Of Verona

Of Verona make attention-grabbing dark futuristic electro-rock and they’ve been getting fantastic reviews for their debut album The White Apple. The band - Dillon Pace, Jeff Sojka and hugely powerful singer Mandi Perkins - are known for their “tsunami of sound” when they play live, and have captured fans all over, as well as impressing MTV and iTunes. The lead single off their album is ‘Castles’ and has been featured on US radio and on rotation on MTVU.

Hometown:
Los Angeles
Label:
Hype Music
Debut:
2010
Homepage:
ofVerona.com
Twitter:
@ofverona
Of Verona on trip pop Of Verona talk songwriting and tech Kit List

Of Verona on trip pop

We caught up with Of Verona at the packed first venue of their UK tour and asked them about their sound and their inspiration.

Mandi described the style that’s been winning them fans worldwide.

It’s an amalgamation of different genres, so it’s really hard to describe an actual sound for us. But the closest thing is futuristic rock. Blended with electronic indie and a little bit of trip pop. A couple of people said we were like trippy, kind of trippy pop and I liked that. So we’ve adopted it as our own. We’re hugely influenced by other artists, especially left of centre ones, and then put our own spin on it and create our own meaning, and that’s Of Verona.

Of Verona’s debut album, The White Apple, has been getting great reviews, and there are plenty of exciting things coming up for the band.

It’s getting radio play in a bunch of different countries, so we’re fired up about that and we’re going to go in the studio in about three weeks after we get back from the UK and finish up a few more songs - we have a lot planned. And just keep playing. We have syncs coming up on TV and film, so that’s very exciting for us, and keep writing and trying to just take it to the next level and not be complacent with where we are. And just try to get our album heard.

Of Verona told us that a wide range of bands and genres have inspired them.

We’ve been hugely influenced by a lot of artists, especially those in the UK, from the 60s and 70s, like Pink Floyd and Bowie, left of centre artists like Björk, and then bands like Garbage, Butch Vig (Nirvana’s producer) producers like that.

Drummer Jeff is also very into the dance scene and that filters into Of Verona’s sound too.

So that’s how we get a bit of a retro sound with the hard beat of today. It’s a mix of all we love.

Mandi loves singers who throw everything into their performance.

I think I’m inspired by singers that just have really cool tones and unique ways of presenting their vocals. There’s something to be said for a singer that’s classically trained, that’s beautiful and on point, and always perfectly on key and can have control and everything, then there’s another thing that a singer can do that, but then has an abandon and a wildness and a freedom. I love singers where it comes from the heart, like Stevie Nicks or Janis Joplin. And I’m super into tone. I love a clear beautiful tone, something that sounds real and honest and truthful. That’s what I’m inspired by.

Of Verona talk songwriting and tech