Dalma Kovacs
Dalma Kovacs is a complete artist who has succeeded in everything she has set out to do in life. She has worked hard to get this far and is proud of what she has achieved. Her son has been at the forefront of her life for 4 years now, and she believes that a fulfilling life must be one of balance, a balance between work, a healthy lifestyle and caring for children as “they are our treasure and our future”.
How did your career in music start?
My career in music began in 2000 when I started attending the Popular School of Arts in Brasov, where I was learning to sing from Mrs. Cristina Puia. She used to send her students to all sorts of competitions, and that’s how I ended up playing jazz at the coolest venue in Brasov.
Who is your favorite artist? What attracted you the most? What do you appreciate most about it?
My favorite artist by far is Christina Aguilera. I studied her most when I was learning to sing. I like her because she’s inventive when it comes to melody lines, she doesn’t play boring, she’s perfectionist and hardworking.
You love playing live. Why?
I think the only place I didn’t play live was at the Divertis group shoots around 2008-2010. There I was pulling the vocal part to the studio to make the filming go faster because I was filming from morning till late at night and there was no room for live.
Otherwise, as long as I can remember, I’ve always been on the live side, especially on TV shows. Here, many artists just pretended they sang, because they don’t require vocal warm-ups or have to get up at 5am if they have to sing in the morning on various shows. The bigger problem is that many who watch them think it’s live. I’d bring back the healthy habit of the long-forgotten Măruță: who plays lip-sync, doesn’t get a microphone. 🙂
Emotions created during live performance can’t be reproduced with playback, so what’s the point of playing when emotions have been crossed off the list? Wouldn’t we rather stay home?
Many of the pieces you perform are by famous Romanian and foreign artists. How do you choose the scores you play? Many songs are difficult, not easy to perform, especially in live shows…
My playlist is put together based on what suits the event I am invited to perform at. I rarely choose easy songs, it’s true, but that’s the way it’s always been. If I saw that a piece conveyed emotions, and I created a pleasant and positive mood with it, I stopped looking at how difficult it was to sing it. Having studied and played jazz for so many years, I’ve learned to improvise and change the melody line in case one day I have to play a playlist of heavy tunes and I’m hoarse. That’s how I teach those who come to me to sing, to cope when the stars aren’t perfectly aligned on the day we have to sing.
What musical projects are you preparing for the future?
In the near future I want to write an album in the style of jazz, but a more “digestible” jazz that people like to listen to at work, in the car and at the table, like Norah Jones, for example.
What are the most important things in your life?
My four-year-old son is the most important at the moment. Then I would like to help organize more musical events in Brasov. I see that my city has fallen behind in this category and it hurts. We have artists, we have venues. Ideally, if someone comes to Brasov on Monday and wants to see a live concert, they should have two options to choose from.
What are your hobbies?
I like to read a lot. Since I was in middle school, I remember waking up around 5am, turning up the heat and reading in the kitchen. Before I had my son, I still woke up early and read a lot, but more recently I read late at night or at night on Kindle, on “night mode” of course. With my weekly schedule, it’s almost impossible to get up at 5am.
Are you happy with what you’ve achieved in life so far?
I’m happy with what I’ve achieved, of course I am. I worked hard to get here, twice I even ended up in hospital from physical exhaustion (which I’m not proud of; no one should work that hard without a break). This is the first year I can say I’m taking it easy and smelling the flowers again.
What is your favorite food?
Pan-fried shrimp with garlic butter sauce on a bed of steamed basmati rice.
What is the recipe for a happy life?
Balance.
Yes, a lot of work, because that’s how we achieve our dreams, but necessarily sprinkled with rest. Yes, diet to be healthier and slimmer, but necessarily sprinkled with the occasional slice of chocolate cake.
Yes, focus on the children, they are our treasure and our future, but sprinkled with time for us once a week at least.
