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Hi Phoenix and Mercedes! Welcome to VENTS! How have you been?
M: Thanks so much for having us!
Please tell us about your latest single “Perfect Blue”?
P: It’s a personal favourite from the EP. We wrote it at a time when we were having doubts creatively and the song helped us get out of our creative slump.
What was the inspiration for this song?
M: Lyrically the song was inspired by a time in our lives when we felt very powerless. We were still making music in an old project that doesn’t exist anymore, signed to a major label that wasn’t on the same page as us creatively, and was refusing to put out our music. We got in this mindset that we had to become what they wanted us to be to release anything at all, whether we felt connected to the music or not. As much as we justified it to ourselves back then, it felt like we were losing our integrity and our sense of self. It got really confusing and we lost our way. After changing to please other people for so long we started to forget who we were and who we wanted to be.
P: What we were going through at the time reminded us of a beautifully animated movie by Satoshi Kon called Perfect Blue, in which the main character completely loses herself in the pursuit of pleasing others and furthering her career. We drew a lot of inspiration lyrically from that film.
What can you tell us about the music video for the track?
M: I wanted the video to capture the feeling of being in a bad dream. I was inspired by surrealist directors like Dario Argento, David Lynch and Gaspar Noe. The lyrics are all about transforming into someone you don’t recognize, so I wanted to literally portray that in the video. Since the EP is called “year of the snake”, I thought the imagery of a snake shedding its skin was fitting. It made me think about times when I was disappointed in myself and would stare at myself in the mirror, wishing I could just be someone else. I got inspire by the skin peeling scenes in American Psycho and Poltergeist and tried to recreate them in our own way.
The single comes off your forthcoming EP Year of the Snake – what’s the story behind the EP title?
P: The name is a continuation of the EP we released earlier this year (Year Of The Rat). It represents how people in power will make grand promises, but their actions rarely reflect their words. There are a lot of “snakes” in our society that try to manipulate people for their own gain.
What was the recording and writing process for the EP like?
P: Once again we recorded and self produced everything at home in our home studio. Every band’s sophomore release always comes with a lot of pressure to live up to what came before, if not top it. We definitely felt that pressure. At the same time, I think we were able to tap into different aspects of our sound and prove to ourselves that we’re capable of evolving while staying true to the music we love. I think we became more comfortable in exploring different tones and engineering everything ourselves. I’m really proud of what we were able to create. I’m excited to finally get to share that with people.
M: This time around we were very clear about what we wanted to say and how we want to portray ourselves. We took a few more risks, lyrically and musically, and they paid off. Softcult, at its core, is all about making social and political statements, raising awareness, and empowering people. We didn’t pull any punches with these songs, and we weren’t timid about the messages behind them.
How do the songs on Year of the Snake differ from those on your previous EP Year of the Rat?
M: This EP is a lot darker in tone than Year Of The Rat. Not only musically, but lyrically. We wrote about things like misogyny and depression before in a more general way, where as on Year Of The Snake we get right to the point and call out gender violence, abuse, apathy towards the issues that impact people on a daily basis. We got more specific and didn’t sugar coat anything. We know that the messages behind these songs are hard pills to swallow, but that’s why we wrote them in the first place. We also were coming out of a depressing period in our personal lives, and I think you can hear the frustration and anger in the music too.
P: Being outspoken in the way that we are obviously attracts a fair amount of negativity from people who disagree or feel attacked by what we’re saying. At one point we let those comments get to us, but ultimately they made us want to speak out even more. This EP comes from a place of personal growth and overcoming that negativity.
M: At the end of the day we want to make people think and stand up for what they believe in. If we piss off a few people along the way, especially if those people are misogynists, then we know we’re doing our job.
What role does Canada play in your music?
M: Canada is a progressive country for the most part, so that gives us a somewhat unique perspective. There’s always more work that could be done, and we can definitely do better, especially when it comes to Indigenous rights and reconciliation. But living here we get angry and dismayed every time we hear about gun violence, abortion bans, lack of access to proper health care, etc. It makes us think about our privilege, and how messed up it is that there are parts of the world that grapple with these problems because of ignorance and corporate greed. I think a lot of people are still living in this very individual mindset, only looking out for themselves and not for their community, and it’s out of survival because they don’t have other options. It’s also really hard to break out of Canada internationally. As a Canadian band we have to work really hard to be noticed on an international level, and that challenge has made us appreciate everything we have. There’s a “Canadian sound” that I love, though it’s very hard to describe. You know it when you hear it.
What else is happening next in Softcult’s world?
M: We’ve got a UK tour lined up in February, which we’re really excited about! It’ll be our first ever tour. We’re releasing more singles leading up to the Year Of The Snake EP on Feb 4. We released a zine every month, and we’re working on a table book with all the zine art and poetry in it. As always, we’ve got more cool projects we’re working on that we’re excited to release in the new year. Thanks so much for being here and thanks for listening!
