After successfully obtaining her Moroccan baccalaureate and following two years of preparatory classes, Lina Benabdesslem did her business studies in Reims, where she joined NEOMA, the business and management school. She applies herself assiduously until obtaining her master’s degree in management, specializing in digital marketing. In the Paris region, she joined large companies for internships and then for a first job.
Traveling to Germany and the United States as part of her management work for various companies, Lina takes the opportunity to immerse herself in other cultures. But on this marked path, Lina has not forgotten her first passions. She is now a singer of metal bands Sleeping Romance since 2020 and Abhcan since 2017, in addition to being a mangaka, author of the series “Lucifer”, published by Nanachi editions.
“I didn’t have any difficulties during my schooling; I had good results, I applied myself in the lessons without having to be very supervised by my parents. And since I have always loved team sports, I had a lot of friends. Along with this rather busy social life, I felt the need to be in my lonely bubble when I got home. I was reading a lot of books, drawing and singing, ”she tells us.
Books and music
A native of Casablanca, Lina grew up with two parents working in the civil service and finance. She learns to become independent from a young age. “For health reasons, my little brother went to school in a specialized establishment. As both of my parents worked a lot, I learned to do things myself, to finish my homework as soon as I got home from school without being reminded, then to develop leisure activities at home ”, we she says. Reading will allow him in particular to progress in his course.
“I remember my father who absolutely wanted me to read classics from a very young age. Every weekend, my pocket money was to be used to buy a new classic in the bookstore, which I had to finish within seven days, then get another. Reading outside of what is required of us at school was therefore part of my daily life. ”
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At the same time, Lina is developing her drawing skills. After the death of her grandmother, she discovers her fascination with anime through the comic strip “Witch”, wanting to escape the sadness of the funeral. She came to singing by passion but also by chance, falling under the spell of different variations of rock during her adolescence, from mainstream pop to independent productions. “I remember an anecdote where the first time I sang in front of my parents and family, people were laughing around me and I thought it was because I was singing badly. So I didn’t do it again in public, but years later at the end of my adolescence and with my growing love for rock and metal, I got back to it by creating a first group in Casablanca ”, she remembers.
Abhcan
When she leaves for France for her studies, the members of her first group each follow their own paths, but Lina quickly thinks of returning to the music scene. She joins Abhcan, a heavy metal band whose name is inspired by Celtic legends. Along with singing, she creates her own illustrated stories. “It all started on a forum of amateur cartoonists. We were sharing our designs and an editor spotted my posts. He contacted me to offer to make illustrated albums and I was very happy, ”recalls Lina, who now publishes“ Lucifer ”.
A fantastic world between song and manga
Lover of melodic variations in metal, Lina Victoria has already signed Abhcan’s first album and is currently working on the second. It is also through her passage through management that apart from the artistic aspect, she will make herself useful in the management of her training by being a vocalist and a manager at the same time. She also chairs the Wild Wave Records association that she created two years ago, through which she aims to give visibility to her group as well. “Thanks to that, I was able to combine music and management, my two passions,” she says enthusiastically.
At the end of 2020, Lina Victoria came across the announcement of a second group, the Italian Sleeping Romance, in search of a vocalist. Already involved in her musical training and in digital marketing, she hesitates before launching, but tries her luck in the casting. After a brilliant participation, she is pleasantly surprised by being selected to be a member of this group. “With the confinement and the health crisis, we were forced to cancel the dates of several concerts, but this allowed us to work on our new compositions,” says the artist, who is working on the writing of a song in Arabic for Sleeping Romance.
Sleeping Romance
The fantastic world of music, Lina also joins the fantastic story of her manga book “Lucifer”, which tells the story of surreal characters, in a fight of good against evil, between two parallel worlds: the real world and the kingdom of Lucifer. Thanks to this publication, it becomes the first Moroccan mangaka published by publishers in France, even in Europe.
Along with her passions which have now become her main activities, Lina Victoria has not forgotten her love for sport. After two participations in the Paris half-marathon, she is preparing to take part in the next edition. A healthy mind in a healthy body.
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