Caterina Nix is the vocalist in Chaos Magic, a band that features legendary guitarist and producer Timo Tolkki. The band’s self titled debut album was released through Frontiers Records on 6th July. Tolkki of course is a renowned guitarist, songwriter and producer; probably best known for his time in the band Stratovarius from 1984 to 2008. Caterina Nix is from Chile and also worked with Tolkki on Angels of the Apocalypse. She took the time to answer a few questions that I e-mailed to her.

NI ROCKS – Hi Caterina. Thanks for taking some time to answer a few questions for Rock Radio NI.
CATI - Thank you for having me!

NI ROCKS - You’ve just released an album with Timo Tolkki called “Chaos Magic” and I’m sure you’re getting a lot of media requests. You’re from Chile and still live there. Did you come to Europe to record the album with Timo or were your vocals recorded at home in Chile?
CATI – I recorded all the voice tracks both for Chaos Magic and Angels of the Apocalypse here in Chile. Nowadays, thanks to the technology we have it’s not necessary to be working together at the studio, because we were still working hand in hand. I sent Timo the vocal tracks and he would give me his feedback, so it was a very easy process.


NI ROCKS – You’d worked with Timo previously on the Avalon album “Angels of the Apocalypse” along with some other great vocalists. How did you first meet Timo and get involved in working with him on that project?
CATI – We met at a meet & greet here in Chile many years ago, while he was touring with Stratovarius. We kept in touch and I sent him my material because I wanted to know his opinion on my voice and songs. And from that day (many years ago) he had this idea to work with me in a project or make an appearance in one of his records. The opportunity to materialize that came up when Frontiers told him they wanted him to write a project for a female singer. So he proposed my name along with other female singers, and Frontiers chose me for the job.


NI ROCKS – Had Timo talked about doing a whole album together prior to the recording of “Angels of the Apocalypse” or did that only happen afterwards?
CATI – When we recorded Angels of the Apocalypse, Chaos Magic was almost ready, so you can say that participation on Angels was like the icing on the cake. You can’t imagine how I felt when I found out I was gonna share tracks with Simone, Floor and Elyze. Holly shit!

NI ROCKS – You appeared in the video that was released by Frontiers for the track “I’m Alive”. Are there any plans for more videos featuring you and Timo?
CATI – As far as I’m concerned, there are no plans to release a new video, sorry about that!


NI ROCKS – “Chaos Magic” is a great album. I’ve posted a recommendation (http://www.rockradioni.co.uk/back-stage/music-reviews/2117-ni-rocks-recommends-qchaos-magicq-by-chaos-magic.html ) and picked a few of my favourite tracks. If you were to pick three favourite tracks from the album to play on the radio, which would they be and why?
CATI – Well, thanks for that recommendation! It’s different if you make me choose my favourites from those I’d pick for the radio. So for the radio, I’d say, One Drop of Blood, Point of No Return and A Little Too Late, cause they’d appeal to anyone with a set of ears (hahaha)

NI ROCKS – I believe you started your musical career with a band called Aghonya who released an album called “Oxygen” in 2008. I was able to find the album on Amazon but couldn’t find out much about the band after that and the Facebook page for the band seems to end around 2010. Tell us a little about the band and what happened to it.
CATI – We just grew apart… we were young when we started it and in the end all the members dedicated themselves to their day jobs or life projects. So our drummer moved to Australia, our bass player and guitarist both got serious jobs and our keyboardist moved to the North of Chile to a small town. I kept singing and looking for new music projects and then this opportunity came along. Although I miss my days with Aghonya, I’m looking forward to what Chaos Magic can bring in the future. 

NI ROCKS – I noticed on your own Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/caterinanix) that you’ll be supporting Nightwish when they play Chile in October. Will you be performing a mix of Chaos Magic material and Aghonya tracks?
CATI – I’m so excited about this! We’ll be playing songs from Chaos Magic mostly, and maybe a few new songs I wrote which I hope I can add to an upcoming album.

NI ROCKS – Are there any plans for live dates by Chaos Magic at some point?
CATI – We are planning a few shows in Chile (without Timo) and I’m definitely looking for contacts abroad to get into some festivals or shows and tours. Nothing would make me happier, really, but the logistics are complicated, and also is the financing of this dream.


NI ROCKS – I know the first album has just been released, but has there been any discussion about a second album from Chaos Magic?
CATI – It’s definitely a possibility! But in the end is going to depend on the audience’s reception of Chaos Magic. Anyway, I’m always working on new tracks so I’m getting ready in case the second album is a go.

NI ROCKS – What plans have you for the remainder of 2015 and what would you hope to have achieved by this time next year?
CATI ––  I have scheduled a few shows in my country, but I really want to play abroad, in festivals or maybe schedule a tour. I really hope that a year from now I can look back at this day with this dream fulfilled.


NI ROCKS – I always like to ask people I’m interviewing what music they have been listening to recently and if they have any bands they’d like to recommend that we check out?
CATI – Well…. I’m still waiting for Tool’s new album (hahaha), I think we’ll have to wait much more. Anyway, I listen to several kinds of rock and metal, I’ve been listening a lot to Nonpoint, In this Moment, and some stuff from Pucifer, my classics of youth Korn, Pantera, Black Label, Fear Factory, and of course bands like Lacuna Coil, Amaranthe and Nightwish… cause you know, that’s my thing.

NI ROCKS – Thanks again for taking some time to answer a few questions. We wish you the best of luck with everything and hope to hear more from you soon.