Teh Nizzim (Tallahassee, USA)
Posted by tipkin
This is it, this is what keeps me going, this is what fuels my rocketship on this long journey through the Rift. Listening to the music, naturally, but also talking to people who create this music, and being surprised every single time how very different they are but how similar they are in their dedication to their music and how this dedication makes them more enlightened and... alive? than the rest of us. Some of them are more alive than the others 
Like my today's guest Riley Content, whose solo project Teh Nizzim caught my attention with its crafty beats, and who is also a part of two hip-hop projects and is publishing two blogs. Absorb this energy, 'cause he's got some!
tipkin - You are a man of many faces! Can you tell us about Enigma MC, The Greater Numbers and Teh Nizzim? Which project(s) is/are more important to you?
Riley Content - Hah yeah, I've got many different sides of the cube going on I suppose. I'd always tried to stay as versatile as I could musically ever since I began writing and arranging in early 2000. It's good to have multiple avenues and to always be constantly trying your hand at new things. I've even got some things you don’t know about! But as far as importance goes, it’s like asking Paul McCartney whether his solo work or The Beatles was more important, not by mere comparison of course. But, to each his own, and as a writer, your personal endeavors are always important, but a group effort is also a very big commitment and means a ton to each person involved (hopefully heh).
t. - A question from a non-musician - when is the realization comes that a certain tune doesn't need any lyrics and is able to exist as an instrumental track?
R.C. - Ah, sometimes that is just the key to making or breaking something. In today's musical frame, people are of course less likely to listen to something that isn’t lyric reliant, or that doesn’t have a catchy pop chorus. I’m of course speaking commercially on that, I would hope everybody enjoys a good jazz jam record now and again. It really depends on the project, and even down to specific songs. For The Groove Pile, I just wanted to make a dance mix that was... well... groovy. Sometimes the music itself says everything you need.
Ink Project (London, UK)
Posted by tipkin
Very interesting guests are trippin' the rift with us today, my dear friends. As announced in the previous post, Ink Project, a London-based electronica duo is introducing themselves and their music to our readers. To call them a "trip-hop band" would be accurate, too, since their sound is driven by darker rhythm structure and features beautiful female vocals, but squeezing Ink Project into just one category would not be fair - their music is very diverse and hard to capture with just one word. Or with any amount of words for that matter. You just have to listen to it. Melanie Dymond (vocals and production) and Jez Lloyd (electronics, keys and production) are here to provide some guidance.
tipkin - Was there a particular moment for you guys when you just decided to go for it and start making music together? Or did you come to it gradually?
Jez - We met around 2007 on the London underground house scene – at a legendary night club some people may have heard of called Wiggle run by Fabric resident Terry Francis, Nathan Coles and Eddie Richards. Having both grown up in South London, we were both regulars and had a lot of similar mutual friends so after bumping into each other countless times we soon discovered a shared love for music production; me more house and techno at the time and Mel was also singing on various records for well-known house DJ Asad Rizvi so it made sense to try and work on something together. We never really had a set agenda as we both like and listen to all kinds of music, from dark electronic stuff through to techno, indie rock, folk, blues and disco/funk/soul but we both agreed that it had to be electronic with a large soulful element, utilising traditional song structures. We felt that this was an avenue with the most scope to be explored…
We’ve both always been heavily into trip hop and bands of the late 90′s like Tricky, Lamb, Morcheeba and Massive Attack but felt that scene died an early death in the UK after achieving so much, so we wanted to try and almost take that baton and run with it, incorporating more club grooves as well as jazz influences into our live shows especially. We pulled together lots of initial demo recordings with various other musicians including Colin Webster on saxophone and flute who now tours the world with Anthony Joseph and The Spasm Band and took the project live throughout the UK between 2007-2008, playing at venues including The Dogstar in Brixton, The Big Chill Bar in Kings X, Cargo in Shoreditch, Audio in Brighton, The Magnet in Liverpool and Timbuktu in Bristol. It was good fun and we developed a strong fan base but the electronic scene was suffering and we became a bit dis-illusioned with how live dance music was stagnating in the UK so took a break for a few years. I went on to produce with various other people and Mel moved over to Barcelona but we recently got back together and decided to focus on creating a more refined, electronic set of songs which have resulted in an album’s worth of material.
t. - How would you describe your music to someone who hasn't heard it before?
Mel - I would say it is electronic song based music, inspired by a variety of genres, including electronica, blues, soul, trip-hop, dub-step and early 80's electronic pop.
t. - What is trip-hop to you? It's heartwarming for me to see that projects like yours are trying to revitalize it, but do you think people still care? Do you feel like the level of interest to trip-hop is different in the UK from the rest of the world?
J. - I think people definitely do still care about trip hop! The genre may be considered a ‘has been’ sound by many of the snobby music press in the UK as passing trends come and go so quickly, but we know it still has a huge following worldwide with bands like Massive Attack, Lamb and Tricky being just as popular and relevant now as they were in the 90’s. In fact, I’d say Trip Hop’s even more relevant now than ever before! It didn’t progress as much as it could have in my opinion. Trip hop was always a very reflective, relaxing, introspective but future thinking sound and with the world in such an awful state, people have so much on their minds and like to relax when they go home so I think the genre caters so well for the times we live in now – especially in album format. In the US, France, Eastern Europe and Russia it’s huge and new acts like James Blake, Jamie Woon, Mount Kimbie have very trip hoppy sounds which are proving massively popular at the moment.
We’re not consciously trying to revitalize trip hop as such but merely progressing that basic formula, updating it and taking it a new direction with many of our other influences mixed in.
M. - To me trip hop is simply another musical genre and there are good and bad examples of it, but at it's best it encompasses many elements that I enjoy in music, fat beats, heavy bass, interesting electronics and vocals, often at a slower tempo than most electronic music which for me allows a lot of the sounds to breath, you get time to listen to them. I think the only thing that people care about is the quality of the music and whether they like it. There are obviously fashionable trends, but judging by the response of many of our fans on our Facebook Fan Page, people still enjoy listening to that type of sound, and we have fans from all over the world, including the U.K.
t. - Is it hard to get noticed on the electronic scene in the UK? How do you keep up with all the new sub-genres and trends that are popping up faster than mushrooms after the rain?
J. - The UK is so multi-cultural and overflowing with such a huge array of creative and talented people all trying to create something new and musically different that it’s always going to be competitive and tough to invent a unique sound. But whilst we try to keep a close eye on many of the different and revolving scenes, we avoid letting ourselves get swept away by one in particular and first and foremost, produce what we like. You have to be true to yourself musically or you won’t be happy with all of your hard work. For me, it’s personal soul food. If other people connect with it, great but ultimately it should be more of a personal discovery than anything else! We hope people into trip hop, dubstep, soul, jazz, electronic club music, indie and even pop like or at least understand our music.
Soundcloud is a great resource for networking and discovering new music as is Facebook and Twitter and I’m a regular listener of Gilles Peterson and Benji B’s shows on Radio 1 who play everything from abstract jazz through to dubstep, house, soul and hip hop so I’m always discovering new music that way but I think having grown up in London and being exposed to so many different people, cultures, sounds and scenes from an early age, it makes you open your mind and ears to anything new and at least give it a chance. The quality will stay with you. London was a great place to grow up in musically and we’re only just starting to appreciate that now
Dream Seizure (Omaha, USA)
Posted by tipkin
"Trip-hop is everything and nothing"
Trip-hop world is pretty crazy these days. There are artists who play music that would be considered "trip-hop" even back in the Golden Era of the late 90's, but are scared shitless of the trip-hop tag. And there are artists who make music, to which the term trip-hop would (maybe) apply somewhere in the middle of a long list of genre categories like IDM, electronica, minimal techno, whatever-I-came-up-with-for-my-intelligent-review, whatever-is-trendy-right-now-even-though-I-haven't-a-slightest-idea-what-that-means, and yet they embrace every and any category, including trip-hop, as long as people who are into it would listen to their music.
Dream Seizure cannot describe his style. Nor can he answer what trip-hop is to him. "Trip-hop is everything and nothing", he says, and, honestly, this is probably one of the most accurate definitions. "It's people expressing themselves, classified as a certain style. It's whatever they make it." As far as his own style goes, he doesn't want to waste anymore time finding a genre that fit. "The only aspect I can find consistently is ambient, but that's just fucking wrong." It is fucking wrong. The atmosphere on Dream Seizure's debut album's most "ambient" tracks is much darker than you would expect (or want) from an ambient song and is kicked in the ass by sharp beats. And then there are unsettling vocal parts (Dream Seizure: "There's a lot of effects on some of them, but the actual singing is my own larynx."), heavy-metal piano (you just gonna have to listen, I'm not explaining this one) and even something that sounds suspiciously like Morse code. "If you can decipher it, yes," - says he. "If you can't, it's whatever you want it to be." I tried to decipher Dream Seizure's music influences, but gave up pretty quickly, so I had to ask him. "Gorillaz. Demon Days is probably the reason my music taste evolved the way it did. Amnesiac by Radiohead. Massive Attack and Thievery Corporation, probably the first trip-hop bands I listened to. The Clash, Fugazi, Sonic Youth. I used to listen to hardcore punk, Black Flag, Bad Brains, TSOL, that sort of thing. The attitude has always stuck around, the DIY aspect. I'm grateful I had that attitude so thoroughly bored into my skull." Pretty diverse list, isn't it? But it's nothing compared to his list of non-music influences: "Sickness. I'm ill all the time. Long cigarette breaks in winter with 2 feet of snow. Highway systems. Human behavior. Societal pressures. Space has always been a big one. The brain too. Solipsism. Depression. Anxiety. Politics. Premonitions. Surrealist art. This is probably enough." This (plus "listening to a whole bunch of Busdriver and Eyedea & Abilities and pretty much everything MF DOOM has done") was enough to inspire a record, that "was intended to be more indie rap style. It didn't really end up that way."
Unwoman (San Francisco, USA)
Posted by tipkin
photo by Audrey Penven
"... I seek to be timeless, with just the right amount of freshness and experimentation"
I don't even feel right "introducing" Unwoman (aka Erica Mulkey). She is already an established musician with quite a few releases under her belt, she toured with Votaire, Rasputina and Stripmall Architecture (ex-Halou - love 'em!) and has a solid (and ever-growing) fan base. Her music is a combination of heavenly cello, beautiful vocals, intelligent lyrics, inventive electronic arrangements and goth/steampunk/avant-garde attire, which, once heard is guaranteed to stay with you. And yet I'm sure lots of you poor trippin' souls still listening to old Portishead albums and waiting for another Hooverphonic release have never heard of her. I'm not surprised. In fact, Unwoman was surprised herself by an interview request from a trip-hop blog. So, if you like surprises - read this Q&A and listen to Unwoman. It won't change your life, but it will definitely help broaden those way too narrow trip-hop horizons.
tipkin - Were you surprised to be contacted by a trip-hop blog? What genres do you like or dislike to be associated with? And how would you describe your style to someone who never heard your music?
Unwoman - I guess I’m a little surprised. I usually describe my music as chamber pop or darkwave, depending on whether it’s solo voice-cello (called “acacella” by Doctor Popular), or with backing tracks or electronics (as my recordings are) or with my drummer Felix [Macnee], as the Heavy Sugar Duo. But several years ago I gave up trying to limit ways in which my music would be defined and decided to welcome whatever people wanted to call it, within reason. When I first started drawing a steampunk audience I was skeptical, but I’ve found that it really makes great sense for someone with both anachronistic and futuristic esthetics such as myself. Really I seek to be timeless, with just the right amount of freshness and experimentation.
t. - Are there some examples that aren't "within reason"? And how do you feel about being called "trip-hop" - what's "trip-hop" to you?
U. - Trip-hop is certainly one of the many genres that has inspired me. I listen to a fair amount of Portishead and Massive Attack and Lovage. I feel like I'm on the edges of all these different genres that have inspired me at one point -- pop, electro, trip hop, industrial, indie rock, experimental, goth, and of course classical. I've been listening to and learning more old standards these days, too, and am relieved to see that even those classics have genre-identity disorder, being classified as jazz, vocal, or easy listening. That's one reason I decided I like steampunk as a genre label, though anachro-futurist or retro-futurist is even more accurate, because it doesn't really matter which styles and technologies you're using as long as you're looking to both the past and the future.
t. - You know I have to ask about the name! What's the story behind it?
U. - I chose the name almost exactly ten years ago, actually. I was rereading Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale and noticing parallels between the novel’s dystopia and the prevailing beliefs of the Republican party and George W. Bush who had just been elected. I felt a proud unity with unwomen, an underclass of queer, rebellious, or sterile women who were punished harshly in the novel’s fundamentalist Christian society. The name has served as a reminder that I don’t have to play nice with prescribed gender roles as a female artist, though of course I can dress as girly as I want to.
Tracing Arcs (Kent, UK)
Posted by tipkin
"We both have quite wide listening tastes, and are not afraid to incorporate different music genres into our creations"
British duo Tracing Arcs is probably the jazziest trip-hop act featured on this blog, but at the same time I would not file them under category "nu-jazz", however vague that category might be. There is nothing "nu-" about their jazz. Both Fran Kapelle (vocals/lyrics) and Paul H. Addie (programming/keyboards) have an extensive jazz background going decades back. And this is exactly what makes them stand out among electronica/jazz projects - they manage to preserve that warm, live jazz sound even when it's surrounded by electronic beats and samples. Paul's experience working with genres ranging from traditional folk to reggae reflects in him creating fresh and unusual arrangements for Fran's enchanting vocals. Here are some questions that I asked Paul H. Addie:
tipkin - I usually ask about history of the band, how it all started etc. But people can find this info on your websites. So I wanna ask to just go back to that moment when Fran answered that ad for vocalist. What where the first thoughts, impressions?
Paul - I had seen a few vocalists, and all had their own strengths, however when I met Fran it seemed obvious that when it came to creating material, a greater level of thought and integrity was important to her, as it was too me. In particular the depth of lyric writing along with an ability to listen to the music provided and find a suitable empathy was both refreshing, and exciting. It also encouraged me to listen better (it's very easy to lose sight when you're writing purely instrumental material, that you have to think what is workable for a vocalist). Plus of course the excellent quality of Frans' voice, and we also had many influences in common, from music, film, literature, art etc.
t. - Can you talk a bit about your experiences with finding a label (or trying to)?
P. - We had been lucky in that our first forays (working together) into the music world met with positive reactions. And we are also pro-active in getting our work out there, and this resulted in us appearing in UK music magazines, and us "massaging" any contacts we had, no matter how slim. So we ended up with EMI listening to our stuff (but not knowing where to put us). This was the time when people such as Portishead, Massive Attack etc were just coming on the scene, and that whole style of music was in its infancy. I wrote to the management of David Sylvian and was surprised to get a phone call saying they liked it. They passed it onto 4AD record label and we had an A&R guy from them interested along with Richard Barbieri (Japan, Porcupine Tree etc) who expressed an interest in working with us if we got a deal, along with some of his friends. The guy in 4AD left and we were passed on to Resonance record label, but again people just could not figure out where to put us. And things just did not happen. We had made inroads through our persistence and audacity, however the industry then, as now, is difficult to break into, unless you know people, or are prepared to sleep with them! And many of them are unprepared to take risks anymore, and are looking for quick returns.
Illy[u]zion (Kursk, Russia)
Posted by tipkin
![Illy[u]zion](http://trippintherift.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/illyuzion.jpg "illyuzion")
"My heart is in the rhythm of trip-hop and my voice is about to break..."
Illy[u]zion is a frighteningly young project (even though they have been around for a while performing hip-hop music). It may seem like a trip-hop incarnation of "teenage angst" - atmosphere of hopelessness, hysterical vocals, repeating theme of suicide, loneliness and lack of understanding. Irrepressible substance bulging out of yet unfinished form. However, one can see the sparks of intelligence in the dark environment of Illy[u]zion's music and chanting of suicide isn't a call to one but on the contrary, shows the readiness to fight. Search of depression is the incarnation of individualism and the best sign that Illy[u]zion have grown out of little pants of teenage anything and doesn't want to unite anybody under its flag, but waves that flag because it feels good. The project's frontman Sasha Stepanov (Саша Степанов) shares his words, thoughts and music.
Illy[u]zion
Illy[u]zion is a fusion of feelings and emotions into organic whole through music... I cannot reckon myself among genial individuals who do everything themselves, i.e. from creating the music to its embodiment in graphics... We are an organism - ill, sad, happy, lonely... I am merely the output channel of these feelings, I am a transmitter without tuners. I don't want to name names, give anyone any dues or blame anyone. This is music, and as sad as it it to realize even for me, - music of me... Impulsive, nervous, dirty, suffered to insanity, washed clean from the mass-media cliches.
I don't want to get into the history of our founding and developing... It's all banal and usual there. Unusual was the path we chose - underground (romance of decadence, revolutionary fight). What you hear now is me and Kirill, it's my words and my pain with his music... We're waiting for Artem, for one ought not forget their roots. Hardcore, insanity, it's all our own, like coffee and cigarettes... Inspiration and motivation are people around us, they did influence our work quite strongly; as well as music of established people - Dolphin, Рабы лампы ("Slaves Of The Lamp") (the lyrics by Lyosha Perminov (Леша Перминов) in particular); writers - Cormac McCarthy, Маяковский (Mayakovsky), R. Matheson... Graphics - Zdzisław Beksiński...
Whom
Our listener is different. I can't say for certain. In my opinion it's a person who had lost and who is looking: for sincerity, dirty depression, absence of snivel, but at the same time is wanting to think about their feelings, give names to their fears...
Butterflies
Butterfly is my soul in a psychedelic cocktail of bloody bruises... You are in the cage too, aren't you?
Infamous Deed (Antarctica)
Posted by tipkin
"Being overwhelmed with the brutal weather triggers your creativity and keeps you focused, the key is no distraction and this is a perfect place for a no distraction environment."
The most unusual electronica project to be introduced by trippin' the rift? Quite possibly. This is "chillout" in the frighteningly literal context, - Ferax and Fuscata (combining creative forces under the name Infamous Deed) are working on their beats in the severity of Antarctic weather producing dark edgy tracks. I got sickly curious after my co-author blond discovered Infamous Deed and contacted the duo as soon as I could with a few questions.
tipkin - Antarctica? For real?! Who are you guys and what the hell are you doing there (other than writing kick-ass tunes)?
Ferax - We are freezing our butts and Fuscata is doing biological research down here, his full time job is to see how fungus can adapt to the Antarctica weather. I'm a freelance programmer and offered my services pro bono to the non-profit institute Fuscata works for. We began composing the music for the album and 2 months later he got the job to come here. It just didn't feel right to stop at that moment and lose the momentum we had. So we decided to continue our work here.
Fuscata - Yeah, that's right. We won't live here permanently. But we think that part of Infamous Deed was created here.
t. - One of my co-authors described your music as "urban industrial trip-hop". How would you describe your style?
Fuscata - It is hard to describe music nowadays, everything is mixed up and the more music you hear the more complicated it is to tag it. We needed to describe our style to narrow it down somehow for listeners and we came up with rock/industrial/trip-hop/noise rock... feel free to add any other genre.
t. - Onoffonoffonoff seems to be getting a fair amount of attention. Is Infamous Deed getting famous?
Fuscata - Really?! We are glad that onoffonoffonoff is getting some attention. We love it when people comment about our work either in a positive or negative way. That keeps us alive and motivated to keep making music... But famous? We are pretty far from that.
Rekevin (Moscow, Russia)
Posted by blond
"The realization that you somehow affect a person with your music makes you question the reality of what is happening"
Allow me to introduce my deeply beloved collective, my Top 1 and lifelong playlist in Russian trip-hop, guys who keep creating beautiful and moving work, even though in not perfect conditions, a band from Moscow Rekevin! Ksenia Zotova (Ксения Зотова, vocals) and Igor Levitsky (Игорь Левицкий, guitars, effects) agreed to answer some questions for trippin' the rift.
blond - Tell us the story of the band's formation?
Igor - In short, the band was founded by two people, and the rest drew themselves up through the internet. At that, all the acquaintances were accompanied by some absolutely mystical co-incidents. For instance, Lyoha (Alexey Kochetkov), our bassist, after listening to Rekevin posted an ad on the internet that he is looking for a trip-hop band. And here I am writing to him calling to a rehearsal. Almost like in the movie Rock Star!
b. - As what genre would you classify your music?
I. - It isn't really our job. 'Coffee shop music' is one of the latest definitions, the author of which we'll try not to disappoint with our next record. But in general let it be the mysterious word 'downtempo'.
b. - What does music mean in your life?
I. - Self-expression, I'd say. If there is a need, you have to do it.
b. - Is there a leader in Rekevin, an organizer, or a person to whose opinion everyone listens to?
I. - You just actually described three different members of the collective. So, yes, there is.
b. - What music do you listen to? Where does the band get its inspiration from?
I. - Various! Very! I have in my player now the last release by Filter, a fan mix of Johnny Lang and the new album by Noize MC. But one can get the inspiration from anywhere, it doesn't have to be related to discs. Just remember how McCartney wrote Yesterday.
b. - How are the lyrics being born? Is it hard to write in English? I love the song "Feed Her"; is there a life story behind it?
Ksenia - No, it's a lot easier to write in English, the language is softer, more fluid, the words are shorter. I honestly don't remember what is "Feed Her" based on, where does it take its roots from. I think I was mad at some guy and wrote this song. How it's connected, I don't remember.
Botany Bay (Bonn, Germany)
Posted by tipkin
"Success doesn't really matter so much, as long as the feeling is right; as long as we enjoy doing the things we do"
One of the things that I like the most about trip-hop is its diversity. It leaves room for exploration (and freedom to apply the term to whatever I feel like). Discovering new horizons and making the journey so exciting that reaching the destination really doesn't matter anymore - this is the feeling I get when listening to the music of this project with a beautiful and meaningful name Botany Bay. The band's history is as adventurous as its music (which changes its stylistic course not just from album to album but from one song to another) and it hadn't always been a smooth sailing. Stephan Kleinert, the founder of Botany Bay, talked to trippin' the rift about his project's difficult past, inspired present and hopeful future.
tipkin - The project has a pretty long and quite eventful story. I wouldn't ask you to go over everything, but what would be your most favorite and least favorite moment in Botany Bay's biography from 1995 up until now?
Stephan - There are so many most favourite moments… it's difficult to pick one of them. However, I think a definite high point was our concert at the Blue Shell Club in Cologne in November 2009. We played an audience of 300+ people, and such a number was unheard of for Botany Bay until then. I mean, on the internet we are constantly struggling to attract an audience, and suddenly there's a cram-full club, dancing, enjoying and reacting to our music, having a great time, even singing along and giving this really fantastic response… that was quite something!
As for the least favourite moment - back in Heidelberg, when I started recording Grounded in 2003, I had great difficulties finding support for Botany Bay; at times I had the feeling that this town simply doesn't want me to make music. I constantly had to fight for acceptance of what I was trying to do. Colleagues, co-workers, inmates, even close friends, they just couldn't see the sense in it, in the eyes of most of them I was just wasting my time producing objectionable noise. Eventually, we really hit rock bottom when the landlord of our then rehearsal room locked in our instruments and recording gear and exchanged the cylinder locks because the day before we hadn't agreed to the 200% rent increase he suddenly wanted. Said rehearsal room was a filthy, cramped little compartment without any sanitation or heating, and all of a sudden this moron asks a price which would have paid a luxurious two-roomed apartment… and there we sat, late at night, locked out, in the rain, in the middle of a down-and-out industrial area of Heidelberg, and I thought it was the end. I know it sounds kind of romantic now, but it wasn't at the time.
But looking back, I'm rather proud of having survived the difficult time in Heidelberg. And as for said landlord… well, I'm sure that Karma is going to get him eventually. And that won't be a pleasant experience.
t. - I think you picked a killer name for the band. How did the idea come about, and is there any significance to it?
S. - Actually there is. When we started the project in 1995, we took a world atlas and looked for a location that was as far away as possible; eventually we chose Botany Bay in Australia. For me, it's still signifying yearning, longing for something distant and out of reach.
VFSix (Moscow, Russia)
Posted by tipkin
"It all started with desire to express our current state and feeling of music"
I bet that if I hadn't told you, you would never guess that VFSix is a Russian band. And it's not even because their songs are performed in English. The quality of sound and the unique style - that what draws attention to the band, and the attention is drawn, and rightfully so. Victor, one of the VFSix founders, answered a few of my questions.
tipkin - As usual, let's start with a short bio: how, where and when did it all start?
Victor - The history of our band has a long prehistory, which proves that there is a right time for everything. For the founding of VFSix it came 10 years ago. Fannie appeared at my apartment-recording studio in September 1999, and our personal acquaintance, which due to various reasons wasn't happening for several years, laid the foundation for VFSix. Among the discs in my collection I found the one that I for some reason haven't listened to, Fannie's demo CD, which I really liked. We met not in Krasnoyarsk, where we used to live, but in Moscow, the atmosphere of which became a part of our music. Right around that time I got the six string bass, upon the overtones of which the sound of VFSix is being build. The circumstances laid out that way that both of us ceased to work in other music projects, we were free and had a desire to write music we ourselves would exclusively like, without any restrictions in format, trends, not setting any goals and not thinking about commerce. It all started with our desire to express our current state and feeling of music.
t. - How did the decision to sing in English come about? Who is responsible for the lyrics? What is the reaction of Russian-(and English-)speaking audience?
V. - There wasn't an actual decision regarding the language of the songs, we didn't think about it. It's just that English lyrics are being born in Fannie's head to the music of VFSix. She is the author of all the lyrics of the first album vfsecret, except for "Heart Full Of Stone." On the albums VF's World and Paradise other vocalists write lyrics for themselves. I.e. generally, whoever sings a song is the author of its lyrics. The main audience of the band is English-speaking, which is a double pleasure, since they notice the deep content of VFSix's lyrics. The most common reaction of Russian-speaking listeners is the amazement that this is a Russian band. There's been more of Russian-speaking audience lately, probably due to increasing popularity of trip-hop in Russia.
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