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The Rum Runner 1980
Interviewer: You don’t look goth, your sound isn’tentirely goth. Why do you think the goth community feels compelled to you and how would you define your sound? Daniel: Well, Valerie Anne is… um, I think is called “Whimsy goth”. And maybe at first that was what drew the goth community to us. But also, there’s gothic elements in our music that they’re definitely enjoying and we are glad they do. Valerie: Goths are strong in their beliefs; they stand by them and live by them. We also do that, and we make sure to be very vocal about it in every way we can, that includes our music. Our lyrics talk about human behaviour, sex, gender, struggles in life, ironised stereotypes, self esteem whether high or low, and of course, love in all its forms. Soren: I don’t think we can define our sound, because we are not looking to pigeonhole ourselves, it’s quite the opposite. We want to be free to do whatever we can whenever we want and explore interesting elements. We don’t go into the studio thinking “I want this record to be new wave” or “this song should be like pure rock”. We pick elements we think fit the tale we’re singing about or we come with an idea of what we want the record to sound like. Valerie: There’s been articles or reviews calling our music new wave, synth-pop, goth, rock, punk rock and psychedelic rock. We are open to being called all of that and more, as we’re on a journey of discovering ourselves, discovering what we can do and we are constantlyevolving. I mean, this is our debut album, we don’t know what the future holds for us. But we’re definitely not open to being caged.
Interviewer: Why is there so much interest in the United States within your songs? Is there a special connection? Lucian: We’ve been there once before. We’re heading back on tour. But, we grew up watching movies and listening to music about the American Dream, wondering if it really was a dream or just an illusion, if everything shown in the movies or talked about in the songs it’s real or not. And it’s an interesting place, it holds such iconography and glamour but there’s also the other side of the coin, they hold the Dream within or with the darkness. We left feeling both drawn to and unsettled by the contrast.
Interviewer: There have been criticisms saying that you glamorise dangerous situations like violence and substance abuse. What do you think about that? Valerie: Maybe they didn’t get the message or they lack the critical thinking to discern irony, sarcasm and literalism. Or maybe we’re just pulling their leg.
You can buy “Shades Of Cool” by The Velvet Reverie now in stores!
Nick lowered down the magazine, with the biggest smile on his face and his feet kicking in the air with excitement since his chest was resting on the counter, and they hung down due to the height. “She is so cool!” he said aloud.
