Currently a hybrid five-piece based in Melbourne, suckling at the teat of the sagging zeitgeist. Voltera are creative workhorses responsible for almost all of the mediums of associated artwork, promotion, recording, mixing, mastering and booking.
Self taught, self managed, writing and performing for reasons above and beyond music its self. Lyrically based in the socio-political, especially issues relating to the environment and the protection of tribal people and their way of life. Female-fronted and musically a blend of industrial, progressive, metal, ethnic, modern electronica and indie-pop. Voltera believe in no formulas and are gathering interest and speculation with new ground. Attempting to maintain a constant state of mutation to outrun attention span.
What’s your earliest memory of performing and who inspired you to start?
My earliest memory of performing would be in high school when I used to compose my own piano pieces and perform them and the end of year or mid year concerts. As far as inspiration it would be such a long list…. Stand outs would include some of the more prominent alternative 90s bands and artists like Trent Reznor, MM, Max Cavalera and PJ Harvey.
Where did the name Voltera come from and what does it mean? Has it been derived from the Italian village that Volterra?
Way back when we were looking for a band name that did not yield 4500 other band pages when typed into Google, we were going through some of Michael’s old books and stumbled upon the word Voltera. When we did a search, it yielded pages with certain personal coincidences. For example the mathematician Vito Volterra, who spent some of his early career tackling the three body problem and at that stage we had three members. Also as mentioned the town of Volterra (way before it became the setting for Twilight) where they don’t use pesticides and in addition there is a character appearing in one or two episodes of He-Man called lady Voltera. Most importantly, it seemed that no other band was releasing music under that name.
You guys are no strangers to controversy being kicked off the Vans Warped Tour in the US, what year was this and why?
We were not kicked off the Vans Warped Tour. That was in 2006 and we were invited to play almost the entire West Coast, which well really well.
It was our own 50 show tour of the US / Canada in 2011 that we unfortunately had to depart from due to a run in with the CBP. This was due to an Internet search of the band during a boarder re-crossing that caused some concerns for the authorities. They found material relating to our street team, who we refer to as Volt-terrorists and some of our various anti- American government material and motto’s such as “save the earth, kill yourself.” They are becoming quite strict regarding political content for non-nationals and we were asked to either accept deportation or return to Canada.
You’re launching your second full-length concept album Co-Ordination at the NSC on 9th August, where did you record this and with whom?
We did some early studio work for the first EP and most of the drums have been recorded at Hot House in St Kilda. The rest has been self recorded, mixed and mastered.
This is not a normal release; it came out gradually as three separate EP’s over the course of 2012, what was your motive behind this?
We had only finalised the current line-up at the very start of 2012, so we thought a gradual release of the new material, especially in light of the new direction, would be a great idea. It would give a chance for the band and fans alike to experience this latest re-incarnation of Voltera both live and as smaller releases. It also gave us the opportunity to bring light to some global topics relating to slave workers and indigenous issues both in Australia and abroad. Each EP was named after a different co-ordinate and thus allowed us to explore both the musical connotation as well as the human plight for each region.
What is your most memorable moment from being in the studio recording Co-Ordination?
Seeing as though we did not record the majority of this in the studio, I would probably have to say the moment when it all came together during the mastering phase, when it finally sounded as intended. It takes a long time and a steep learning curve to do some of this stuff yourself and whilst it might not professionally be as amazing as the “big boys” here and overseas, it hits a ten on the satisfaction meter to know you have been in complete control at every stage of the recording, editing, mixing and mastering process.
Do you have any particular ritual before you go on stage, or even a lucky charm you take with you?
Our pre-gig ritual would be practice and our post-gig ritual would be party. Hard.
If you could curate your own festival, where would it be, who would be on the bill, how many people would you let in and what features would it have?
Our festival would be somewhere like the Philippines, perhaps parts of our own country… somewhere that doesn’t see a lot of festivals and anyone who would travel and play for free would be welcome. We would let in as many people as possible, with free food and booze. Featuring basically any bands, companies, technicians and marketing types that would be willing to bring something as huge as a music festival to somewhere that couldn’t usually afford to host one. Music festivals are something that we take for granted and they often become the topic of squabbles regarding line-ups and logistics, but they are something that so many people around the world never get to experience.
Because it’s more fun to do things together, which living Australian artist would you most like to collaborate with?
Any of the amazing indigenous talent that we have in this country, as it would be an honour. Would really like to collaborate in all mediums with the Yijala Yala group, especially the kids involved in the Love Punks.
What is your band’s music the best soundtrack for?
It’s really good driving music, or excellent music to create art to.
What’s up next for Voltera?
We will be touring the album interstate and perhaps working towards a European Tour.
Voltera Album Launch
Friday 9th August
Northcote Social Club
$12 presage / $15 door
Doors – 8pm
