VILIVANT – “Losing My Religion”
I really can agree when someone says that VILIVANT (Julia Gentile) has a voice that could make any song sound good. Her vocals are powerful and mesmerizing, pulling you in and not ever letting go. It only gets better when she is accompanied by the epic background orchestrations on her reworked rock rendition of R.E.M’s 90’s smash hit, and Grammy awarding single, “Losing My Religion”. Her vocals take another dimension right from the start when she plays it almost alone, with the dominant piano and carefully selected bass and drum embellishments poignantly supporting the narrative.
The song is dark and very atmospheric, beautifully textured with keyboards, strings and layered harmonies, and builds up to very edgy and crunchy, driving crescendo levels propelled by thick overdriven guitars. The tone of “Losing My Religion” as a whole, is definitely haunting and ethereal and it just keeps getting better with every listen and it’s a track with a consistent quality that is damn compelling. The production is thicker, warmer and fuller than almost every other version I have heard through the years so far.
And when VILIVANT sets her voice to soar, she is able to drive your eardrums to an orgasmic explosion, as she goes from a quiet whisper to a primal scream in one single swoop. VILIVANT’s distinctive touch, turns this R.E.M classic into her own rock masterpiece. VILIVANT proves that, if done right, a complete overhaul of a classic song, can be a good thing. Her version becomes a mountain of emotions, adding layers of instruments and vocals that snowball into an epic, hard-hitting arrangement.
“Losing My Religion” – an already immensely great song – is turned into a sudden spike of ultra-exciting music that hits, with its dark, grand and euphoric combination of resonant keyboards, guitars and vocals. It’s a perfect display of everything coming together, to deliver an emotion-packed punch. Rock anthems don’t come much bigger than this version of “Losing My Religion”, which sounds like VILIVANT’s most ambitious and challenging project to date.
More impressively, there is a tangible beating heart and moving spirit, running at the core of this interpretation. Vocally, VILIVANT can comfortably and permanently position herself in a place most of her peers can’t even reach. “Losing My Religion” is a bold and astounding cover which should catapult VILIVANT into the highest stratospheres of her craft. The song is officially available on all major platforms from March 5th 2021.
The Story So Far: VILIVANT (Julia Gentile) is a Canadian hard rocker that quickly gained immediate success in the music scene when she was approached at age 14 to record a song for the Pan Am Games; and consequently decided to start writing her own music. Drawing heavily from influences such as Halestorm, The Pretty Reckless and Three Days Grace she created her first self-titled EP (with the help of producer Tal Vaisman & Andre Kaden Black).
The debut video for her first single ‘Never Again’ garnered massive views on YouTube and saw radio airplay on diverse stations. With her continuous success, including charting on the Canadian rock radio charts, she grabbed the attention, and became managed by, Demetrius Nath – owner and founder Antiskeptic Entertainment, who has worked with Arkells, Alexisonfire, Walk off the Earth, Billy Talent, Arctic Monkeys, Bush, The Used etc.).
In 2020, VILIVANT was asked to play for the Australian Wildfire festival (which was televised across the country) to help raise money to help the animals and end the wildfires in Australia at the time. Unfortunately with COVID shutting everything down, she continued to play at virtual festivals. During this time she was selected as a Top 5 Regional Finalist for Jim Beam’s National Talent Search and won the Toronto Region with her LIVE off the floor performance video of her song ‘Stabilized.’
Connect with VILIVANT: Instagram @Vilivant – Facebook @vilivantrocks – Twitter @vilivant
Listen to the VILIVANT EP “Never Again” – https://vilivant.fanlink.to/neveragainep
