Band of the Day: SIMA

Continuing our quest to introduce you to as many acts as possible, we threw our Band of the Day questions to SIMA and she threw back some answers for us.

Simple things first – where are you are from?

I’m originally from Israel. But, I’ve been living in the U.S for a while now. I’m currently based in Los Angeles.

Before you get sick of being asked… where does the band name come from?

The name SIMA is my original name. It means treasure, as well, the top of the mountain. In one of my singles “Suffering Is My Addiction”, I played with hiding my name within the title of the song. I thought it was kind of clever. Most people don’t know that fact.

What are your influences?

My influences mainly come from my own life experience, my past, upbringing, heartbreaks, relationships, love and my curiosity for life. I never really listen to a band and say that I want to sound like them. With that being said, I listen to a lot of different types of music. One of my favourite artists growing up was Bjork. When I heard her music and saw her music videos, I was blown away. She was so ahead of her time, so unique, creative, expressive and authentic and I loved her raw and intense voice. She was singing from her soul and writing about deep stuff, she was wild and rare. I used to listen to her for hours and I bought every record she released. I wanted to master the way she was screaming and letting her self go so freely. She wasn’t playing on the safe side of the music industry. She was herself and I loved that.

That’s something that I always wanted to accomplish with my music. I wanted to create an honest and unique sound that you can’t really place in a box. I was also inspired by Stevie Nicks, Dolores O’Riordan from The Cranberries, RIP, Shirley Manson from Garbage, Alanis Morissette, Cyndi Lauper, Madonna, Janis Joplin, Pat Benatar, Mazzy Star and bands like The Cure, Massive Attack, A Perfect Circle, Metallica, Portishead, Linkin Park, Radiohead, Pink Floyd, Depeche Mode, New Order, Led Zeppelin, Guns N’ Roses, Roxette. I love Nick Cave’s music and I’m a big fan of his old stuff, Nine Inch Nails, Jack White, Judas Priest and the list goes on and on.

Describe your music. What makes you unique?

I describe my music as rock/pop with a mix of electronic influences. Piano and synths, live drums and sometime electronic drums, bass, driving rock guitars, intense and powerful vocals coupled with poignant, inspiring and honest lyrics. On my upcoming album, I was exploring some of my Middle Eastern roots with instruments like the Arabic oud, as well, singing in Hebrew for the first time in years.

What makes me unique is what makes each and everyone of us unique. There is only one SIMA and there is only one like you. No one is quite the same, even if sometimes in life we go through similar things and we are all connected to one another. I think that we all have our own unique ways to express ourselves and relate to the world and everything in it. Music has always been that safe space that I can process everything that I went through in life.

I think that my passion, fearlessness, honesty and my deep need for self- expression, my strength, my life journey and depth is unique. My ability to relate to people on a deeper level is also something that comes across in my music. I’m really honest about my past, pain, life experiences, struggles and my needs as a human being, a woman and an artist. I think I’m just real and it’s easy for people to feel comfortable with me.

Do you have any particular lyrical themes?

I don’t really have any particular lyrical themes, but most of my songs are inspirational and thrive to break down norms and walls within society and my need to bring a positive message of hope to others. You can hear that strongly on my first single “Breaking Down The Walls”. My lyrics are also about love, healing, acceptance and letting go of something that no longer serves you, like in the songs “Set All On Fire”, “This Is My Truth” and “Wherever You Are”.

The ideas for my songs come from my life experience, my past upbringing, heartbreaks, my curiosity for life, my belief in God, spirituality, my desire for deep connections and finding meaning and purpose in my life. Writing is always different for me and it comes in different ways at different times. If I am affected deeply by something, I will write about it; like a relationship.

For the soundtrack for my peace documentary, Broken Wings, I just started writing the lyrics because I felt so affected by the situation in Israel and the Middle East and I wanted to express my thoughts and my feelings. So that song definitely had a lyrical theme.

What’s your live show like? How many shows have you played?

My live show is fun, rocking and sexy. People should expect to go through a range of emotions and experiences. Dance, rock out, laugh, open their hearts and experience raw emotions and honesty and a heart to heart connection. I want people to feel safe to be themselves and feel that I’m talking to them through my music and my own experiences.

I played a lot of shows around NY and LA. I never was on a tour and that is my goal right now. I took a break from playing live to focus on writing my new record and completing my documentary Broken Wings and writing the music for the film. I was travelling back and forth from LA to Israel and the West Bank to film for the last couple years.

What, if anything, are you plugging/promoting at the moment?

I’m currently promoting my new single “Head Over Heels” which is about being in love. About finding that special someone who you can’t get out of your mind, someone that you can trust to be by your side, no matter what. It talks about how sometimes in life we give up on love, because we get hurt so many times, that we become numb to it and forget how it feels to be in that vibration, to be in love head over heels with someone, until you finally meet that special person that changes all that and brings you back to life. Although “Head Over Heels” talks about love and finding that special someone, it’s not your typical love song. It has an intense badass rock sound. It’s intimate and at the same time, has in your face attitude of a woman who is not afraid to express her feelings and deep desires.

What are your plans for 2018?

My plans are to do exactly what I’m doing right now. Promote “Head Over Heels” and create the stage for my upcoming record. I would love to tour the world with my new record and my upcoming documentary Broken Wings and keep growing my fan base and connect to as many people as possible and share my visions and dreams with the world.

If you were second on a three-band bill, which band would you love to be supporting and which band would you choose to open for you? A chance to plug someone you’ve toured with, or a mate’s band we’ve not heard of before!

If I were second on a three-band bill I would love to be supporting? Ok I always dreamed big so, I would say either NIN, Radiohead, Metallica, Foo Fighters, Perfect Circle, U2, Breaking Benjamin, Three Days Grace. There’re so many. I would like my friend Evan Rodaniche’s band Cage 9 to open for me.

SIMA: officialfacebook | twitter | instagram | soundcloud | youtube

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