While these days a duo is the modern representation of classic 4-piece rock bands, Vini Vicious justify their line up through their music. With a vacuum sealed, super-tight rhythm section, and two guitarists switch-hitting lead and rhythm parts, the band has refined their sound and dubbed it “Tragic Pop”.
After performing and recording as a trio for two years, in 2020 guitarist Gil Mezamer joined the band, a shift that spiraled the band into a very fruitful period, writing a new album which was recently recorded in Tel Aviv. After receiving great feedback and airplay on FM radio in the US, Australia and England with the last three singles, Vini Vicious is experiencing their most prolific year ever, with ‘Vultures‘ being the second single, all off of their new album “Atelophobia“.
In this interview spotlight, I chat with Vini Vicious about the new music, technology, surviving lock downs and more.
Full Q&A along with links and music below.
Where are you from and how do You describe your style of music?
We are from Tel-Aviv, Israel and we play Tragic Pop, which is a mixture of a ton of influences from Punk to Shoegaze, Alternative to Electronica, and Devo.
How did you get here? As in, what inspired or motivated you to take on this journey through music and the music biz?
Vini Vicious is a collaborative effort of 4 musicians. Each member has distinct musical influences, but we are united through our want, nay, need, to release the best music we can, grow as musicians and fulfill our dreams of having the freedom to choose what we do at any given time.
How does your latest project compare/contrast with your previous release(s)? Were you setting out to accomplish anything specific, follow a specific theme, or explore different styles of creation?
While the band has been around for a while, the current (and we believe, final) lineup has been cemented just before Covid. It is the most powerful formation we have had and it is incredibly exciting to feel so cohesive with one another and push the edge.
When we realized what we had, we pushed for releasing new music as quickly as we could, figuring out our preferred recording methods and so we released a couple of songs and then recorded the “Atelophobia” EP (out in full this April), of which, “Vultures” is the 2nd single
This EP signifies a tremendous change within the band, our sound, our perspectives. We feel it is our best work, and can’t even wait to show you what’s coming up next.
Name the biggest challenge you faced as a creative during these unprecedented? How did you adapt? How have you kept the creative fires burning during all this?
While we have faced many challenges, crappy shows, money problems in and out of the band, LSD-infused concert promoters, among other things, but frankly, the hardest times came while working with people with no vision or drive Whether it be soundmen, producers, recording engineers or even past members of this band, while we always tried to do things differently and authentically to who we are, it’s always really difficult to get a nonsensical “No” from someone who just wouldn’t bother to even try.
What was the last song you listened to?
There’s been a couple that we play on repeat recently, one is from the great Swedish band – The Hives – with their early 2000’s hit “Walk Idiot Walk”. Pure inspiration. The other one is Johnny Marr’s “Easy Money”, which is as catchy as it gets.
Which do you prefer? Vinyl? 8-tracks? Cassettes? CDs? MP3s? Streaming platforms?
Everyone in the band has vinyl records, which is probably our favorite way to listen to music. We also each have very differing tastes so you get a very wide musical range between them, always fun when visiting each other.
Where is the best place to connect with you and follow your journey?
We are all around, on pretty much all platforms. We mostly use Instagram for updates and media, but you can use this link to choose how you want to join us: https://linktr.ee/ViniVicious
I really appreciate Your time. Anything else before we sign off?
“Atelophobia” EP comes out late April, as mentioned, we have a lot more coming up, stay tuned.
Vini Vicious are:
Alex Dubitzky – Lead Vocals & Guitar
Gil Mezamer – Guitar & B.Vocals
Tal Bluestein – Bass & B.Vocals
Shalev Vered – Drums & B.Vocals
