Buckle up and set the sat nav to hell, because today we have the tremendous pleasure of diving deep with Deni Hlavinka one-third of the trio that became one of the defining sounds of Tori Amos’s In Times of Dragons tour: the Angel Witches.
One of the things we all loved most about this tour was getting to watch the Angels find their place in the show in real time. Admittedly, none of us really knew what this new vocal configuration was going to be like - or what it might become. But little by little, their voices started weaving themselves into the fabric of the songs-adding new textures, new tension, new beauty - until by the end of the tour it was hard to imagine this chapter of Tori’s live show without them. And that’s why, of course, we’ve collectively been so curious about the women behind those voices.
Deni studied professional music at Berklee College of Music, where she was taught and mentored by Grammy-winning artist Paula Cole. While she was there, she met guitarist Chris West, and the two went on to form The Western Den, a project built around lush arrangements, intricate harmonies, and the kind of close attention to sound that still runs through Deni’s soundscapes. Oh and she liked Chris enough to make him her husband.
Deni now makes music under the name Fire Swimmer, her electronic-pop solo project. It takes much of what she does so beautifully — layered vocals, emotional intimacy, atmosphere — and pushes them into a darker, more synth-driven world. And after spending months hearing her voice become part of Tori’s songs, it’s especially fascinating, and deeply rewarding, to hear what transpires when Deni gets to build a musical world entirely of her own.
So today, we’re talking about how she found her way onto the stage with Tori, what it’s like to step inside songs that people have loved and lived with for decades, how the Angel Witches learned to sing together as a unit, and what life looks like behind the scenes when you’re taking a show like this around the world.