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It’s easy to get caught up in the bevy of modern “cold wave” artists putting out
\nrecords, not to mention the the dozens of reissues that pop up weekly. There’s a
\n whole lot of fingers touching synths out there, and it can be exhausting just
\nreading the band names, let alone giving them a spin. One of the better modern
\nartists in today’s minimal-synth (or what have you) genre is Void Vision, helmed
\nby Shari Wallin. With only one 7″ available thus far, it’s clear she’s not out to
\nbombard the world with Void Vision – you actually have to go out of your way to seek
\nher out, live or recorded. Those who do are rewarded, though, as her songs are
\ndelicate, dynamic and, well, actual memorable songs, rather than pre-existing
\ntemplates set to a pre-determined fashion template (email me privately for a list
\nof offenders). There’s a Void Vision LP on the way soon, as well as a new set of
\nlive shows, so I figured I would check in and pick her brain a little.<\/p>\n
How long have you been playing synthesizers? Were you always drawn to that instrument,
\nor did you start off playing different instruments?<\/b>
\nI have been playing and writing since I was young. Piano lessons started at
\naround age 8, but within a few years I started teaching myself. I can sincerely
\nsay that from as early as I can remember, I have always had a strange and strong
\nattraction to synthesizers and particularly melancholy tunes. When I listened, I
\nsaw images, shapes, math, science, colors, and textures. It tickled my brain. I
\nwas obsessed with watching my brother play old video games because the music was
\nso infectious. I tried to write vocal lines over Nintendo songs. By age 12 my
\nbrother had given me a tracker program for the computer and I learned very quickly
\nhow to use it. I also played a lot with sampling and creating my own sound libraries
\nbecause I was fascinated with the idea that any sound imaginable could be arranged
\nwith other sounds like puzzle pieces, to form some great sonic collage. Overall,
\nthe magic of electronic music gave me hope at a young age because I knew I was a
\nweird girl; it would be hard to find other likeminded musicians to work with and
\nthis medium allowed me to work independently. It also made me realize that you
\ndidn’t have to be some guitar virtuoso or superbly talented in any physically
\ndexterous way in order to make music. As long as you had a clever idea and
\ncreativity, that was all you needed. I suppose I’ve always felt a futile inability
\nto compete with the rest of the world in any physical manner, but I understood
\nthat I could compensate by focusing on developing myself mentally and in other
\nways, if that makes sense. Electronic music gave me what I needed for that.<\/p>\n
When and how did Void Vision get started? Was it just you at first?<\/b>
\nVoid Vision originally started out as a full 4-piece band. I was the main synth
\nplayer in the beginning. After a while, the guitarist [Hayden Payne] and myself
\ncame to the conclusion that our goals and interests were similar and that we would
\nbe better off as a duo. He switched from guitar to synths, and we both started
\ncollecting a large amount of vintage gear and experimenting with various setups
\nand recording techniques. We spent a lot of time being nerds together and soaking
\nup all the knowledge we could. We performed together for a while but ran into
\nsome issues during the recording of our 7″ and Hayden decided to leave to pursue
\nhis own project, Dream Affair. <\/p>\n
It’s been a few years, and there’s only a Void Vision 7″ out… when’s the next release
\ncoming? Why haven’t you put out more?<\/b>
\nI chose to continue with Void Vision because I didn’t want to abandon the songs
\nthat I had put so much into. But it took me a while to get back on track with the
\n music. I had to acquire a lot of gear, spend time programming, and rethink how I
\nwas going to present everything in a live setting by myself. I have played many shows
\nsince then, but my progress with recording and writing was again halted by a very
\ntumultuous and damaging 2-year relationship. I have only recently managed to become
\nresettled in the beginning of this year, but since then I have been able to devote
\ntime to recording and writing again. I’m about half way through with the full length
\nat this point, and I have a number of other things in the works for Void Vision. I
\n have also been contributing musically to the band Hot Guts, who I’ll be going on
\ntour with in late June, and a few other projects for friends.<\/p>\n
What is your current live lineup like? Do you see yourself building up to a full
\n“band” again?<\/b>
\nThe current live setup consists mainly of myself and a pile of machines, but I am
\noccasionally joined by my lovely and talented violin player, Miss Adrina Marie. I
\nhaven’t ruled out adding other members to the lineup, but I probably wouldn’t have
\na full band again, at least not in the same format. This music was meant for drum
\nmachines and synths. I like to be able to hear the dynamics, the intricate or
\ndelicate sequences, and the tones of the synth sounds. Those things are important
\nand give a song it’s character. From my own experience, adding things like guitars,
\nbass, and drums usually just muddles the sound up too much or instantly makes it
\nsound like a generic rock band. Some musicians can do it right, but it’s rare. And,
\neven though I have a pretty strong voice, I don’t like having to scream over a whole
\nband to be heard. I find it’s easier to write alone in most instances, and there’s
\nless to worry about in terms of coordinating schedules, but I will say that I did
\nreally enjoy working as a duo, and when you have the right combination of people,
\nmagical things can happen. Ultimately, I suppose it all depends on who you’re
\nworking with and how well you work together.<\/p>\n
What’s the LP sounding like? Is it similar to the 7″? Any themes, or changes in direction
\nyou’re excited about?<\/b>
\nThe LP is stylistically similar to the 7 inch, yes. The songs are mostly from around
\nthe same time period, but a few are more recent. They are still quite dance-oriented,
\nbut I also have some mid-tempo songs and a newer one that is what I refer to as my
\nepic ballad, which is rather lush with violin. But I’ve been working in a slightly
\ndifferent way since Hayden left and I’ve had to adapt the way I perform many of the
\nsongs live. I have some of the same equipment as before, but many new pieces of gear
\nI’m trying to incorporate as well. I do have some ideas for directions I want to move
\nin after this album, but I don’t want to give away all my secrets just yet, and I also
\ndon’t like to pigeon-hole myself. Time will tell…<\/p>\n
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As this has been something you’ve enjoyed since a child, synthesizers and melancholy
\ntunes, how do you feel about the current resurgence of it?<\/b>
\nI have mixed feelings about the resurgence. On the one hand I think it’s great because
\nit gives me an audience, and there are a lot of really amazing artists that have emerged
\nand among the people that are truly passionate about it, there is a wonderful and
\nsupportive community. On the other hand, a lot of people are just into it for social
\nstatus, fashion’s sake, or to get laid. But that always happens with every genre of music.
\nIt’s unfortunate, but the artists that end up breaking through to the mainstream are
\nusually dressed-up, watered-down versions of that genre. Hopefully audiences will be
\nsmart enough to sort out the quality music from the disposable kind themselves. My biggest
\nquarrel is just that the rise in popularity has driven up the prices of gear.<\/p>\n
Were there any electronic albums that you heard as you were growing up and learning how
\nto make music that really inspired you?<\/b>
\nSure, although I don’t particularly like naming specifics since people tend to be very
\nsnobby and judgmental about such things. I will say that I grew up in the suburbs in a
\nplace that had literally no diversity whatsoever and there wasn’t anywhere to go to
\nfind music. I also didn’t have cable and therefore no MTV and the Internet wasn’t like
\nit is now obviously. But I did have a big brother, and one of the first things I can
\nrecall really having an impact on me was his Nine Inch Nails albums when I was about
\n11 or 12. I was fascinated by the sound textures and I wanted to know how they were
\nmade. I was also inspired by the fact that it was made by mainly one man. After that,
\nI began digging deeper and further back into music history, finding Depeche Mode,
\nCabaret Voltaire, Severed Heads and so on. I started reading a lot of biographies
\nbecause I was very interested in the whole history of what was going on in the late
\n’70s and early ’80s music scenes. It seemed like such a creative and fertile period
\nof time. Of course, my interests go way beyond electronic music. I also grew up
\nlistening to a lot of Moody Blues thanks to my mother, and classical music, thanks
\nto my father.<\/p>\n
Do you think it’s harder to process music slowly, like you did as a child, because
\nthere’s just so much of it available today? Like in 2012, you could download the top ten
\n most “essential” cold-wave albums in a few minutes, but that makes it nearly
\nimpossible to slowly soak up and appreciate…<\/b>
\nThat is a really good point, and I think in many ways you’re right. Technology always
\nis a double edged sword. On the one hand there is an increased level of exposure to
\ndiverse kinds of music and things that used to be hard to come by. But, the thrill of
\nthe hunt has been essentially removed, for better or for worse, and the fast-paced
\noverload has, in a way, made it more difficult to keep focused on any one thing for too
\nlong. Feeling connected to an album, and the musicians themselves, was one of the
\ngreatest things about music when I was growing up. For every album that I acquired in
\nmy youth, I played it incessantly before I moved onto the next thing. Now people seem
\nto have short attention spans, and being able to pick and choose songs they want to
\ndownload often causes them to miss out on experiencing an album as a whole. I’ve
\nalways appreciated artists who put a lot of effort into constructing an album with
\ndynamic, where each song was treated as a vital part of a bigger picture, and they
\ndidn’t just throw ‘filler’ material in between the hits. I’m glad that making and buying
\nvinyls is popular again because I think it is a medium that forces both artists and
\nconsumers to engage music in a more complete manner, and the limited quantities and
\ndelicate physical nature of vinyl itself brings back a sense of value and many of
\nthe lost thrills of hunting.<\/p>\n
How do you feel about older synth-based groups reuniting?<\/b>
\nAs for the subject of older synth groups reuniting, it’s interesting to see them
\npresent their old hits to a new fan base. I think many of the ones who sank into
\nobscurity for years feel happy that their songs are being rediscovered and appreciated,
\nwhich is nice for any artist. But it’s perhaps even more interesting seeing what
\nbecame of them after they moved on with their lives and who they are now. More often
\nthan not, their re-emergence ruins the mystique they had originally created. And
\nmany times when they get back together and try to write new stuff it just doesn’t
\nwork because the musical atmosphere of the world has changed and they’ve been tainted
\nby the influences of modern culture, or they just don’t have the same stimulus driving
\nthem. But, every once in a while there is an exception and they pull it off and prove
\nthat talent transcends age. My feelings are mixed, but I support it as long as it’s
\ncoming from an honest place. Music should not be limited to the young.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
It’s easy to get caught up in the bevy of modern “cold wave” artists putting out records, not to mention the the dozens of reissues that pop up weekly. There’s a whole lot of fingers touching synths out there, and it can be exhausting just reading the band names, let alone giving them a spin. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5317","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-interviews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.yellowgreenred.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5317","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.yellowgreenred.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.yellowgreenred.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yellowgreenred.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yellowgreenred.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5317"}],"version-history":[{"count":21,"href":"https:\/\/www.yellowgreenred.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5317\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5384,"href":"https:\/\/www.yellowgreenred.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5317\/revisions\/5384"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.yellowgreenred.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5317"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yellowgreenred.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5317"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yellowgreenred.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5317"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}