“Brother VOO” (Album) by The VOO
The VOO (UK/GER) glide in and out of a trippy combination of styles starting with surf and winding their way through Kraut- and Stoner-Rock influences into a dreamy, Twin-Peaks vibe. A sound that ranges from simple, puristic Rock ‘n’ Roll to a psychedelic, loop-induced trip into outer-space.
Despite the sudden death of Andrew Krell, the duo’s double-bass player, earlier this year, Ben Galliers (guitar & vocals) has decided to find a way to continue with the VOO and will be releasing the music they made together: the album “Brother VOO”, to be released on October 7th.
Welcome back, the Album "Brother Voo" has been finished and is ready for the release and I have to say it sounds amazing! Why did you decide to release a double Album, 'cause I'd say it's very seldom nowadays?
II guess we are old-fashioned, but it was our dream to create a double album. We just had so much output that it felt right. We met up a few times a week, jammed and wrote songs…it felt very natural and we never doubted that that well of creativity would dry up. We wanted to spread as much VOO as possible out there in the world.
My favorite songs are "Moonrider", "The nature of the beast" or "Interstellar Afternoon", what are your favorite ones?
It is hard to pick a favourite, but “Interstellar Afternoon” is up there. It was one of Andrew’s favourites and it is just so different to everything out there at the moment. The music and lyrics really combine to capture the feeling of love in outer-space! The groovy “Starfish Stiletto” is also a favourite…and I’m proud of my very first instrumental song in “The Rise Of The Surfin’ Dead”.
Which one was the hardest to record and why?
Moonrider was more of a loop jam song when we played live, with parts that we very open and little signals and looks for when to change parts, so this song was not as “defined” as the others. That made it a little more difficult to record. Otherwise, we knew what we wanted and recording was a really fun and creative experience.
I also like the experimental/psychedelic atmosphere, how much time did you spend on the sound/effects?
We spent a lot of time tinkering with effect-pedal-settings and loop machines in the rehearsal room, so that we could create our sound live. When it came to recording it was pretty easy because we were so sure how we wanted to sound. Nevertheless, I always let Andrew do a few takes where he just improvised and played around with sounds in the moment…that was really fun and created great results!
The unexpected loss of a friend is one story of the Album, I would say you have created a great memorial for and with Andrew, isn't it?
I hope so. I know he would be very proud of the album and I wish more than anything that I could celebrate with him now. I think about him every day and he will always be a part of the music I make.
Are there any news concerning live gigs and the future of the project?
It’s hard to say what’s to come. I have tried playing solo but it doesn’t really give me that “VOO” feeling. I will have to keep experimenting and see if I can capture that feeling somehow…maybe solo, maybe with other musicians, we will see.
