Voltcase Exclusive - History of GunsFancy checking out some "sexy electro punk"? Then check out our feature with History of Guns!
Hi, welcome to Voltcase - how the devil are you?!
Sunburnt and a bit frazzled around the edges after a mad time at Glastonbury. How are you?
So, how would you describe your sound to a stranger in just three words?
Sexy, electro, punk
What could you say to convince the lazy general public that they should check you out, turn up at your gigs and buy your new double-A side single, which is out this month?
We're not for people who get hung up on genre... we write in whatever mood we're in at the time. Sometimes we're completely electronic, sometimes we're a full 5-piece rock band, and any variation in between. We've done songs that are played in Goth clubs, ("Empty Eyes"), Dance clubs, ("LMS"), Punk clubs ("Your Obedient Servants") etc. Our live sets tend towards the higher octane material. Good for drinking and hurling yourself about to. We write songs about serious things and issues... but we also have a sense of humour. The new single is a slow burning electronic track, "When You Don't Matter", coupled with "Slice Up Your Wife" which is a lo-fi electropunk reimagining of the Spice Girls classic which includes the girls themselves and some re-written lyrics which hopefully work initially on a comedic level, but also on a deeper feminist level.
What do you guys think of the Internet as a way of promoting yourselves – is it an essential marketing tool, or just another way for people to steal your music?
For a band like us who are quite well known in the underground scenes, the internet is just perfect. We have day jobs, all we're interested in is getting our music to as many people as possible rather than trying to make a living out of it.
We try and promote as many local scenes as we can here at Voltcase, what can you tell us about your home town/s and the music scene there? Any bands that we might not have heard of that you think we should check out?
Music scene in Hertford, which was really ballooning, just suffered a massive blow with the closure of our music venue The Marquee. :( fortunately enough we're close enough to London to be able to get to all the gigs and clubs there.
There's the mrsvee record label run by friends of ours, who have massive of alternative electro things available for free.... website is at: www.mrsvee.co.uk
Also I play with experimental electronic band Xykogen... who also have plenty of free things over at www.xykogen.com
And, for anyone out there just starting out in a band, is there one piece of invaluable advice that you could give them to help them on their way?
Don't get too hung up on 'making it'. It's the easiest thing in the world to become a bitter muso, we've met enough of them. Do it for fun and do it for love, and if ever those things aren't there then it's time to take a beak.
So, what’s the most extreme rock-star type story that’s happened to you while on tour or at a gig?
Del our singer is always getting into trouble. One time before a recording session he managed to get cracked over the head with a metal drainpipe! We made him do the session though instead of going to hospital even though he was bleeding everywhere. No way were we going to lose our deposit!
If you were interviewing yourself, what question would you ask yourself? And what would the answer be?
I'd say "Max, tell us more about your solo project Raelism..." haha! not really... I'd ask if it's true that we've mapped out our future releases right until the (bitter?) end? The reply would be, "We generally come up with concepts for albums, and the proceed to write in any which way we like, often by improvisation and then fit the songs into album projects as we go along, for this reason there've been songs we've written and even played live ages ago that haven't been released on anything yet. Currently as we stand Album Four will be "Whatever You Don't Turn Up At Twelve", which is electro-gothpunk disco, then Album Five will be "Half Light" which will be totally electronic, then Album Six will be "Eschatology" which will be all 'real' instruments, pianos, guitars, bass etc. If we can get the budget out of the record company hopefully a string section... maybe even a brass section! It's not that we're saying, that's it we're splitting up after that, more that's just what we've got planned at the moment. Who knows if we'll last long enough to actually record and release them. Who knows if by them time we've got to the end we'll have a thousand other ideas to pursue... or who knows if we'll have finally had enough and will just shut up and stop bothering people?! ;)
What big plans have you got for the rest of the year?
We're putting the finishing touches to Album Four, the afore-mentioned "Whatever You Do Don't Turn Up At Twelve"... It's predecessor, Album Three, "ACEDIA" was really dark and horrible and depressing scratchy punk, this is a bit of a reaction against it... there's still guitars involved, and there's still a healthy dose of miserabilsm to the lyrics... but the overall vibe of the music is much more up and funky. Our label's sorting out some dates at the end of the year to support the album launch... hopefully including a few dates in Europe.
And finally, the question that we ask everyone that appears in Voltcase - what does the word 'Voltcase' mean?
It's a case we carry everywhere with us containing raw energy... we see someone looking tired and filled with apathy at the world around them and we know it's time to OPEN THE VOLTCASE!!!!! |
History of Guns
