A Chat With The Devil - Victoria & Jacob

Victoria & Jacob
Genre: Electro / Pop
From: London, United Kingdom

Jacob of London electro pop duo Victoria & Jacob (number 8 in the Devil's top 10 tracks of the year) has taken some took time out from wrapping presents, singing carols and feasting on brussel sprouts to chat with the Devil about their influences, the worst place they've performed, morris dancing parents and his favourite joke.

The Devil - What other names did you ponder before deciding on Victoria & Jacob?

Jacob - Umm... I don’t remember, my brother actually suggested we call ourselves Victoria and Jacob, I told him we were struggling to think of anything. Not being particularly bothered didn’t help with making a decision. Promoters and soundmen always remember our names.

The Devil - Who are your biggest influences?

Jacob - We both contribute different things to the music, and I think the most obvious influences are noticeable in the music. For me, I remember hearing Four Tet’s Rounds album and being absolutely blown away by it, I realised then that I wanted to make electronic music that was built from acoustic samples and make sounds which blur the line between acoustic and electronic. We listen to a lot of different stuff; Aphex Twin, The Knife, Cocorosie, The Books, Burial, and Animal Collective are personal favourites for both of us. Aside from current bands, our lecturers at university were hugely inspirational, they encouraged us to approach sound in different ways, and makes creative use of ‘non musical’ sounds.

The Devil - Which band or artist would you least like to be compared to and why?

Jacob - We’ve already been compared to an artist who is worth attempting to eliminate any association with in Kate Nash. On our first EP Vic’s voice was a little similar in style to hers, she adopted a kind of spoken word approach, and it’s funny because she had never listened to her, and I brought it to her attention after she emailed me the vocals for ‘Clash’. I didn’t have a problem with the singing style, just that journalist seemed to only want to bring attention to this part of the music, namely NME who unsurprisingly were unable to actually talk about our music, rather just how we hang out in East London with Kate Nash scenesters, not true. It’s never nice being misunderstood or compared to music you dislike.

The Devil - What was the first record you owned and what was the first record you ever bought?

Jacob - I bought some dance hits compilation on cassette when I was eleven, and one of the first singles I ever bought on CD was Run-D.M.C vs. Jason Nevins. I had rubbish music tastes as a kid; my parents played folk music and were morris dancers, so I was surrounded by folk music, which at the time obviously wasn’t cool. But now of course I am eternally grateful.

The Devil - What makes Victoria & Jacob stand out from the millions of other artists in the world? What makes you unique?

Jacob - We have a good balance I think of experimental and pop, we studied academic electronic music at University, studying composers like John Cage, Stockhausen, and Steve Reich, this encouraged us to think about different approaches to sound. Our music will always have a pop sensibility at its core, but we like to focus also on texture and sonic detail, trying to create a fusion of acoustic homemade samples with synthetic sounds. It’s incredible what you can do with a computer nowadays; your computer can be your main instrument but your music doesn’t necessarily have to sound electronic.

The Devil - What's the strangest place you've ever played and would you go back there?

Jacob - We played in an old Fish market in Northampton. This has now been turned into a craft market with a cafe, so not much is left which resembles a fish market, we would go back there. Most of the venues we’ve played have been pretty conventional.

The Devil - Other than Victoria & Jacob who are the most exciting bands on the music scene at the moment?

Jacob - I really loved the latest album from Animal Collective; I think in terms of exploration of sound and texture they are in a league of their own. There’s a band from Denmark called Chimes & Bells who have just recently signed to Bella Union, their debut EP “Into pieces of wood” is incredible, it’s really moody, reminds me of Beach House, with really ethereal female vocals, sparse drum machine beats and reverb soaked electric guitar. We are going to be supporting them in February in London. There’s an artist from America called Toro Y Moi who makes awesome pop music, it reminds me of Prefuse 73; with chopped up beats and glitches, with a hip-hop groove.

The Devil - If you weren't in Victoria & Jacob how would you keep yourself occupied?

Jacob - Probably in another band doing something very similar. Or morris dancing.

The Devil - What are you doing to beat the recession? Any tips on saving money for the Devil's readers?

Jacob - Always cook too much, get the Tupperware out and get freezing your meals.

The Devil - If you were interviewing yourself what would be your killer question and how would you answer it?

Jacob - If you had to live without sleep or food which one would it be? Baring in mind if you choose sleep, then you will never be tired, and if you choose food, you will never be hungry. I would choose Food, because without sleep you cannot dream.

The Devil - What's your favourite joke?

Jacob - Okay I wrote this one. It’s by no means my favourite, but I’m proud of it. Here Goes... “So there’s this new internet cafe that’s just opened up in Shoreditch, it’s controversial because they only accept customers who are using a Mac. I say, that’s not very PC is it?

The Devil - Anything else you'd like to say the the Devil's readers?

Jacob - Buy our debut single “With No Certainty” on 3rd March, its out on Voga Parochia.

Go Try

MP3 - Victoria & Jacob - Lion Hunting
If anyone from the IFPI is reading this track is linked direct from the Victoria & Jacob Last.FM site and is therefore already freely available so please refrain from alleging infringement of copyright.

Go Visit

Victoria & Jacob - Myspace // Website // Last.FM

Go View

Victoria & Jacob
Before Sleeping





Check out one of Jacob's favourite acts on the music scene Chimes & Bells...

MP3 - Chimes & Bells - Stand Still
If anyone from the IFPI is reading this track is linked direct from the Chimes & Bells Last.FM site and is therefore already freely available so please refrain from alleging infringement of copyright.