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VENUS IN ARMS
releases new single
+ music video for
“FOREVER”

Listen on Spotify – Apple Music – Bandcamp

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California musician Olivia Barchard has launched her new solo project Venus In Arms and released her debut single for “Forever”. The track is paired with a new music video which is available now on Youtube and premiered this week via website It’s Psychedelic Baby. Barchard’s other notable groups from the Bay Area include Breakdown Valentine and Moon Museum, which both have been covered heavily by the media and earned respectable followings. The 80’s dream pop and shoegaze inspired “Forever” can be heard today on Spotify, Apple Music and Bandcamp.

Speaking more on the track, Olivia states “The song started with just a beat and once I layered in the string synths I knew I wanted to create an emotive song focusing on a juxtaposition of warm and crystalline tones. I recorded the song in my home studio, mostly last year, wrapping up some parts this year. It’s the first song I’m releasing where I’ve had complete creative control from playing and recording the instrumentation/vocals to production. As freeing as this process has been, it’s proved to be a bit torturous! It was great practice in trusting my gut. And for that I’m grateful.”

Learn more about Venus In Arms by visiting HERE

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About Venus In Arms:

Venus In Arms is the solo passion project of Olivia Barchard (Breakdown Valentine/Moon Museum). Olivia (she/her) is a San Francisco, CA native who’s always been drawn to the expression of self and emotions. From the tender age of 3, she would be found dancing around the house in costume and singing to whatever Top 40 hit was blasting on MTV. Her music tastes varied growing up, as her artist mother loved pop hits by The Beatles and Madonna while her father opted for the likes of Pink Floyd. ​

In her teen years, she was given an acoustic guitar which she chose to spend the most time with rather than hanging with friends at the mall like most of her peers. She found peace in solitude and filled journals with the thoughts of a brooding teenager dreaming of a future in music. However, a rude awakening stopped her dead in her tracks when she realized there wasn’t anyone “successful” in the music industry who looked like her. She questioned her own validity and fell into the depths of imposter syndrome. She played with the idea of growing up to become a news reporter or radio show personality, something that would allow her to perform but looked like a “better fit”.

Still the desire to live in music never left her, and one night in a tiny poorly lit music room, the kind that wreaked of stale beer and sweet sweat, she had an epiphany. She was wailing on the mic in a power stance as her friends played drums and guitar and as if falling into a dream state, the room went white. A feeling washed over her– this. was. it. This was where she felt most at home. IN the music. ​ 
A few years later, she started exploring music as a front person in her first band Delle Vellum, honing in her craft as a wild front person with an enigmatic twist. The band lasted two years and had a song played on KITS105.3 along with some high profile shows. ​

The breath of her passion was spent in Breakdown Valentine, an electro-pop fit with producer/songwriter Allen Davis (Every Move a Picture/Starry Saints). Here she developed a love for synthesizers, learned how to play bass, and dove into the artistry of making songs based on their own individual story and character. The act went on to play festivals such as BFD, gained worldwide radio airplay, supported artists such as Chromatics & Holy Ghost, and had a song in a feature film. ​

Come 2019, while toying with the idea of releasing solo music, she joined Moon Museum, a San Francisco band made up of close friends and tenured musicians. The group recorded and released 3 tracks through the covid pandemic and are still writing to this day. ​

Today Olivia is finally stretching her wings and releasing music created solely by herself. Most of the material from Venus In Arms is about her continued self-discovery and expression, and is self written, recorded, and produced. However, she’s not limiting the experience to writing and producing on her own and you’ll surely see some guest producers and writers in the near future. Because it is a passion project, the sound of Venus In Arms will bend and shift as she explores sounds and stories to share. Welcome to her journey.

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Follow VENUS IN ARMS
Website – YouTube – Instagram

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AMNPLIFY – DB