Storm, is a dual nationality German/South African born singer, songwriter, and actress living in the USA. She is known locally for her singing and theatre work.  Storm began performing as a child, singing  and acting in school plays, community theatre, student films and writing her own songs.  Storm plays the guitar, bass guitar and drums. Storm has recorded music in Nashville with some incredibly talented and accredited  musicians.

In this interview spotlight, I chat with Storm about her latest music, challenges, technology and more.

Full Q&A along with links and music below.

Where are you from and what style of music do you create? (In your own words, not necessarily in marketing terms or by popular genre classifications.)

I am German and South African born. I was born in South Africa, then moved to China, Germany, Hungary, and have now been living in the U.S. for roughly the past 8 years. I would say my main genre is rock and then each song I write and release falls under any one of the many subgenres of rock. I like to call myself “genre-fluid” because I listen to and am influenced by so many different styles of music that is difficult to narrow my style down to any one specific genre. Likewise, I don’t want to be put in a box or constrained by a single genre.

What led you down this path of music and what motivates you to keep going?

I have always loved music. Growing up, my parents would play a wide variety of music, from old to new. I don’t quite remember what age I was, but I was fairly young. I was watching a Gun’s N’ Roses music on MTV or VH1 and Slash was playing one of his searing guitar solos. I was awestruck and knew then that performing was what I wanted to do. My passion for music is what keeps me motivated. The joy music brings both me and the listeners is one of the best feelings in the world.

How is this new release different than previous ones? Were you trying to accomplish anything specific?

My most recent release for “Ghost” is quite different from my other releases because this song is part of a charity and awareness campaign against Rhino poaching. I wrote this song with my mother and it follows the story of a poached rhino and my third-party perspective of this atrocious crime. For this campaign, I have partnered with Rooting4Rhino who is helping facilitate this campaign on the South African side. I also commissioned a South African street artist, Nathan Sanan, to paint a canvass of a rhino (which is also my cover art for “Ghost”) in order to auction off and donate the funds to the Chipembere Rhino Foundation to help them with all the amazing work they do. Another amazing part of this awareness campaign was when I sat down with Dr. William Fowlds, a renowned wildlife veterinarian, over zoom to answer a few questions about the severity of Rhino poaching in South Africa and how people can help in any capacity that they can.  

Name one or two challenges you face as an indie musician in this over saturated, digital music age? How has technology helped you (since we know it does help)?

Being an up and coming artist is difficult because you’re competing against giants essentially who have the manpower and money to advertise galore. Nothing against those artists because they’re all talented, it’s just one of the difficulties of being an artist currently building their fanbase as opposed to an artist with a significant fanbase already. Another difficulty is that there is so much amazing talent out there, that you constantly have to keep up with pace of these emerging artists and find new and interesting ways to stand out. Technology has helped me significantly, especially in the crazy times we are currently. The health and well-being of people right now is first and foremost, but unfortunately live gigging and interacting with new fans in that way has taken a backseat. I have spent my time focusing on social media posting and advertising. Keeping a steady flow of content to release via social media is important right now. I have also spent much of my time now reaching out to radio stations, review sites, etc. in order to get my music out on their platforms to their fans and followers.

What was the last song you listened to?

I think the last song I listened to was “Lost on You” by LP.

Which do you prefer? Vinyl? CDs? MP3s?

MP3’s are definitely more convenient and portable, but there’s just something special about listening to something on vinyl.

How about this one…. Do you prefer Spotify? Apple Music? Bandcamp? Or something else? Why?

I would probably have to say Spotify just because I have a subscription and most of the people, I know have Spotify. Bandcamp is also really cool, but in my experience the only people who really know about it are other indie artists. If I’m talking about my music to someone in passing, I’ll generally just direct them to Spotify.  

Where is the best place to connect with you online and discover more music?

The best places to connect with me are my social media accounts or my website. All of my social media accounts are @Stormssofficial and my website is planetstormofficial.com. From there you’ll be able to keep up with the latest news happening in my current journey and find my music and various different streaming services.

Anything else before we sign off?

If you made it this far, thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed getting to know a little more about me! I really appreciate it! On a more serious note, if you feel so inclined don’t be afraid to reach out to me or find ways you can become involved in anti-poaching efforts. No matter where you are in the world, you can always help, and it will always be appreciated. No matter what you do or how much you contribute, nothing will be insignificant in a cause like this with such a dire need. Thank you again so much! Peace, Love, and Rock On… Storm.