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How did you guys meet?
"I have known Andy since we were both six years old; so I met him in the sand
pit at the local infants school. We go back a long way."
When did you start V/Vm?
"Back in '96. We had been working on stuff for about six years before this and
probably before that as well, but the first record on V/Vm came out on
February 29th, 1996."
Before V/Vm, were you guys in any other bands?
"No, neither of us were."
Who came up with the name V/Vm and is there a story behind it?
"The name V/Vm is a scientific term which measures evolution in space; it's
a scientific equation. I came across the equation whilst looking through a
dictionary of astronomy."
People often seem to confuse inspiration with comparison, looking for the
obvious when trying to discover someone's influences. What inspires you?
"Many things inspire me and of course not all musical — life inspires me — and
I think an artist's output is always an overview of their influences."
Why do you remix music? I often wonder if some people see too much in it. Is
it just for fun or is there more to be found in, for example, reworking Just
The Way You Are?
"It's all an experiment in the same way as making an ambient, or electronic,
or nosie track is. It interests us to remix in the sense that we alter the
records so they are still recognisable, and then like to play them to people
who are unaware of what we do. That way you get some great feedback, as
people often look bemused because they know the track but their ears are
telling them and their brain is telling them that something is not quite
right."
How do you decide which songs gets the V/Vm treatment?
"It often depends on chance and on what actually turns up and I buy or
acquire. But we have a vast library of original records between myself and
Andy, and usually we can figure out what tracks would work well if processed
and what fit together..."
Don't you ever get into problems about breaking copyright laws?
"Now and again soembody will say something, but I never got into trouble so
far, which I think is pretty amazing considering the amount of stuff I put
out which is copyright-infringed. I think when we started remixing other
people's work it was something nobody else was doing, Now it's very current
and everybody is bootlegging things onto vinyl."
Do you guys have full-time jobs?
"V/Vm is a full-time job for me and more; Andy is working to get by cash-wise right now."
Why did you start V/Vm Test Records.
"It seemed logical at the time to do our own thing rather than to approach
other labels, and it was a steep learning curve. At that time there were very
few people running small labels, and we just worked alone and were selling
records out of our cars to shops, and it was a long hard process which I
think many labels who set up today should experience. It seems too easy now
to set up labels, which is both good and bad."
How much work goes into it?
"Twenty four hours a day. I think you never stop working or thinking about projects
and new ideas for projects."
How important is the internet for the label and the band itself?
"Yeah, it's very important; most of the contact I have with those who
purchase and support the label is net-based via e-mail, etc. But I think it's
made everything easier for for smaller labels. I was on there from the day I
set up the label. As you know, that it is very important and helps you reach
people all over the world who would be interested in what you're doing; but
in the old days this was not possible."
I really love your packaging. Who designs it?
"I design over 95 percent of stuff, and I get help from Andy with the other
five per cent. I think the packaging always reflects the music you will get, and
I think it should always be like this. I cannot imagine, say, getting
Designers Republic in to design a cover. I think that loses the essence of
the combination of both sound and visual-combining. Kind of like making a
cake and then getting another chef to produce the filling but he has no idea
of what type of cake you made, so sometimes it will taste nice but other
times it will be a disaster."
Vinyl versus CD: Where do you stand?
"I think both are great mediums. I produce both and I cannot understand why
there is always this debate amongst people of where and what you prefer."
It seems as though you have complete freedom in making music. You can make a
disco album one week and a country one the next. Do you feel as though you
have restrictions when making music?
"No, we have no restrictions and I think that is great for us, and I cannot
think of any other musicians who have this freedom because they all dug
their own hole by reproducing what sells well and what they are famous for,
time and time again. It would have been easy for V/Vm to capitalise on our
electronica beginnings and just produce and reproduce that style, but
there's no fun for us in doing that. You've gotta keep moving..."
The performances seem to be the most fun and the most confrontational. What
do you prefer: the recording or the touring?
"I like both and the real shame is I didn't tour now for a long time because
of the amount of work I have to do with the label. So this is something I'm
looking to balance out now over the next year or so."
What is the weirdest reaction you have had so far?
"Well there have been too many, but my favourite was in Amsterdam a couple
of years ago when there was a guy in a wheelchair just going mad on the
dance floor — I don't think my words could translate how funny it looked."
Andy has Jansky Noise as a side project. Do you guys have any other outlets
besides V/VM and Jansky Noise?
"I record also as the Caretaker, and there are other projects we work on
together which have been on V/Vm and other labels., and we both record as
The Stranger, as well."
http://www.kindamuzik.net/interview/v-vm/v-vm/1580/
Meer V/Vm op KindaMuzik: http://www.kindamuzik.net/artiest/v-vm
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