MuzicNotez Crew: First off, it’s an honor to be doing this interview with you, thanks for taking the time to sit down with us.
Introduce yourselves, what are your names and rolls in the band?
Vinyl Floor: Charlie: We are 3 members sometimes using additional musicians both live and in studio. We all play several instruments but our main roles within the band are: Charlie (vocals, guitar, piano), Daniel (drums, vocals, piano) and Rasmus (guitar, piano). We all contribute songs and we always arrange them together. When it comes to bass we often get a helping hand from a guy named Mads. He´s not a full member of the band though. It works for us this way.
MuzicNotez Crew: How did you meet and form up? How long have you been together?
Vinyl Floor: Our story goes way back. The band is actually 2 brothers and a neighbor. We’re from Copenhagen, Denmark but we all grew up in the countryside and went to the same school. Daniel and I have known Rasmus since 1994. Vinyl Floor has experienced changing members but Daniel and I have been in the band since 2001. Rasmus joined us in 2003. I think it´s a unique thing for each one of us to be able to play music with some of our best friends. It´s a precious thing and I sense that it´s something we value more and more, the older we get. We love and understand each other. I believe it´s what is adding to the cohesiveness of our music even though we are songwriters with different approaches and opinions. I think every member is feeling good about his role in the band, these days. There´s this mutual understanding…
MuzicNotez Crew: How did you come up with the name Vinyl Floor?
Vinyl Floor: Finding a name must be the hardest part of any band. I remember we had a long list of possibilities. We knew we wanted it to be short, precise and pretty straightforward. We are fond of vinyl records and our music is full of ‘retro’ elements if you like, so we just went with it.
MuzicNotez Crew: Who were your musical influences, idols, or bands growing up that have helped mold you into the band you are today? Or helped mold the music that you create?
Vinyl Floor: Oh dear, we have a lot of musical idols and we´ve all been shaped by our parents´ record collections to some extent. For the ‘Peninsula’ album we drew some inspiration from the concept albums of the 60’s and 70’s and this time there´s a nod to punk rock, progressive/symphonic rock and the Beatles. We are all self-taught musicians. I don´t think any of us ever received any musical lessons of any kind. We have learned by listening. And sometimes we don´t even know what we´re doing, technically speaking. When arranging and recording we mostly communicate by testing and excluding lots of different approaches until only one remains. We just use our ears.
MuzicNotez Crew: What’s the greatest concert you’ve ever been to or performed?
Vinyl Floor: I can only speak for myself but we did a showcase in Berlin, Germany last year which I felt was pretty good. Speaking of other bands, I have a thing for Pearl Jam concerts. I follow them around. My favorite PJ shows are probably the two I witnessed at the Madison Square Garden in New York some years back. Apart from creating music with Vinyl Floor, this is when I´m feeling most alive. Being at a Pearl Jam show.
MuzicNotez Crew: What’s the ultimate goal you want your music to achieve, or for you to achieve in your career as a musician? Any particular message you wish to send?
Vinyl Floor: It´s hard to say. We feel our music deserves to be widely known. But we are happy with every small step we take, every progress we make. If something goes downhill we need to address it. We must achieve something more with each record we make. We are not on a crusade or anything but we do believe in the power of melody and sort of want to remind people of melody. It seems to me that nowadays a lot of people appear to be more interested in style, rhythm and beats than in actual melody. To me melody and lyrics are the backbone of any song. The rest are flavors.
MuzicNotez Crew: You’re releasing a new album this fall, how is this album different from your previous 2012 album ‘Peninsula’?
Vinyl Floor: I think it´s definitely darker and a bit more straightforward and ‘in your face’ too. The material is still very diverse but the lyrics are more personal this time. There have been some rough times in our lives recently and I think we´re kind of addressing that. Maybe this is our ‘therapy’ record. I think it´s our best work so far.
MuzicNotez Crew: You’ve spent a year recording this album so far. It was recorded in Denmark and mixed in Sweden. What has the process been like so far? What can we expect from this album?
Vinyl Floor: Difficult at times, but also very giving and educational. We spent a year setting up ‘Peninsula’ and recorded it in 14 days. This time we turned the process upside down. We started recording with only a handful of songs. So the year was spent writing, arranging and recording the new album. When we finished recording one song we brought in another one, arranged it and recorded it without rehearsing it first. It was very much like that. People can expect a darker side of Vinyl Floor, some typically Vinyl Floor sounding songs and some experimental stuff.
MuzicNotez Crew: You’ll be doing some shows once the albums out. Any plans where you’ll be gigging yet? What else can we expect to see and hear from you in the future?
Vinyl Floor: I think we will play some shows in Denmark during the autumn. We are also looking into possibilities abroad but I can´t really say more about that at this point. I think we will start up in calm fashion and hopefully be adding more shows in 2015. And if I know us well, the urge of wanting to work on new songs will suddenly hit us.
