Velvet Acid Christ (VAC)
is counted among the most famous electro-industrial bands in the world. The band based in Denver, Colorado and was formed in 1990 by lead vocalist, musician, and producer Bryan Erickson, and later featured various ex-members of Toxic Coma.
Genres: EBM; electro-industrial; dark electro
Members : Bryan Erickson; Dianna Recalde (aka Shiva)
Short review about their newest album is Ora Oblivionis (2019):
Velvet Acid Christ somehow remain true to themselves as a project with a high recognition value while at the same time constantly changing. In the gloomy electronic niche, they are a healthy counter-accent to the constant re-enactment of the same sound worlds. For people not knowing them,- you will need a slow aproach to their music to get the full impact,- it is no simple background music.
The following interview took place at Shiva's residence in Germany. Brian answered the questions over the Internet. Reporter for TAT was Kitsune_dO.
While Shiva was entertaining me with her wonderful potato salad, two rabbits were hopping across the floor. On a white electric piano standing against the wall, she played me a few ideas that she was working on. With the music from VAC in the background, we did the interview.
What is most important for you Put one number between 1 and 10. for each position : sex , music, money, performing, private life, traveling, fans, friends, having an impact/influence by your art at people
Shiva: sex 9, music 9, money 8, performing 8, private life 10, traveling 8, fans 9, friends 10, having an impact 9
Bryan: sex 10, music 10, money 10(nothing works without it),Performing 10, Traveling 6(i have to drive),fans 10, having an impact 10. Almost everything is super important.
Imagine that you can resurrect someone and incorporate them into your group just to play your concerts and rehearse with you. Who do you choose? A musician of any age..
Do you love that type of music more for ideology or for the sound?
Shiva: Kurt Cobain for ideology and Bach for sound
Bryan: Neil Peart sound and ideal.
Who would you say have been your bigger musical influencers?
Shiva: I started learning piano at the age of 5 , therefore the first influence for me was completely classical, componists like Mozart, Beethoven , Bach,etc. I would say a lot of my influence for writing comes from classical music.
Bryan: For me rush got me into music hardcore, but The cure is the thing that made me fall in love with it.
What do you feel is the same or difference between you and the ancestors of gothic rock, such as sisters of mercy?
Bryan: We use technology and we don't really have a full band, just co writers.
Shiva agrees
Many define your music style as industrial. What’s your opinion?
Shiva: I would say, only people that dont know our whole discography would say that. VAC's music style embraces a lot of different styles of music, going from industrial to industrial metal, ebm, rock to trance , techno and goa, etc.
Bryan: The vocals make it industrial, but the music is all over the place. We are a fusion act.
What inspires you to write your lyrics / your music?
Shiva: The mood of the day, lol, or when i think of somebody or the world and things that are happening in the moment.
Bryan: Everything, But in the past i used to listen to super pop tunes and figure out how to be the exact opposite to that. Even though I do actually enjoy some pop.
How does Covid affect your music as well as your group?
Shiva : Very bad, I am in Germany and Bryan is in the States, we haven't seen each other for over a year and apart from being separated and missing each other terribly, we just can't work good in these circumstances, writing music and putting it all together is really hard. I lack motivation and imput.I am writing music on piano but we need each other to make it work. I miss our fans and I miss playing shows really bad. The worst of it all is all is, we don't when it will finally end.
Bryan: I have not seen Shiva for a year and it's the worst thing ever. I am working on music but it's slow. Patreon is not great, fans don't have money or jobs, our income is way down, and we cannot tour where the bulk of our money was made. So Covid might kill VAC.
How do you globally see the post punk music culture in nowadays trends?
Shiva: Post Punk evolved into a huge culture with lots of different music styles and alot of it as it started to fade out like the goth culture, i see always less and less people taking part in it and only people of certain age are still sticking to it. Which is really sad. But on the other hand Cyber Goth is evolving with a cool style that I really like.
Bryan: I am into pale waves, chvrches and ladytron more than anything. And old music.
How do you cope with the persecution and minorization that women have been subjected to in the West for the past 2500 year?
Shiva: OMG...not an easy question to answer.. and I am having a little bit of troubles with this one because of somebody who lived her entire life in the west, born in the USA, then lived in South America and end up in Germany i have seen a lot of abuse against women especially in South America early in the years, but thankfully i have never experienced it by myself . I have always had every kind of support in any way I wanted to go. Unfortunately it doesn't work like that for every woman in the world and i think that nowadays we have way more opportunities than before, i see every time more women united fighting for our rights without being afraid of the society. I think that we live in a time where we don't have to be afraid anymore in reaching what we deserve and having the treatment and positions we always belonged to.
Do you believe women are slowly taking over all over the western world?
Shiva: Oh yes, definitely! We can see this starting by high government positions, women are presidents of developing countries, like Germany , New Zealand, Island, Denmark, Costa Rica, Argentina,etc. Women are taking part in important projects and changing the world . Not only the western world but all around.
What do you think about the current situation in Europe where basic freedoms are conditioned on the pretext of collective security?
Shiva: I don't like it, i have a lot of problems with it , i had to stay at home without being able to go out and meet my friends , do the things i love to do...but in the end...who knows maybe it was the best for everybody. Even if i don't like it but unfortunately.
Bryan: It sucks, but so do people dying, my aunt died of covid.
How do you see the problem of drug use and its prohibition even today?
Shiva: I think the crime rate in the world would sink if drugs would be legal, the cartels would have no power at all and no people would have to risk their life to feed their families, die or be kidnapped to work in the fields and traffic. People who want to do drugs would still do it , without being in risk to go to jail and ruin their lives and people who never wanted to touch them , would still stick to their own without drugs. The society would have one problem less by legalizing it.
Bryan: Drugs, they should be taxed and that money could go to rehab and real help not prison.
Thank you for the interview! I hope for a quick change in the situation with covid, so that we all can all enjoy concerts and festivals again. It would be nice to see you on stage again soon.
Shiva & Bryan: Thank you for being here
and suporting us! Greetings to the Amazon sisterhood as well to all readers of the TAT. If you like to check about our projects music and so on just check at:
Comments