Artist of the Day - The Venus Fly Trap

Here at It's Indie, we always try to find a "first" and today is no different! Our Artist of the Day is The Venus Fly Trap - the first band we have ever featured that has been named after a carnivorous plant. Tenuous, I know...

Tell us about The Venus Fly Trap?

We are Alex Novak (vox) and Andy Denton (guitar/programming) from Northampton - famous for Bauhaus, Alan Moore and the film Kinky Boots

What genre would you describe yourself as?

We have been described as “bladerunner rock n roll with dark acidic shades.” We create dark sonic cinema for the mind, film noir / sci fi soundscapes that absorb post punk and electronica and meld Joy Division, Doors and Chemical Brothers like melted wax crayon colours."

Who is your main inspiration?

The recent studio album ICON drew a lot from the Warhol quote “in the future everyone will be famous for fifteen minutes,”the idea of being famous for being famous, celebrity, idols, the new religion. Did we create God, gods with our fertile imaginations, as a way of trying to describe the world around us, making sense of natural events like the sun and moon. Science fiction in its widest sense, film noir via Tarantino, would like to have a track on a soundtrack.

What is your songwriting process?

We would start with a riff, just guitar and vocal, the riff would suggest a lyric and with a bit of jamming there would be an embryonic version of a song. Not all these ideas would come to anything, but are kept for possible future use. Andy would take these ideas away and come up with a basic backing track to then add more lyrics to and work out a structure, a lot of going back and forwards from rehearsal to studio, we would end up with a song we were happy with.

What made you want to start in music?

When punk/new wave happened it changed my perception, it was a get up and give it a go attitude, minimal experience but it didn’t matter - it was the ideas that counted, the DIY approach got people to do music who would not have thought of it before.

What is on the horizon for you?

Busy promoting the recent release, a retrospective career spanning compilation of bands and projects I have been involved with called Venus Fly Trap / Alex Novak- Mercurial CD/DL (Glass Records Modern). It features ISAWS, Religious Overdose,Tempest, Attrition, Nova State Conspiracy, The Den, Spore and of course Venus Fly Trap.

Planing gigs for later this year, fingers crossed, back in my record shop Spiral Archive, after three months, so trying to get things back on track...

Who would you like to collaborate with (alive or dead)?

I have yet not been able to communicate with the spirit world,but living people,tough choice though... Nick Cave, Iggy, Sisters, Ronnie Spector...

What is your ultimate goal?

To be able carry on with what I'm doing.

If you could cover any song,what would it be?

We have! Rocket USA by NY sonic electro-punk Suicide and the horror rockabilly of Human Fly by The Cramps.

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Follow The Venus Fly Trap on Facebook and Spotify

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