Truthfully, struggling through that kind of adversity – the need to endure hard times and to fight for the music you believe in – has been exactly the kind of driver that Black Satellite thrive upon.
“I obviously write about a lot of darker themes,” Larissa continues. “For me, our music is about catharsis. I don’t really gravitate towards songwriting when I’m feeling happy and everything is going well. I’m the kind of person who wants to write a song when everything has gone to shit and I’m just stuck there in my room. I’m really not afraid to be very vulnerable and put those darker elements on display. They’re all emotions that we all have, all part of the human experience.”
Accordingly, the last few years have been more about empowerment than melancholic wallowing. With the recent departure of longstanding guitarist Kyle Hawken, Larissa is now a focal-point and bandleader alone. Although she stresses that her bandmates are “brothers in arms, [alongside whom] I’m going to war out on the road every day” she is the artistic driver both musically and visually – even putting that cinematography degree to work on music videos – and the punchy personality and shimmering darkness of Black Satellite’s future is a reflection of her own.
“I guess the best way to explain it is that when people come up to talk to me at the merch table after shows, they tend to say that I don’t sound like anyone else they’ve heard before, or that ‘I don’t sing like other girls,’” she unpacks an anecdote. “The other night, this guy came up to me like, ‘Please don’t be offended... but I didn’t believe my friend when he said there was a chick onstage! He thought I was a dude! As it happens, and not for any reason, I was never really influenced by any female vocalists growing up. I’ve always just wanted to hone in on my own individual sound.”
Thrillingly, said sound still feels like it’s just getting started. With the support of veterans like Cradle frontman Dani Filth and Coal Chamber/Devildriver legend Dez Fafara, a war-chest of fresh material ready to be unleashed on an unsuspecting public and a genuine attitude towards performaning where they see that every show could be their big-break or last shot, stardom will surely soon come calling. But the question is: will Larissa still be the gritty road-dog we know when it does?
“I don’t require a lot,” she laughs as we wave farewell. “Maybe we’ll have slightly better accommodation, but we’ll never have that crazy rider. For sure, we’ll still soundcheck in like five minutes. We’ll still be down to earth. We’ll still try to be as good as we can to the bands on tour with us. Honestly, no matter what, I think a part of me will always feel like I’m roughing it…”
Black Satellite’s second album Aftermath is due for release later this year.
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