Vim and the Nation
..., the brainchild of Parisian artist Vim (a.k.a. Guillaume Destot), craft a captivating fusion of alt-soul and electronic rock that delves into the intricacies of the human psyche and tackles pressing social issues, such as the environmental crisis, transhumanism, and violence against women. A London stint in the '90s, a profound passion for English literature, and a childhood immersed in African-American soul music shape their singular sound, further enhanced by influences from artists like Stevie Wonder, The Doors, and The Beatles.
Prince, with his trailblazing synthesis of rock and synths, occupies a special spot in Vim’s personal musical pantheon. Vim’s bilingualism lends a unique flavor to his lyrics, replete with Anglo-Saxon and Transatlantic cultural references. If you’re a fan of early Prince, M83, Jai Paul, Little Dragon, or James Blake, Vim and the Nation are your next musical discovery.
Who is the artist behind Vim and the Nation and how did you get into music?
My birth name is Guillaume Destot but I go by the name of Vim for most of my music-related activities. I first learnt the piano around the age of 9, after a bad injury to my hand. This was a way to recover mobility and to make peace with having lost part of a finger. A few years later, like many people, I learnt to play the guitar on my own, spurred on by a friend who rocked the full hair metal look and could play a mean solo on his pink Jackson guitar. I bought a first electric guitar that really sucked, but I still kept it.
Then followed a longish line of garage bands with no particular professional ambitions. I got into music professionally late in life, around the age of 34, probably because I had children at a relatively early age. Career-wise, I did more or less the reverse of what most people do: I first got a steady teaching job, had children... and then started a musical career.
What are some of the main influences that shape your music and your stories?
I read a lot of English and American literature as a young man, a lot of it 19th century or early 20th. The novels and stories of Herman Melville and Joseph Conrad have been a lasting influence. A very few movies still tickle my imagination and provide inspiration, Ridley Scott's original "Blade Runner" being the most prominent. The visual identity, the synth-heavy soundtrack, but also the existential questions raised by the movie all combine to make this an immortal artistic reference for me. Musically I compulsively listened to the Beatles and Stevie Wonder as a younger man, which is probably how I learnt to create melodies. As a child I was more or less raised on U.S. rhythm n' blues, with artists like Nina Simone, Aretha Franklin, Otis Redding. The very first concert I went to was James Brown... a long time ago. But perhaps the artist that left the deepest mark on me was Prince. My sister would play his vinyls on the family's hi-fi when I was a kid. I was more into MJ at the time, but part of my brain absorbed all of that Princely magic in the background. I'm talking Dirty Mind, Controversy, Around the World in a Day, Purple Rain, etc. The first 5 or 6 albums basically
More generally I listen to a lot of music from a variety of genres. It would be hard to pinpoint my exact influences beyond those mentioned above, but I am a great admirer of Neil Hannon, of James Blake, of Damon Albarn, for example.
"Meant to Save You, Fools" sounds simply great, what's the story behind the track?
Well, first off, thanks a lot! It may sound a little pretentious, but it was initially inspired by Lord Tennyson's version of Ulysses. There's a passage, especially, where Ulysses, now an ageing king, realizes that his best years are behind him, the nights of his youth. But he also realizes that even though he's been a great king for his people, they don't know his "name," which is to say they don't realize who he is, what kind of a man he is, and they still live a sort of brutish life. So the song is basically someone talking to that old Ulysses. As far as the music is concerned, the 80s-like synth motif on the chorus is where the track started if I remember correctly.
What do you think about the role and influence of social media in the music industry and in your career?
It's been a mixed blessing. I first started to use social media to communicate about my music, I was never interested in showing what I had for breakfast or my newest sneakers on Instagram. No disrespect to those who enjoy this sort of thing, but it's fairly pointless as far as I'm concerned. Of course as an artist, social media allow you to be found by people who would never have found you otherwise. But on the other hand, it is super time-consuming if you want to catch - and keep - people's attention. It's a constant race, and the ubiquity of IG, FB, TikTok, etc., is a little concerning.
All the time and energy spent creating posts and stories would be better invested, I think, in making music. But in truth, artists have always had to invest time in communication. What's new here is that as an independent artist, the onus is entirely on you: you must decide what you want to communicate, how you want to do it, and then... do it.
Also I don't really like the idea of using my own person as a marketing tool, i.e. using selfies and photos or videos of myself as material, but this is actually what people prefer - regardless of how good-looking you are, I should specify. Posts that feature me as a person tend to attract people's attention much more than other forms of visuals. I suppose human beings are mostly interested in other human beings.
Finally, there's the whole business of how many likes and views you get for each post or story, which is a rabbit hole. It's all happening in real-time, which is anxiety-inducing to a certain extent. But I guess I'm old enough to take all of this with a pinch of salt.
If you had the chance to collaborate with an artist of your choice, who would it be and why?
Neil Hannon. The man's a genius, both as a composer and as a lyricist. To me he's the closest thing we've had to the Beatles in the past ... 30 years? Plus, he's super funny. I wish I could have a beer with him, really.
Damon Albarn would perhaps be on my list too. Amazing artist, with stellar taste and artistic instinct. But maybe it's because I've been listening to Blur's latest release lately.
How do you manage the time-consuming aspect of being an indie artist?
Well, as I hinted above, social media is a drain on my time, but I'm still trying to get better and more consistent at it, because otherwise, you're simply invisible. Apart from that, I'm lucky enough to have some help from my publisher, Philipe Manivet from Musigamy (https://www.musigamy.com/)
I wish I had more time to make music, of course. The fact that I have kids to feed and to look after means that I have a day job to make ends meet. Not a bad job, but of course it's so much time I wish I could devote to making music.
It all means that I have to be efficient, that I've more or less given up on some things (like going to the cinema, watching Netflix, etc.) and also that in some periods of my life, when going through tough personal times, I've struggled to remain active musically. I've found a good balance now though.
Overall I'm lucky enough that I can enjoy a very stimulating life, full of love and creation and fun.
What are some of the upcoming projects or plans that you have in the works or that you are excited about?
I've got three more singles to be released from September onwards, and more after that. For the moment my publisher and I have decided to release singles rather than EPs or albums.
I haven't played live in a while, but I'm playing a live show in Paris on 15 september, with a new live team. That's both a little scary and super exciting.
Also I keep writing music with/for other artists, both from France and from other countries. I've been working with Alice Animal (https://www.instagram.com/alice.animal/) for instance, and I'm set to write more music with her and UK producer/ artist Jim Lawton of Electric Enemy (https://www.instagram.com/electricenemy/). I'm also looking forward to more collabs, which I love to do as you get to meet artists and to learn a lot.
Something I'm excited about too is that I'm set to host my own radio show on a small local radio, which I've never done before and very much look forward to. I'll be mostly playing recent indie UK and French music.
Last but not least, on a more personal level, I'm getting married to a fantastic woman next summer, so the next months are looking rather bright :)
photos by Remy Solomon
