Vulta interview

 

Artist: Vulta
From: Belgium
Latest release: Nabla I. EP 
Label: self released
Bandcamp: http://vulta.bandcamp.com/

Vulta is a promising new Synthwave act from Belgium. I came across the most recent EP "Nabla I." a week or so ago and dug it immediately. It has a good mix of hard Synthwave and Horror Synth with great layered song-writing that might even have some classical influence too. For instance, the track "It Was Underground The Whole Time" has a long subtle build-up worthy of a classical piece, with melodic twists and turns to match. I figure it's the kind of thing that's a really good entry point for rock/metal/doom fans to get into this style of music. The EP also features a thumping cover of Dance With The Dead's "Invader" which more than does it justice.

Vulta main-man Jim has been kind enough to answer a few questions exclusively for Synthallica!

Q1. Hi! Who are you, where are you from and what is you musical background?

Hi! My name is Jim and I'm from Belgium. I started learning music when I was 7 with the piano. All my cousins are musicians and I thought that I should learn too. Around 14/15 i bought my first electric guitar, so i was interested in both the classical and the rock scene. It's around that age that I first started to learn a little bit more about electronic music, but not seriously. Only to pick it up a couple years after, this time with the desire to learn more!

Q2. What musical endeavors have you been involved in before Vulta?

Got my fair share of bands as a teen, from rock to death metal. Just before taking Vulta seriously, I made a couple of essays in Electronic music to pin point the intricacies of the genre, from EDM to Drumstep and all in between! I'm also in a Goregrind band called "Brutal Sphincter" (link) We plan to do lots of mini-tours through europe. So... yeah... another MetalHead with a foot in Synth music!

Q3.  What attracted you to starting a Synthwave project?

A couple years ago, while in France, a friend of mine made me discover Perturbator. Fell in love with the style instantly, so Carpenter Brut, GosT, Dance With The Dead,etc. were not too hard to find and like after that.

I knew that Synthwave existed, but I did not really care very much. After listening to old projects, i found an old track that i made back in 2010 and was pretty much the Synthwave cliché. So it started ! For the Distorted bass, it was also a bit of the same story. I remember challenging myself to make the heaviest synth/distorted bass as if it was a 9 string guitar! *laughs*

Q3. What influences do you have from Synthwave/electronic artists or any other music styles?

As said above, I think Perturbator, Carpenter Brut, GosT and DWTD played a big role in the birth of the project. On the other hand, I'm pretty much a sponge when it comes to music, so every good music can be an influence. Of course, Classical, Fusion jazz, EDM, Metal and such are a turn-on for me, but I don't care that much when I compose, if a song still talks to me after a week, I keep it!

Q5. How about movies and other art forms?

Big fan of the 80's movies as you can guess. B movies, even Z movies ! Scifi and fantasy are my favorites! Huge fan of video games !

Q6. How do you go about composing a Vulta track?

It can go from higgledy-piggledy to very well organized. Most of the time it comes from a melody or chords that I have in mind. While composing, I always have a scene/story in my head, that helps a lot! I often start with a simple beat and i add everything step by step, I do lots of demos and only a few are selected.

Q7. What hardware/software do you like/use?

I mostly use Software. From time to times i use old cheap synths in conjunction to VSTs and for guitars I use a 7-string Schecter Hellraiser with an Hughes & Ketner amp+cab, or through an amp simulator. I do all my stuff in FL Studio and Reaper. been using them for years!

Q8. How did your Dance With The Dead remix come about?

I love this track very much, so I've decided to remix it, made it by ear, I showed it to DWTD and they liked it, so i released the track!

Q9. Who is Current 218, featured in the final EP track?

Current 218 is the friend of mine who introduced me to Perturbator. He really wanted to write guitars for one of my tracks, it's the least I could do in return!

Q10. Do you have any specific plans for more Vulta music?

I'm currently writing my first LP Album, even tho' the process is slow. it seems that most of the tunes will hit hard as F**k!

Q11. Would you like to play live with Vulta?

I'd love to! Even if right now I don't know anything about DJing. It's on the wishlist for sure!!! I think doing a Live set performance With 4 musicians could be fun, but it's definitely not a priority and would be too much work imo.

Thanks a lot Jim! Anything else you'd like to say to sign off?

Thx for having me ! Stay weird! Do what you like, the way that you like and don't forget to do rites in the name of the dark lord!

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Make sure to check out Vulta's EP at Bandcamp

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