"Inter-City" by Vieon
Review
Out right now from Vieon (hopefully you remember their collaboration with Jenny McLaren "Transmission" which featured on 'Hot Music Live Presents Volume Eight'?) is their new single "Inter-City" (on AnalogueTrash Records)
As the title suggests, the track (which is available in both full six and a half minute and a radio edit of three and a half versions) is a paean to the eponymous 125 locomotive. It is also their first release of new material for over seven years, during which they toured their 2016 album ‘Fly By Light' set, and band founder Matt Wild has spoken frankly & eloquently ahead of this release about the pressures & anxieties and ultimately satisfaction, of returning to the studio after so long: it sounds like they are very happy with the outcome. Live the rest of Vieon consists of Stephen Dorphin on samples and engineering, Ricardo Autobahn on live keyboards and Adrian Brian Thompson on live visuals, but what you hear is a composition & production of Matt's, with final mastering by Bon Holloway (High Peak Recordings).
I fully admit that the very considerable technical detail which he provides online is generous of him, but way above my head: clearly a lot of hard thought, hard work, experimentation & imaginative use of a range of kit and if you want to find out precisely how he did it, please check out Vieon's own online presence. As he puts it "..as a mechanical engineer by trade and a sucker for history, transport and graphic design in my spare time, there's a lot to explore through the lens of British Rail….."
What appeals to me in terms of what I feel more confident in putting into words for you is his affectionate & effective evocation of "..one person in charge of 4500 horsepower slinging 500 tons of man and machine down two steel rails at 125mph – the essence of energy, dynamism, movement, all the things that make exciting music too.." juxtaposed with a deliberate anachronistic lyric summoning up "…a hazy daydream of a summer seaside holiday by train never taken in the glory days of British Rail.". The vocals are delivered via new vocoder: a Roland VT-4 Voice Transformer if you are interested, and since the 125 is itself featured as a sample, maybe that qualifies as a "vocal" in this context too.
If you buy the whole single then not only do you get long & shorter versions of "Inter-City" but the bonus of "Railfreight Movement II (Metals)": I think your imagination will suggest to you the nature of this instrumental!
Vieon are setting off on a national tour in conjunction with the single release: you can catch them locally at CommonGround at Fargo Village in Coventry on 30th September, supported by Stone Anthem.
