Following the release of Voodoo Bloo’s album ‘JACOBUS’, Shelley had a chat with Rory McDonald to talk about the year that’s been, the album and what’s ahead. Check out the interview below:
Kia Ora! How has your 2021 been so far?
It’s been. I mean the world’s still in a bit of bother isn’t it? I’m doing okay though, just trying to find my way through a pandemic-ridden world, like everyone else.
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Who is Voodoo Bloo?
Wouldn’t you like to know.
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How would you describe your music to someone?
Happy music for people who are feeling sad. Well, maybe not necessarily “happy”, but maybe “music to cry all your inner demons out to”? You can call it punk, or alternative, but I think it’s just a useful tool for those who aren’t feeling the best.
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What, if anything, influences you or your music?
People. I don’t know if it comes from my want to help my friends or hear them out, but hearing how different people navigate their time on earth is really one of the most crucial elements to me making new music.
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You released your album ‘Jacobus’ in December last year. How would you describe the album itself and how was the release for you?
The album is a slow release of pain, as the album goes you can hear this manic depression I had inside myself unravel throughout the 9 tracks, intimately documenting how and what I was feeling over the course of half a year since my best friends passing to suicide. However the album was released was secondary to me, the main objective was just to let out all those sh*tty feelings I had inside and needed to release, not that I didn’t have support around me or anyone to confide in, I feel the only way for me to really move on is to release a song or project and never ever have to work on it again, otherwise it just takes up unnecessary space in my head and it’ll never leave.
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Was the release date the original release date you have planned or did lockdown etc, like so many other artists, make you bounce it around a bit?
Honestly? We were pretty lucky, considering that it was all home recordings, though this was sent off to my production team later on, everything was done in lockdown, and thanks to the power of the internet, we got everything done exactly when we wanted it to.
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How long did you work on the album for?
This is a really hard question to answer. I’d been trying to make an album for maybe 3 years until Jacobus came out, but it was only when I moved to being a solo project, and truly found a concept that was worth pursuing, that I put the next 8 months of my life into making this sound like the most “me” LP it could’ve been, and for the time, it really was.
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What is the process like for you when you create a body of work? Do you just wait until you have an amount of tracks to put together then start sorting other elements or is it all somewhat planned?
It will be different every time. Jacobus was born out of a grieving process that I needed to vocalize and make into song, which took heaps of writing and rewriting to get the right feel, but I never want to make the same record twice. Who knows? Maybe the 2nd Voodoo Bloo project (or “Voodoo Too”, as my friends are wanting to call it, not me though) will be a country-edm inspired mixtape, or an abrasive industrial noise 50-minute magnum opus, I’m not one to judge.
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Do you have a favourite track or tracks?
The final 3 tracks on the album (“”A Brother, A Son, A War That Never Changes”, “A Friend, Jacobus” and “9th of July, 2019) are really part of one long idea, and it’s me facing loss head-on. I think I covered all of the stages of it from start to finish, and though I don’t ever listen to it, I hold those three so so close to my heart, and will do so for the rest of my life.
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I love the cover artwork. It’s a painting right? Where did that idea come from?
Yeah it’s a painting! I got in touch with Kayla (@mooonage.daydream – hit her up on instagram!), who’s a good buddy of our live guitarist Don, and I explained to her that I wanted a nighttime sky overlooking Wellington from a mountain close to where I live, with a galaxy-like moon in the sky, almost a portal if you will. We spent a lot of time going back and forth, but I think that she somehow took exactly what was in my brain and printed it right onto a piece of paper. She did an excellent job and I can’t thank her enough for her work!
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The ‘Ha Ha Ok Ok’ video is awesome! Funnily enough I followed Alex and Piotr & Julia before I knew of you guys so it’s cool how it all links up now. Where did the idea come from and what was the shoot like for you?
Yeah shout-out to those guys! I had an awesome time with them, hopefully can work on another vid with the team soon! The idea was all Alex for this, I remember seeing the storyboard and thinking “sh*t, I’m gonna be so out of my comfort zone for this…”. I was, but god damn I had so much fun! It was a long, blistering-hot shoot in the back of a truck that took us 10 hours to complete, but bruises, head injuries and all, it was a phenomenal time and the footage was edited so perfectly by the bro Odin, I keep this saying a lot but, I couldn’t be happier!
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Do you have much planned for this year (as much as planning can be a bit hard with everything) or are you just going with the flow?
I shall flow, as far as you now, but you never know, what tomorrow may hold.
SOME FUN QUESTIONS:
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Fave snack?
Yorkie’s. English Chocolate brand. If you try it and don’t like it, please send your review to mgmt@voodoobloo.com, and I will personally tell you why you’re so very VERY wrong.
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Overused phrase?
Welp, not exactly a phrase, but if you think you’re the one who came up with “poopoo poo”, not only are you wrong, but I came up with it first, and it reflects how little intelligence you have at insulting our band. Wait, but what does that say about me? Sh*t….
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If you could start a rumour about yourself, what would it be and why?
It would be that I know who Voodoo Bloo is.
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