Peer Pressure is a straight foward, tough as nail, hardcore band from Quebec city. Formed in 2018, the band, fronted by singer Victoria Mladenovski, released a first EP that made lots of waves within the local punk/hardcore/metal community, and beyond. After a few shows around the province, Victoria quickly gained the reputation of being a fierce performer, with powerful vocals, that will make you wanna 2-step your way to the pit in a second. The group just released their first opus, so we got in touch with her to talk about it, and how it all begun.
First of all, congrats on the new album, it's such a powerful kick to the face, from start to finish! How does it feel to finally put out your first full length?
We are beyond proud to finally share “Catharsis”, which is heavily focussed on mental illnesses. We’ve worked so hard as a band from the start. We are still quite “new” to the scene, so putting out our first full length is just overwhelming. It hasn’t been an easy road like almost every band can say, but we always find ways to connect our rough times to our music.
You've released the first single last november, and the album was released a few days ago. Did the lockdown have any effect on the process?
We were fortunate enough to have the album fully recorded just before the pandemic started. We worked with Maxime Lacroix of House Of Gain Studio (Produced/Mixed and Mastered our EP Inside Out also). Due to the fact that we recorded everything in time, Max was able to complete the album as usual. However, we did record a Music/Lyric video a couple of weeks ago and this was a bit more difficult. With all of the Covid-19 measures in place, we had to alternate our idea a little bit, but everything worked out nonetheless!
What was going through your mind when you saw the whole industry was put to a stop, and no one could (still) predict when shows and tours, as we know them, would come back?
Speech-Less. I have no words, we have no words. Releasing a full length album knowing that we cannot play “real” shows or do any tours was a huge risk, but we made the choice to continue with our main intentions rather than releasing nothing at all. We want our fans and new fans to hear what we worked so hard on, and when things clear out we know they will be singing along with us. Like so many people, we still have no idea what our near future holds.. but all we can say is it is the time to just keep making music. We’re living a history lesson, so we may as well benefit from these crazy times and do something extraordinary.
Do you have any plans to make an online streaming concert at some point this year or you feel it would be better to wait to actually play a real live event?
Peer Pressure doesn’t have any plans for streaming a concert in the near future. We really need that direct and close contact, that’s what our music is about. We know when things get better and more controlled we are going to hit the scene 10 times harder than we ever have. We all need to be patient right now and we all need to do our part so we can continue doing what we all love.
Now let's talk about where you are from. Where did you grow up? I heard that you speak 5 languages?
This question is both easy and hard to answer. If you take a look at my last name, you will definitely notice it is not Canadian, nor French Canadian. My parents are both from Macedonia but I was extremely fortunate to be born in Canada. My parents found it necessary to “stick to our roots” so I was raised speaking both Macedonian and English. It was important for us to visit Macedonia as often as we could to stay connected with our family overseas. Now, about where I grew up, it was mostly in a place called “Whitby”, which is about 35 minutes East of Downtown Toronto. I decided to leave that town as soon as I was old enough to get out. I needed something bigger, something louder. I moved around to a few different cities over Ontario for several years, then headed to Germany for a while. I don’t know why, but I just never felt “at home” in Ontario. I picked up on German while living there and further studied Languages such as Spanish and Hindi. I just love languages, all of them.
How did music enter your life and when did you start shifting to heavier stuff?
I guess everyone can relate by saying music has always been a big part of their life like it has mine, but the heavier stuff was all thanks to my older and only brother. You know that younger sibling thing where they want to be and do everything their older sibling does? Well, I grew up with him drumming in the basement constantly practicing metal. I used to take my brothers CD’s and listen to them in my room with my eyes wide open wondering how I just discovered this. Limp Bizkit, man those CD’s changed me. I started going to metal shows as soon as I hit 12 or 13. I am pretty sure I had to beg my mom to take me to many shows because of my age at the time, the best part is that she always did.
What made you wanna pick a mic and say, alright let's do this, I wanna fuck shit up on a stage too!
Can you imagine me doing Karaoke? Would you believe me if I said I was the Karaoke Queen? There has always been something about being on stage with a microphone that just felt right. Of course, watching my boyfriend fuck shit up on stage with Feels Like Home all the time gave me so much motivation, but to be honest the main reason is just that I have too much I want and need to say and all of my life the best way I could ever understand things was through music, so I need to give it back the same way.
Like lots of heavier genre of music, hardcore is very male dominated, most bands like Peer Pressure, are often described as "female fronted" hardcore. How do you feel about this?
Peer Pressure should be described just like any other band in our genre is. Having the title “female fronted” before hardcore just doesn’t seem necessary. We should be categorized together as musicians, not gender. With that being said, it is not easy to get away from this title seeing as it is “the truth”, but we don’t want our listeners tuning in exclusively because we are fronted with female vocals. We take pride in the music we compose and create together, but we need “the whole picture” to be captured and clear. We’re a band.
The hardcore community can be very inclusive towards women, but it's roots are pretty violent and there was a time where the pit was a boys only playground. Various scenes can still be very brutal, but most hardcore bands nowadays will try to make it a safe space, even if sometimes women need to step up to make sure it happens. What's your feeling on this?
Without speaking as a vocalist, I will speak as a spectator. Every metal or hardcore show that I go to, you will find me in the pit. I have been kicked, punched, thrown.. name it, but it’s the after that always amazes me. Groups of people getting me up, taking care of me to make sure I’m ok. The pit is violent, sure. The pit is a family, though. A family for everyone who needs to be there. We cannot ask shows to be completely “safe” because unexpected things will always happen anywhere we go, but it depends on how those situations are dealt with. Both men and women should know what can happen the moment you step foot in a pit. It is not a “boys only playground”, it is a “blow off all of the steam and shit you have going on outside of these walls playground”.
You've played here and there in the province of Quebec, what's your take on sexism in our scene? Do you feel sometimes you're not being treated the same way of your fellow band members?
Personally, I have never felt mistreated. Over the last couple of years I have noticed that there are more and more women in our scene, which is amazing to see. I truly don’t think we have a problem with sexism, everyone seems to be having fun and I don’t see aggression towards gender. I respect everyone I have worked with thus far within the scene as they’ve all been extremely friendly to both me and my band as a whole.
Who are your biggest inspirations in the hardcore scene, and the ones outside the scene?
I have many inspirations both in and out of the scene, but inside it was JP from Get The Shot who definitely gave me my final push. They played Toronto while I was visiting the same weekend and he encouraged me to go on stage with him to sing “Cold Hearted”. The energy in those 20 seconds was just insane. At the time, I already had music in the works but that show made me realize what it is I was really singing up for, and fuck I wanted it so bad. My parents and boyfriend are supportive in anything I do, but the moment I told them I wanted to start a “hardcore” band, they topped their level of support. My family being beside me all the way gives me the biggest drive as a musician. I want to make them proud just as much as I want to make myself proud.
Now let's end this with a track by track rundown of the new album, from your perspective.
Vixen:
Having someone so toxic in your life that it destroys you. You finally comprehend what it is they do to you and you find your strength to stand up for yourself. You thought this person was your best friend, loyal or caring but they constantly use you and degrade you. Before you let them get the best of you and feel trapped with no place to go, you speak what’s on your mind and move on.
Stack The Cards:
Leaders make a choice to lead. Some lead well, some don’t even know the core definition to the title. When a community puts their trust in someone hoping they will be protected and cared for, they continue to be deceived. Countries, States, Provinces and Territories all choose their leaders on false hopes and pretenses. “Stack The Cards” speaks about on-going uncontrollable patterns in the political world we face.
Atyches:
Imagine having the world tell you that you don’t belong? Having no person here care for you? Not your community, not your family, not even your own children. A person who has reached rock bottom drowns themselves in dark thoughts, and that’s where we are here. The truth is, this person is extremely important, they’re beyond intelligent and have so many wise words to share. The problem, they’re just not here to share those words anymore. So, I became their voice hoping they can still be heard.
Do a Number on Me:
This song is about physical and verbal abuse. It is not specific about where it comes from, but it’s to highlight the impact it can have on us. Just because you feel broken, it doesn’t mean you’re not beautiful. There may be no way to fix the damage it causes, but there has to be a way to defeat it before it defeats you. If you can learn to love yourself exactly the way you are, you’ve just won. Take back the power and control you feel like you lost. It’s yours forever.
Cutthroat:
Insatiable. Nothing is ever good enough. When you always find the reason to compare yourself to somebody else and you break your own esteem. You are your worst enemy.
Suffocation:
Suicide is such a big issue around the world, this song emphasizes the lack of air we have when we realize we don’t want to be here anymore. You feel so hated and so alone, as if no one would even care if you’re not here tomorrow. There’s another voice telling you that this is not the end. Maybe it’s a friend, a family member, a self-conscious thought.. but it’s there. You need to hold on to that light ahead of you as tightly as you can because you have purpose and reason to be here. We all do.
The Better End:
You don’t know how to connect with the world. You don’t feel the same way as the others do. You don’t feel pain, you don’t feel love and you have a hard time letting others into your life because you just don’t care. You try to “blend in” but you know it’s just so fake. On the verge of a sociopath or psychopath, what are you?
Can you tell me which path will be my fate?
am I a socio, a psycho and is it too late?
I show emotion but I - I feel no pain
I live in camouflage trying to play this game
It Festers:
Set yourself a goal and stick with it. We always fall down, but we need to get back up. This is a motivational song to try and bring up your spirits when you feel like you keep failing at anything you do. You can’t give up, or shit never gets done. Remove the weaknesses from your life that hold you back and pick up from where you left off.
Catharsis:
We had to give this song the album’s name. It is the “heart” to the album. Procrastination is a huge problem with so many people and it can seriously affect things you have planned. You have to break your routine and bad habits or nothing will change. Stop saying things and just do them. The solo is to show people we are versatile and we don’t have a stiff direction with our music. The buildup in lyrics after the solo “Now is for the strong” depicts exactly what this song is about. Where do you stand?
Thanks for your time and how can we support the band?
Thank you so much for taking the time to listen to what I have to say! Having all of this support from you and our fans keeps the fire under us lit. Keep your eyes open for upcoming merchandise and surprises!
https://www.facebook.com/PeerPressureHC
https://peerpressurehc.bandcamp.com/
Love Victoria's vocals and her band. One of the best newer hardcore bands around.
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