Exclusive track premiere of ‘Fantasy’ by Venus In Arms, a solo project by Olivia Barchard (Breakdown Valentine/Moon Museum).

“This song has been two years in the making. The foundation of the song wrote itself pretty quickly–the guitars, melody, lyrics all came together in one night. But this song didn’t seem like one that was ready to go after the first round. I let it sit for a while and layered on parts over time. I love songs that are cinematic or have a character and layers of emotions. I wanted to try and create something that was in that vein. I actually sang a lyric in Korean in the second verse. Coming into my own and accepting myself fully is something I started working on in the last few years and I’m proud of my multi-ethnic background. I went to mix the song with Beau and working with him enhanced the vision I had for the song. He has some amazing analog gear and brought the song a warmth I couldn’t create in my home studio. The meaning of this song morphs as often as the characters in the music video and so I can’t say it means one thing for me. It definitely stemmed from a particular feeling, but I really want the listener to be able to define what this song means for themselves.”

While toying with the idea of releasing solo music, she joined Moon Museum, a San Francisco band made up of close friends and tenured musicians. The group recorded and released 3 tracks through the covid pandemic and are still writing to this day. Today Olivia is finally stretching her wings and releasing music created solely by herself. Most of the material from Venus In Arms is about her continued self-discovery and expression, and is self written, recorded, and produced. However, she’s not limiting the experience to writing and producing on her own and you’ll surely see some guest producers and writers in the near future.

Headline photo: Ryan Joseph

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