INTERVIEW

VELVET ACID CHRIST
17/10/2006

 


First at all, how do you feel these days ?
Bryan Erickson : Kind of in a daze, stunned, not raw, working out, stressed out, working on remixes. Kinda of insecure. Not really that alive.

Could you please talk to us about the concept of your latest album and its title “Lust For Blood” ? Where is the parallel with the fact that you are at last out of your years of trouble ?
Well, I'm still in trouble, I beat my drug addictions, I got I not great shape for a while, but when I started making music again, my focus became more music oriented and my life style slacked a bit, not as healthy. I stopped eating raw for over a year, I'm still 80% raw, but not 100%. I met Todd (Todd Loomis (Elegia), ndlr) and things clicked with that. But all in all, I'm still hungry for things I can't have, success that always seems fleeting, talent that I wish I had and image I wish I was. All that. I'm like any insecure person I guess.

The cover artwork shows a bloodsucker. Why did you choose this character when you become vegetarian ? Who did design your artwork and why did you choose this style which seems less “trash” than usual ?
Is it a blood sucker ? I dunno. Looks alien. And honestly, I don't have much to do with the artwork. I just let my artists do things and I pick what I like the best... The person who designed the art is a vegan as well.

When “Hex Angel” issued, you said that when working on it you wanted it to be a “guitar album”, but finally gave up the idea. Is “Lust For Blood” the one ?
No, I am done with guitars for a while. I think I'm moving into a more electro directions now. I'm trying to get my sound quality and songs really good and faster. I dunno, I think I'm tired of making pretty slow stuff. I want to make a more up beat psychedelic record this next time.

This album is influenced by a lot of bands (The Cure, The Mission, Orbital, Metallica…), can you tell us more about this ?
I like a lot of older music. The only bands that have come out in the last 10 years to really catch my attention have been Ladytron and Radiohead. I feel that most music these days is a huge let down. It lacks that "warm" sound of the past.

The track “Wound” is very low for a single of VAC, why did you choose this one and not another speeder like “Discolored eyes” for exemple ?
We picked "Wound" because the single and video are about animal rights, and "Wound" is about animal rights. Single is animal rights, but the A-side is our cover of The Cure's "Figurehead". We did a slow single for the States, because fast music is dead in the goth scene right now. People want to dance slow for some reason now.

VAC is now tree people. Can you present your partners and explain how do you work together ? Is it very different than when you work in duo or alone ?
VAC is really 2, Dan just did a tiny bit of sampling. Todd did about 20% of the music load, I did 80%. We take turns. But I end up producing everything over all. It works out pretty well. It was rather painless this time.

What contact do you have with your old partners ?
NO.

What do you see when you look backward, artistically and personaly ? What is your feeling about VAC’s evolution ?
Started as a goth band doing music like The Dots, then got a tad industrial and sounded like FLA, then got more trance oriented and sounded more Juno Reactor and Astral Projection like. As the years passed we mixed it all up. Now we just do whatever we feel like at the time.

Anything to add ?
I really want people to fight the evil governments of the world who start wars. I want people to wake up to the cruelty that is happening to animals, and do something to stop it. I really would like to see a world where people think for themselves. One where TV is destroyed...

Peace out...


Interview par Dusk et Dawn
Merci à Bryan Erickson