Ever since they popped onto the larger scene somewhere around 2010, the Philly based minimal synth sounds of Void Vision have been a tour de force for stone cold electronic music fans.
Fortunately for those of us here in the nation’s capital, Void Vision will be gracing Black Cat with their very first DC appearance, as part of Technophobia’s Bleeding Hands Remixes, Cassette Release Party (along with the electro doom sounds of Baltimore’s Curse), on July 19th. As such, the fine folks in Technophobia thought it only fitting to ask Shari Wallin of Void Vision a few questions, to get DC better acquainted.
You have a lot of gear when you play live, how do you deal with that logistically?
Well, I’ve managed to cut things down a little over the years, but what really helped was getting a large case for some of my smaller synth modules and drum machines. Most of it fits in there and then I use velcro to secure it all into place. It saves a lot of setup time. It’s hard though because I keep buying new gear and wanting to add it to the live setup.
What originally inspired the sound of Void Vision?
I’ve always been drawn to the piano and electronic sounds ever since I was very young. Video game music and dance / techno music were the first things I got into since that was what was immediately around me. As a weirdo kid in 1994, you really couldn’t avoid being influenced by NIN in some way of course. I suppose that was one of the first bands that really opened up my mind to the ways in which any kind of sounds imaginable could be used to make music.
Synthesizers were exciting because they weren’t like the typical rock band instrumentation and the possibilities seemed endless. So I started playing around with keyboards and sampling and making my own sound libraries when I was 12. Then I started reading a lot of musical biographies and discovering the electronic music of the past. I found the early experimental electronic music especially inspiring since I was from a culturally devoid suburban environment. I sincerely felt like I had been born in the wrong place and time. I think a lot of my music may be an attempt to experience what I feel like I missed out on, and to find a place of comfort.
Read More »
