Primeiramente, dê play no segundo álbum de Vyva Melinkolya e volte aqui para entender do que se trata. Ok, com o disco tocando vamos em frente....
Vyva Melinkolya é Alyc Dias, a mente criativa e fazedora de tudo que se ouvirá nesta pequena odisseia ao mundo dos sonhos. Alyc não é exatamente nova na cena, e o disco homônimo é seu segundo trabalho, sucessor do belo, "Ms.Menthol", lançado no ano passado, sem contar "Son of Eye" onde Alyc dividia a alcunha de Vyva Melinkolya com demais integrantes, mas sinceramente, deixe este disco de lado.
Apesar da beleza de "Ms.Menthol" é exatamente no novo álbum que Alyc demonstra todas as possibilidades sonoras por onde Vyva Melinkolya vive e respira. Por entre viagens gazers, suspiros melancólicos embalados por sonhos, e fritações psicodélicas, todo sob um espectro sombrio, onde a luz raramente penetra.
Um disco que resume Alyc, intenso, belo, sedutor e perigoso. Escute alto.
***** Interview with Vyva Melinkolya *****
I came up with the name Vyva Melinkolya when i was 15 years old, and I’ve never had the heart to name it something else. When I was very young I had piano lessons and at 13 I started playing guitar, but it wasn't until high school that I felt confident enough to write and record my own music. At 16 I recorded an album and I've pretty much released one every year since then. My early music verged on experimental, punk, and folk— however psychedelia was the sound that came most natural to me. It was all a fucking mess and most of the songs were unlistenable until about the 3rd album. When I first heard Shoegaze, it kind of made everything fall into place, I knew what I wanted to sound like. It took me a few albums to actually get there though, most of the time I don't know what I'm doing and I’ve been really stubborn about seeking out others for guidance. With these last two releases thought, especially the self titled, I've really come into my own.
Q: Who are your influences?
Starflyer 59, Cocteau Twins, Grimes, The Brian Jonestown Massacre, Slowdive, Grouper, MBV, Tamaryn, Slint, Chelsea Wolfe, The Residents, Cocorosie, Medicine, Sonic Youth, Spiritualized, Beach House, Deerhunter, Brian Eno. Theres a lot more but if i kept going it would take hours lol.
Q. Make a list of 5 albums of all time…
A.”Souvlaki”, “MBV”, “Daydream Nation”, “Loves Easy Tears” (its an EP but its my favorite Cocteau Release) and “Spiderland”
Q. How do you feel playing live?
Playing live is difficult for me.Thus far I'm only a solo act so I run guitar and my voice through my interface, through Logic with all my back tracks, and through a PA system (i should really start using amps again). I’ve played two shows thus far and both have been wonderful. I use lights and fog machines, not to distract from the music but more so to build an aesthetic around it. In the future, i’d like to incorporate interactive projections into my live sets.I love playing loud and I love watching my music affect people. For people to enjoy it is one thing, but to see someone get emotional from my music, live or not, provides me with what I can only describe as “closure”. My music comes from a very intimate, sometimes dark place inside myself—I write a lot about mental illness, trauma and dysphoria. When people tell me how my music made them feel, what it reminded them of, it kind of brings things full circle for me. Admittedly I cry a lot, in general and also during the recording process. When someone says “that song made me cry”,I cant help but feel like my music served its purpose.
Q. How do you describe Vyva Melinkolya sounds?
A. I spend a lot of time thinking about this actually. Ive always been a fan of juxtaposing really harsh guitar with a brighter, cleaner one. Rather cliche, but my two favorite guitarists are Kevin Shields and Robin Guthrie.In that respect, the terms Shoegaze and Dreampop are fitting and I appreciate anyone that considers my music as those. I consider my music goth in some respects too, Dreampop is derivative of goth and I have a big appreciation for Darkwave—cold synth pads and sharp drum machines. In general, I'm always chasing an enormous, cerebral sound that i achieve with a lot of layering. As self indulgent as it sounds, I like to call my music “Goth Psychedelia” and “Dronepop”.Im not the kind of person who complains about the divisiveness of genre, the more kinds of music the better and it’s easier to find a scene and an audience that way. No one goes looking for Post-Black Metal by googling “Metal”, and it’s hard to find a good Shoegaze record by searching up ‘Indie/Alternative”.
Q: Tell us about the process of recording the songs ?
A. A song can take me anywhere from 2 weeks to 2 months to record. Sometimes the lyrics come first, sometimes its the actual song. Usually the actual music is born out of a guitar riff or progression, sometimes a bass line. Most of my self titled contains songs with 3 guitars, a pad synth, midi drums and bass. I’m not content with minimalism,but sometimes too many layers at once can be abrasive so I've really had to find a happy medium. I’ve used Midi drums for a couple years now, I use regular drumsticks with the pads on my Akai Mini. For now I use the logic drum packs but I’m starting to play around with samples too. Most of my songs have 2-3 vocal layers. My voice doesn't have the best range, nor is it inherently dreamy, so I do a lot of takes until whats coming out of my mouth does the lyrics justice. I am a trans person and my voice has been referred to as “Androgynous” before, and thats pretty much what I'm shooting for. Behind the main vocal track theres usually a harmonic one, and a non lyrical one that I create with a loop pedal.
Q. Which new bands do you recommend?
Theres a band out of Portand OR called Lazy Legs that’s my favorite “nugaze” act, Its only a three piece so I'm extremely impressed by how huge their sound is. The guitarist from that band has another project i really enjoy called Eyes Behind the Veil which explores Slowcore and Ambient guitar music.
Q: Which band would you love to made a cover version of?
A. Theres so many covers i’d like to do, too many to be honest. One song that would be a challenge for me is Slint’s “Good morning Captain”. Me and Slint are from the same city and that song in itself is soul-crushing— id really like to give something that powerful a try.
Q: What are your plans for the future?
I’m working on some new stuff currently, I kind of record habitually at this point. My dream is for Vyva Melinkolya to become a formidable live act, to tour and see music scenes outside my own. Louisville has an ok music scene, but its mostly punk bands and id love to move somewhere with more of a goth culture. Im working hard to improve my production style, I've gotten to the point where i can do everything but the mastering but I still have a lot i can improve on.
Q: Any parting words?
A. A big thank you to TBTCI and to everyone who's supported my music. There’s even more to come!
*
*
*
Thanks
https://www.facebook.com/vyvamelinkolya/
https://vyva-melinkolyaky.bandcamp.com
