
Yes, we can say so.  I played my first concert as Vikowski in April 2015 in Rome, being supporting act for a local band. They gave me the chance to perform for the first time some new songs I wrote in those last five/six months and suddenly after I decided to record those songs in a demo.

Soon after your first demo in 2015. with three tracks you went on your first tour with forty shows. That is quite a lot and pretty brave move for young music act. What countries did you visited and what was your experience?

My first two years as Vikowski have been very spontaneous. Nothing has been actually planned and maybe that has been the key. I uploaded my songs on Soundcloud without a real promotion and I ended up playing a lot of concerts touring Italy, Hungary, Poland and Germany. I had wonderful experiences, met a lot of great people, some of who are among my best friends. It made me grow a lot, personally and professionally and led me to writing “Beyond the Skyline”.

On this tour you took part at Pending Lips Festival 2016. You were noticed by Costello Records and they released your debut album "Beyond the Skyline" in March 2017. It’s been more than six months now. What are your impression from this time distance? Are you satisfied with your label, and more – are you satisfied with album? Is there anything you’d like to change?

I am very satisfied. The guys at Costello’s saw something in my music they believed in. They helped me creating a more structured project which is proving itself to be surely successful in spreading my music out.
For what about “Beyond the Skyline”, it is actually a long desired and dreamed goal. It is not only my debut album as Vikowski but the debut album of my entire music career. I felt ready for it, I gave all myself to it and the results still satisfies me 100%

When you compare your releases (first demo and first album), how do you think you music envolved? Are you in some kind of constant search for new sounds and expressions?

I think my music became more mature, more conscious I would say. At the time of my demo  the sounds and the kind of atmosphere I wanted to create were very clear to me but my songwriting improved a lot in those years of tour.


What is your main inspiration, and what are the themes Vikowski is dealing with?

Making music is the way I console myself, the way I deal with the hardest moments of my life.
My songs talk about emotions: dreams, sacrifice, efforts, love, sorrow, happiness. I do not really plan to write a new song. I just have to wait for it to come out.

Your tour where you promote “Beyond the Skyline” album and your work is about to start. Part of it will take place in Balkan countries. But it will not be your first time here. You visited us in spring, right after you album was released right? I guess the impressions were good since you decided to visit us again.

Definitely! Suddenly after the release I had the chance to play two acoustic intimate shows, one in Belgrade and one in Nis and I loved it. This time I will perform with an electronic set, playing “Beyond the Skyline” as it was recorded.

How was the tour planned, what are the dates?

Lone Waltz Records, a Hungarian Budapest-based independent label and booking agency is helping me planning my tour outside Italy.
The dates I will be in Serbia again are the following :
03 Nov – Studio 11 – Subotica
04 Nov – CK13 – Novi Sad
05 Nov – Zaokret - Beograd

Are there any expectations, and, is there a difference (from your point of view) when you play in cities you played before, and when you play and explore some new countries and cities?

As my tour started, this will be the first time I come back to play in two cities I already played in. I am talking of Beograd and Timisoara (Romania) where I will be playing again on the 2nd of November.
We will see, I guess the expectations or better the hopes are the same as for any other city I play in: that there will be somebody who is waiting for me to come play. The difference is that in these cases I know I’ll have the chance to meet again friends I met in the first place.

On this tour you’ll perform as full band. How much will the songs be different from your album, or will they be different at all?

The songs will be very much alike. When I play acoustic shows the songs are performed an a very intimate way, as they were when I wrote them in my room. With my bandmates I can perform the songs fully arranged, bringing the same sounds and atmosphere of the record.

What are advantages and disadvantages of being in “one man” and full band? Is it just a tour thing, or it could happened to become full band all the time?

Playing solo concerts exposes me the most. I feel totally naked in front of the audience, that is even why I would rather play minimal acoustic concerts if I’m in solo. It is a bit frightening right before entering the stage but then it helps me creating a perfect feeling share with the people.
When I play with my bandmates instead, and I can bring live my album as it is recorded, I love to share the music on the stage with my band and the emotions we share with the audience are different I think.
I love both conditions. Vikowski came to life as solo project though and so far the full band is just a tour thing. It seems it will stay this way in the near future but who knows. We will see.

With what feeling you want your audience to leave the show?

I would love the audience to leave the show feeling like they met somebody new. I would love they to feel what I feel while playing my songs. If this happens, I will have succeed.

After this tour what’s next? Are there any new songs recorded for some new release?

I actually have some new stuff in mind but have not started working on yet.

Thank you for your time and the interview. For the end, please send final message to the audience here in Balkans before the shows. :)

Thank you! It is been a pleasure. I will be very happy to welcome Helly Cherry readers to my shows, so please when you will be there, come meet me.
See you soon.