Though hailing from London’s outer fringes, where the capital unceremoniously bleeds into Kent, The Vex actually came into being some 1,500 miles away, with an Eighties pop superstar playing his part. While on tour in Moscow with a previous band, the schisms in the group were made apparent by an offer of management from one Adam Ant. The faction that opposed the deal broke away to form The Vex, playing their debut gig at Moscow’s BlastFest, where the only thing that wasn’t ice-cold was, typically, the band’s beer rider.
Back in the UK, Josh (guitar/vox), Jacko (guitar/vox), Andrew (bass) and Joshua (drums) soon honed a sound inspired by the classic roots and rock of both Kingston, Jamaica, and London, England. Dealing in dirty guitars and big beats, played with passion and precision, the quartet’s heavy rocksteady sonics became a draw on both sides of the Thames, their ferocious shows earning them a rep as one of the best live bands on the circuit. The Vex hit hard and they cut deep. Spin this EP and hear for yourself.
In this interview feature, we chat with The Vex about the new project, their influences, this digitized music era and much more.
Full Q&A along with links and streams below.
Where are you from and what style of music do you create? (In your own words, not necessarily in marketing terms or by popular genre classifications.)
We create Heavy Rocksteady music. Music where you dance with your top half, and let your bottom half have the night off. Music to nod to, music to agree with. The A2 is a road that links south east London to Kent, we’re from where it starts/ends in London, and where the temperature suddenly drops in Kent.
What led you down this path of music and what motivates you to stay the course?
Playing music for half our lives got us here. We played very fast throughout our teenage years and early 20’s. Age has come with less haste and more precision. It’s less of a race and we give it more space. Our motivation is enjoying what we do.
How is your new release different than previous ones? Did you set out to accomplish anything specific?
We released it ourselves which we’re really happy with. This EP has been a real family project. Artwork, pressing, mixing, all done by people we’re very close to. Musically it’s more up tempo to our previous release and we show our love for instrumentals again.
Do you face any challenges as an indie musician in a digital age? On the flip side, how has technology helped you (if it has)?
It’s helped to let the real hardcore music fans stand out, they will support us with everything we do, they’ll buy it, share it and enjoy it, you guys are great!
Where can we follow you online and hear more music?
