Interview: Volenté
Published on March 28th, 2013 | Jonny Abrams
South Wales songstress Volenté Lloyd has just issued her luscious, beatsy three-track EP Broken Promises, so Rocksucker fired her over some questions in the hope of finding out a little bit more about her particular operation. First, though, have an aural butcher’s of the EP’s title track…
Congratulations on an ace new single. Is there a full album in the works and if so when can we expect it? And what can we expect from it (feel free to be as abstract as you like)?
Thanks so much for your kind words. I am so glad you like it! Originally I planned to do an album but in the end decided to do a three-track single, as time was very limited. I will definitely be recording more tracks over the next few months and am hoping to release an album sometime in early 2014. The new material will definitely be experimental, which I hope you will also enjoy!
Will all three Broken Promises tracks be on the album?
That is definitely an idea, although I will probably start from scratch again, as once I have finished a project, I prefer to move on to something new. I suppose I could include the Broken Promises tracks as secret tracks maybe, you never know!
What was it like recording at Berwick Studio?
A fantastic experience to work within a professional environment, with professional people who were very passionate about music too!
What can we expect from a Volenté live show? What’s your setup?
It will be a very minimal affair. I will be playing my electro-acoustic guitar, using my laptop alongside my awesome drummer, Kirby, who will be playing an electronic drum kit to complement the tracks with more beats.
Are you playing any festivals this summer?
As yet, I haven’t booked any festivals, although I am waiting to hear back from a few.
From your bio: “Her first foray into modern music was aged 17, when she joined a 9-piece- avant-garde metal rock band by the name of ‘Stalin’.” – Really??
Yes. It was an awesome experience, as there were eight of us in the band: two vocalists, guitarist, bassist, mandolin player and rhythm guitarist, French horn player, metal percussionist and the drummer. Other than really enjoying making music with the band, I loved our ‘jam room’/rehearsal space which was in the basement of a large art deco hotel. The wonderful thing was that we paid an affordable monthly rate to rent the space, which meant that we ended up renting it for years without having to think about moving. It was very centrally located and we were able to have all our instruments set up at all times, which meant that we could start jamming straight away.
Having this set-up enabled us to cut out losing time setting up and packing up before and after every rehearsal. My late best friend was our engineer and built a studio within the basement, which meant we were able record every rehearsal (and later finished tracks) and then were able to analyse what we were producing during rehearsals in order to build on what we were coming up with and improve on it. Also, as a band, we were friends, which made a huge difference, as we were all committed to the same goal of making good, very experimental music.
Which were your favourite albums of 2012, and which are you most looking forward to in 2013?
I really enjoyed Dinosaur Jr. – I Bet on Sky, Brian Eno – LUX, Sigur Rós – Valtari and am looking forward to Primal Scream’s More Light album.
Finally, if you had to spend the rest of your days with the entire works of just five different artists, musical or otherwise, whose would you choose?
David Bowie, Massive Attack, Linkin Park, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Rachmaninov.
Volenté, thank you.
Volenté will be playing a host of shows to promote Broken Promises including:
Fri 22nd March – Warehouse 54, Newport
Fri 12th April – Dublin Castle, London
Fri 26th April – Buffalo Bar, Cardiff
To hear Broken Promises tracks and see the videos, please visit the official Volenté website.
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