Episode Transcript
Hello. My name is Aziz, and I'm the son of a divorced mother. She is really my superhero.
That's why it's important for me to support women to share their uniqueness, their personalities,
perspectives, and emotions about this world. In these difficult times in human history,
we need to bring the people of the world together. And when we hear the voices of women,
when we listen to real lives of women from other countries, we connect our cultures without
differences or stereotypes, and we get inspired by their stories to live a better life. That's what
this podcast is all about. My guest today is Branducia Brombea. Brandy is a young metal vocalist
and art student from Alba Iulia in Romania. Brandy, how are you today? Hello, I'm great. I have been
waiting for this for a long time now, and it's so exciting to finally join you. I'm honored. I
feel very lucky and very happy to talk to you today. So I'll begin with this nice first
question, which is, Brandy, if your friends and the people who know you very well could describe
your personality, what would they say about you? I feel weird when I'm asked these kind of questions
because I don't know. I believe these are my friends' perspectives. I am very loyal. I
really cherish friendship a lot, and my friends mean so much to me, my friends and
family as well. And I am very dedicated and passionate, and I believe I am very
full of life and energy. I'm always a little bit too much energetic, maybe, but they accept
me the way I am. Thank you. I have so many questions about all of that, but I'll begin
with your loyalty and your respect for friendship and family relationship. Some people,
especially nowadays, they view that as a limit. When they say, oh, if I am loyal to my friends
in Alba Iulia, it means I will be stuck in Alba Iulia forever. I cannot be free to go live
in London or go pursue my music and vocalist career in Hollywood or any other place. So how
do you respect, admire and love your friends and maintain your relationships without sacrificing
anything by limiting yourself to smaller opportunities just to stay near them? Or
do you just say, no, friends first, success later? Or how does it work? Well, I tend to
like that. I enjoy the present I am in. And of course, I have my dreams and high hopes
for the future, and I'm always trying to plan what I am obligated to. But as much as I can,
I like to live in the moment and enjoy the present. And this way, I enjoy my time with my
friends now. And I appreciate them more than anything, you know, them and my family as well,
as I said, because I find that very important. And I'm always going to mention that. But also,
my friends are my biggest supporters right now. And my collaborators, you know, my best friends
are my band right now, and some other people who I work with and very talented ones. And,
you know, we bonded through this. And with most of them, I bonded through music. And
this way, I managed to stay close to them. And regarding future plans or future
perspectives over my relationships with people, without sounding selfish, I believe that everyone
should put themselves first. As much as I love my friends, you know, I believe that everyone
should pursue their own calling in life. Of course, I hope that the band I'm in now will
go as far as possible, and I'm going to be with them as long as I can. But I can't predict the
future. And so everyone has their own plan. You know, we are now almost finishing high school,
and everyone has plans for college or things like that. And we can't really stop each other or
make each other feel guilty for choosing another country or another town,
you know, and going far away. We really talked about it. I believe that this is a very
important subject because we talked about this in the band. I mean, and it would be hard
to maintain the band if everyone will go in different parts of the world. And I personally
want to stay in my country for college in hopes that my band will stay together and
we will pursue this further. But if they want to go abroad and study, I can't stop them. And
I will be so happy for them if they get in their dream schools. So yeah, I value
my friends and my friendships right now. But everyone should pursue their own calling
without feeling guilty. And we should be happy for each other and supporting each other in
every decision we make. So that's how I stay loyal to them and how I value every moment with them.
Thank you. I love that there is a lot of maturity, a lot of understanding and true friendship,
where you're not limiting each other but support each other very much.
And you spoke about living in the moment and that you have high energy. How is that related?
Do you have high energy because you don't worry about the future or dwell on the past,
but you're flowing with the emotions of the moment? Or what is your secret to high energy
that makes you this person? I believe that a lot of that comes from,
you know, my nature. Everyone is different and everyone has a different type of energy. You
know, I really believe in this, you know, everything in this world being energy and you
either match with something or you don't because of this constant energy that we're all made of.
But I, of course, I worry about the future. I have to think now of
a very big step I need to take. And it's that is, you know, choosing my further education
because I so we all have our dreams. And is this world we live in that kind of
them from happening in some cases because you always have to think about money and how you're
going to make money and so on. This kind of subject always brings my spirit down,
but I've learned to accept it. And, you know, this is something I really need to do.
And I will do it to support my passion because this I know this will keep me going.
And I am a very melancholic person. I live a lot in the past. I always I cherish memories so much.
I have a lot of beautiful memories. I always cling on memories from my childhood because
I was fortunate enough to have a very happy one. You know, I'm really close to my family
and, you know, I've had my share of bad, you know, experiences, but that happened.
But I was I believe I am very fortunate. And I live a lot on memories and retrospective
and always reminding myself some moments in my life. But the thing that brings me the most
joy in this world is living in the moment, as I said, is not worrying about what was
and what will be just doing my thing in the moment I live in. And I find that the best way
to go through life because if you're always going to worry about the future and always
reminding yourself, wow, it was so good back then, you can't really live. That's about it.
It's not really complicated, but it's about getting in that point. And I believe that my
friends really helped me with that. But most of all, my family and by, you know,
all of my family, but my mother, you know, I'm really close to my mother and she is my
type. And she's a very strong woman. And she helped me a lot. You know, she helped me to stay
strong as well by always telling me, you know, cry now if you need to, you know, don't hold
things inside of you because it's never good. You know, cry and let it all out. But don't
stay down. You know, always get up. And this helped me a lot. And this helped me to live
the way I'm living right now. And I believe I'm having the time of my life. And I don't
want to know what's to come in the future, if possible. I love that attitude. Thank you so
much, Brandy. And you mentioned that your mom is your feminine role model. What did you
learn from her about being a woman? What's your own understanding about being a woman,
especially in a time all over the world where the definition of being a woman has been changed
or being like confusing or whatever? How did you define femininity and the feminine
role model, etc. for yourself? Well, this is a great question. I will have to
link it to the feminine culture in the part of the world I live in. And as an Eastern European
so to be woman, because I am, you know, I'm 18 years old. I am just beginning to,
I'm just beginning my womanhood, so to speak. And in this part of the world,
I believe that the woman is a really strong image. There's this idea that, okay,
it's really normal for the woman to, you know, have her high, it's a high place in the house
to take care of children and to take care of the house and, you know, traditionally the
whatever. And it's a really high position because you are the child bearer and the,
you know, the caretaker of the home. It's what creates a home. And, you know, my mom was always
a model of that, you know, and I also live with my grandmother. So and they are both
really strong women. They could go through anything. And I have so many great stories
told by my grandmother and who lived almost her whole youth in communism in our country,
which began in the 60s. And she was kind of beginning her teenage years then.
And then it ended in 1989. And she was actually in the working class then at the revolution.
And my uncle told me a story where there was the revolution and there were
bullets flying everywhere in the town. And my grandmother was walking in town
unbothered because she had to go to work. And bullets were flying, you know, beside her head,
but she had to go to work and she had this mindset that, okay, I need to do this.
And I found that amazing, you know, how she was able to pass all that horrible time
by herself because she was widowed from a very young age. And, you know, my mom was raised
in the same mentality as well. And she is very strong and very supportive. You know,
I'm really, really fortunate to have very supportive parents. And she taught me everything
that is to know about womanhood and being a woman. And she taught me to be strong
and have my own opinion and don't let anyone ruin my personality and my thinking.
Find someone that will completely not overpower me. That is, I believe, the best. And the best
example I've had, and I still do, are my parents. You know, they are, you know, my father
really accepted every bit of my mother's personality, who is, as I said, very strong,
very independent, very kind of cold. Her love language is not very, like, traditional,
I would say. But my father really respected that and still does. And they have the best
dynamic I've ever seen, you know, and they have the best relationship. And I think it was
for the best of me and for my good childhood and teenage years and what is to come. And they
really are my best example. And my father, I believe, is a very great example of
a man who respects women. And he supports me a lot as well. And he advises me to
be my own master in life and don't let anyone ruin my personality or my spirit.
And whoever doesn't accept me the way I am shouldn't belong by my side. And that is the
best lesson my parents have taught me. And that's absolutely great. So I have a very healthy
idea of what it means to be a woman. In the culture, I mean, you know.
I understand fully and completely. I love what you said. And you are blessed with such a family,
such role models. It's absolutely fantastic. And now I'm wondering, how does your passion for
music fit within your life in that way? We discussed so many things, but music, which is
like the first and most important thing. We didn't discuss it. So how does it fit within
your life? How does it express your strong woman attitude? How does it enrich your relationships?
What is music to you? How do you experience it? And what makes it so essential in your life?
Oh, my God. I will have to begin, obviously, with the very beginning,
which is, well, it's like my answers are prepared, but I swear they're not.
It's just it. I'm very passionate in talking about this, especially music.
I believe it all started when I was when I wasn't even born. My mother told me how
she would take the radio. She had this little portable radio and she would put it on her
pregnant belly when she was pregnant with me. And I would listen to music and fall asleep
in her womb to music. And then my whole childhood revolved around it. I loved,
I always loved music and to sing, especially in when I was in kindergarten, that was my
first passion. I was singing all the time, but I haven't done it professionally,
professionally until two and a half years ago or something like that.
When OK, I was singing since I've known myself, but I I never I've never taken any
classes because knowing stuff about what you're good at is really important.
How should I put it? It's, I believe, ten percent talent and ninety percent work
because OK, who heard me sing said, OK, well, you you have talent.
But when I found myself on stage two and a half years ago for the first time,
I was mortified and I it was horrible. So I had the most horrible experience ever.
And I sang in front of a well-known singer from our country, whatever. And,
you know, I knew I screwed up. And my best friend was with me on stage.
He was singing at the guitar. He's a guitarist. And I was so ashamed and so upset with myself.
And this singer came to me and told me, you know, you should really check your voice and check
your skill because it sucks. That really was a big punch in my face.
But I'm not complaining because that did me a lot of good. That was,
um, you know, thanks to my mother. That wasn't something which put me down.
I, you know, I took this big slap from life and I said, OK, what am I going to do?
I'm going to check my voice and my skill. And I went to a teacher two or three times
and I learned something from her. And then I found my passion for metal.
I have been listening to rock music, like soft rock, glam rock for some years.
But then I found, you know, metal and female metal singers.
And I said, OK, this is this is what I want to do. This will really empower me.
You know, I really found it amazing since the beginning.
Women singing, you know, beautifully and clean and then growling and,
you know, this growling technique and this screaming technique.
I was completely blown away. And I found this amazing teacher online.
Her name is Melissa Cross. She taught almost every metal singer.
I'm looking up to, you know, and that was amazing.
I found her a course online.
You know, I bought it and it was the best thing that's ever happened to me.
It's and when when people heard that I am taking a course online,
they were like, oh, but that can be any good because,
you know, it's online and everybody gives their opinion.
But this is absolutely great.
And this this woman who knows so much and values so much metal,
that's absolutely amazing and know so much about these techniques.
And it helped me a lot.
My voice has improved so much because, you know,
I watched my progress carefully over these years.
And I am able to do so many things now with my voice.
Notes, I'm able to reach notes I haven't reached before or scream and growl.
That's that's amazing.
And it's the best thing I've ever I've ever learned.
And then a year ago, I joined the band I'm in now.
And it's the best project I've ever been in because I've been in two bands prior.
And it was great.
But none of them really approached metal.
And when I found it, I said, OK, this is what I want to do.
I found my my my peace of mind may sound weird,
but I found my my peace of mind and my passion in metal music,
especially modern metal and in these women who do harsh locals.
This is such an empowering movement.
And that has really strengthened my relationships with people.
You know, I found the metal enjoyers community is a very it's actually a big one.
And once you get to know them, it's amazing.
They are very supportive and very close.
And they are they are most of them are supporting women a lot, you know,
the women in metal, because it's it's something shocking beyond everything.
It's shocking to hear these performances from women.
And yeah, this just opened my horizons.
And I have released now with Overburn, the band I'm in now.
We have released three songs in the year I've joined them.
And I have another song released with another band from last year.
And it's it's great.
It's my favorite thing to do.
And I've participated in three concerts, three live concerts.
Now the best experience I've ever had.
You know, I am now kind of used to the vibe on stage and how am I supposed to act?
And it's it's it's it's absolutely great.
And in the context of a band, because it's and that's why I chose metal,
because it's another kind of atmosphere.
You know, the public is unhinged and they they scream with you and they bang their heads.
And it's what I am trying to say.
It's a much more relaxed atmosphere.
You feel more free and you're free to do pretty much whatever you want.
And it's it's absolutely great.
I love to do that.
And, you know, when my parents saw me on stage, they were like, wow, how,
how, how come we didn't know that before?
And, you know, the the connection I've had with the band members,
the first time we sang on stage, we were amazed by each other
because we were all like, I think we belong there.
That's the best thing we do.
And whenever we encounter problems or things like that,
when we get together and just sing, everything heals.
And it's just we can't wait now for our next concert,
which is going to be right now in May.
And I am so excited because it's going to be great.
And, you know, I really love to to promote my band and what I do,
because it's my biggest passion and I want it to go as far as possible.
And, you know, we've been fortunate enough to be called for a festival
and to be reached out by other bands to sing with them.
And that that is amazing.
You know, we joined a contest.
It's going really great.
And I hope we we go pretty far, if possible.
So, yeah, that's my thing with music.
I would like to do it forever.
And I would like to make it my first profession someday.
And what will bring me money, great money for the rest of my life,
because I will be able to do what I love and also sustain myself.
I'm proud of you.
I really encourage your success related to this.
And I'm wondering about your advice for other women.
You had support from your mother, inspiration from your grandmother,
your friends support you.
There are places in the world where maybe some women
are not sharing their real passion with their friends to support
because they worry, what if I fail, my parents will be disappointed.
Like you, when you spoke about not learning at first
and getting that slap in the face that to them is like,
oh, my God, I'm going to die.
I prefer not to do it.
And so they stay stuck within their comfort zone.
What from you can inspire them or from your understanding
can be a good advice so that they will go for their big dreams
no matter the risk or challenges?
This is tough because, you know, as I said,
I am just beginning to know how is to be a woman.
And I can't imagine not having my family by my side
and my friends supporting me.
And I am sure that there are so many women in this world
not being supported and not being able to make their voices heard.
And I think that even if it sounds impossible
or it sounds easy to do or cliche, I think that, you know,
just doing it and without worrying about
what everybody's going to say or, you know,
I really believe that someone who doesn't support you
in what you want to do and if it's something you're passionate in
if it's something that, you know, will do only good to you
and to the people around you,
someone who is not supporting that being friends, family,
doesn't matter, shouldn't have an opinion on it.
You know, it's because it's about everyone's personal experience
and you being able to pursue your dreams.
I think that it's a torture to try to stop someone
from doing what they love.
You know, as I said, no matter if there's friends or family,
they shouldn't stay in your way
and especially staying in your way because you are a woman.
I was fortunate enough to not experience
great acts of misogyny in my life,
only small ones or unintentional ones
because, you know, I tend to see the good in people
and not always make assumptions or things like that.
But that's why women should support each other first of all
and they should be strong and just do what you need to do
and what your heart tells you to do.
In regards of all disappointments from people around you
you can't make everyone happy and you're not going to.
As long as you make yourself happy and you love yourself
and you are very pleased with yourself
and what you are thinking is what you want to do,
your personality, everything,
as long as you love yourself truly,
no one's opinion is going to matter, you know?
And that is the advice I am giving as much as I can,
as much as I'm entitled to.
That is the advice I am giving to everyone
who asks my help, you know, as friends
because a lot of people are dealing with identity crisis
or are dealing with prejudice from the world.
And if I'm asked for help or advice
this is what I'm telling everybody.
Are you pleased with yourself?
Are you happy with yourself?
Do you love yourself?
If you do, you should do your thing and just go on.
But first of all, learn to be happy with yourself
and learn to accept yourself
because if you don't, no one is going to
and you can't really put your trust in the world.
That's the first thing I'm telling
because humans are meant to make mistakes
and even the people around you who love you,
not by being evil but by their nature as humans
are going to do you wrong at some point.
And this is why you should trust,
put your whole trust only in yourself
and then you will be okay
and you will be able to pursue your passions
in regards of all opinions
because people give opinions and it's fine
but just don't put them to your heart.
Just go swim through them and do your thing
and pursue your passion.
That is the most important lesson
everyone should learn in life
and it's really simple actually I believe that.
I don't know, maybe I am wrong
and maybe some people would tell me different
but this is what I believe
and this is what I am going with in life.
I'm just starting it maybe but who knows.
I think this is the best thing you should know
and every woman should know
and every woman or man, it's all inclusive.
I agree with you 100%.
Thank you Brandy.
It was my privilege and my honor
to share your voice and include you in this podcast.
Thank you so much.
I wish you success.
I wish you a very amazing musical career
and to keep inspiring and helping
and sharing yourself as a woman
within music and life
and with all your friends
and new friends as well.
Thank you again.
Thank you so much.
It's been such a pleasure
and I am so pleased
to have been reached by you for this
and everyone stay safe
and love yourselves
and just be happy
and thank you so much again
for this opportunity.
You are welcome.
