Newboy returned to DKA Records this Winter with a 6-track self-titled EP featuring the standout cut, “Rain Clouds.” Following up on his 2019 effort, “Funky Bullshit” (Night Gaunt), Greg Vand‘s newest release is a sample-strewn homage to art-damaged synth punk. Known for his work in the electronic duo’s High- Functioning Flesh and Din, the musician’s newest collection displays his dark sonic wit as industrial rhythms and synth-driven basslines collide with various anxiety-inducing vocal samples.
The video for “Rain Clouds” was directed by the LA filmmaker Emett Casey, a longtime friend of Vand’s. Influenced by seemingly endless quarantine months watching old Alan Vega, Lou Reed, and Butthole Surfers‘ performance videos on the internet, the production aesthetic resembles a vintage rabbit-hole find from YouTube’s seedy underbelly. Greg Vand recently took some time to answer questions regarding the video and his newest DKA release. You can read the interview after the video embed below.
LETV: Congratulations on the Newboy album and video! I see the video for “Rain Clouds” was directed by Emett Casey, an LA-based filmmaker. What was it like working with Emett, and how did the video for the track come about?
GV: During quarantine, I spent a lot of time digging around the internet and finding old live sets of some of my favorite performers. There were a few – Alan Vega in Madrid, Lou Reed in Paris, Butthole Surfers in Atlanta- that I kept going back to. I guess I was really missing live music and was trying to find a way to supplement the space left without it. This video was inspired by the time I was spending watching these performances online. I thought it would be cool to do something that would sort of sit in the realm of an old live video you may stumble across on the internet.
Emett and I have been friends for a long time and always like to work together. An old band of mine did a soundtrack for a film of his called Well of the Beast, and another time he dressed me up in a discarded Jim Henson muppet costume and had me chase a child actor around the woods. I brought him the song and the basic concept, and we worked the rest out together. I think he did a really great job… especially pegging me with beer cans and veggies
LETV: The audience really turns on you there. At first glance they seemed so staid and wooden, but they were really quite vicious. What was video production day like? Have you ever been pelted by cans and lettuce before this?
GV: We set up in the basement of my apartment building and just sort of went for it… had a few beers and made a mess. It was a lot of fun. The mannequins sort of had a double function of trying to make it seem like there was an audience but also as a mirror for my insecurities as a performer – disinterested, bored, and angry. Like I feared, the mannequins didn’t like my set.
LETV: All jokes aside, what role does humor play in your work? “Rain Clouds,” at least from a visual, and even lyrical perspective, seems driven by a droll a dry sense of wit. By the same token, there’s a sense of nostalgia, a sort of VHS-era tape loop that Newboy seems “stuck” in. Do wit and nostalgia collide in Newboy’s head?
GV: I am being totally serious, but also I am making fun of myself and how seriously I take things. I think humor is key, and I think that comes across. I’m not sure that I relate to idea of being stuck in nostalgia… honestly, I am not a very nostalgic person. The character of Newboy may be stuck in his insecurities, the absurd, and the desire to be more than he is, but nostalgia is not the driving force here. Also, what can I say other than that I like the textured look of old VHS rips.
LETV: This project, maybe a bit like High Functioning Flesh, employs samples to various interesting ends. They strike me as something you really seem to interact with at an emotional level. Without sounding too grandiose, they seem to inflict a counter-point that Newboy is forced to react to. On “Rain Clouds” for instance, a disconcerting yell continually interjects, almost like being accosted on the street by someone undergoing a psychotic episode. In other places on the album, the voices are no less assertive, often breaking into the production in frightening ways. More than something to dress up the background, they are foregrounded and often confrontational. How do you approach the use of samples?
GV: These recordings are based around samples from one source and function as a sort of tribute. I was interested in using these samples as a driving force rather than an ornamentation. I really tried to build the tracks around them. They feel out of control and confrontational because that is the essence of the source material!
LETV: Just curious, as it is slightly related, how did you make the choice to include an audio soundtrack for the “Rain Clouds” video? From a production standpoint, it would seem to be no easy feat aligning it so that the glass bursts and can smacks actually fall in place rhythmically with the track. Tell us about that…
GV: Emett has perfect rhythm when it comes to calculating the impact of bottles vs cans vs veggies. He has spent years throwing these things at me, which really helped on the day of filming. According to Emett, the lettuce was the real challenge.
LETV: Let’s finish up with a question for the sonic gear heads out there. Can you let us in on any of the instruments used for the project and how you approach production? Thanks Greg!
GV: MPC Live, Roland SE-02, Roland R8, Moog Mother 32, Roland SH01a and a few miscellaneous pedals and plug-ins.
