Back on July 17, 2007, Vivek Shraya subjected himself to a little thing I used to call the QBiM Questionnaire. The premise was simple: I emailed artists a list of nonsensical and non-threatening questions all in the name of getting to know them better. Vivek was a willing victim subject, and we had a fair bit of fun with the interview.
I don’t know how well the concept of Q&A was received by readers (or if they even took notice of the other interviews in the series) but that was then and this is now, and this time out, I’ve decided to make the rechristened QBiM Q&A a regular (or semi-regular) Monday feature. And who better to relaunch the series than with Vivek himself, whose getting set to launch his new album, Keys & Machines on November 17. You can win yourself a copy of the CD while helping to make this new feature a success from the get-go, but more on that later. For now, let’s check in with Vivek and find out what he’s been up to these past few years:
Vivek Shraya tells us what the key to his heart is...
QBiM: State your name for the record, and mention your record while you’re at it.
Vivek Shraya: Vivek Shraya, father of Keys & Machines.
QBiM: Where are you from, how did you get here, and where are you going next?
VS: Originally born in Edmonton, now living in Toronto, hoping to move to Europe someday.
QBiM: Who’s hanging out with you (who else is in the band or working with you)?
VS: My bedsheets.
QBiM: You’re the first repeat victim of the QBiM Questionnaire, now officially known as the QBiM Q&A. How have things changed for you since the last time we talked?
VS: I got a haircut. I signed to and then parted with a label. I started writing a small book (godloveshair.com). Musically I feel a lot more comfortable in this pop space than I did last time around. If We’re Not Talking (Sharya’s first LP) was a big step from acoustic, singer-songwriter stuff I was doing prior and in a lot of ways the record was kind of a (happy) accident. Keys & Machines is very much an intentional record.
QBiM: Your version of the White Stripe’s “Seven Nation Army” was a highlight of 2007. I often get the impression that an artist can learn a lot about themselves by covering someone else’s work? What’s your experience of doing cover version like?
VS: What I love about that song and (the White Stripes in general) is how sonically big it is but without a lot going on. Bass, drums, vox and a little bit of texture. Bam. Consequently, The White Stripes were a key reference for us, especially for songs like the title track and “I AM A BASS DRUM”
QBiM: What is the one album you can go back and listen to over and over again, and what is it that brings you back to it?
VS: Kid A by Radiohead. It always comes out around January/February because no other record perfectly encapsulates the isolation, cold and loneliness of a Canadian winter.
QBiM: Other than music or other artists, what influences you as a musician and songwriter?
VS: This time around I was really influenced by the club scene in Paris. The energy and beauty of it. Everyone is attractive in Paris.
QBiM: What’s the greatest invention of all time?
VS: The airplane. Every single time I fly, my mind is totally blown. I am convinced there is some kind of secret magic involved.
QBiM: If you didn’t make music what would you be doing with your life?
VS: I always thought I was going to be a psychologist. Then I went to University and ended up hating all my Psych courses and eventually dropping it as my major. But every so often I wonder about that life, what it would have looked like. Mostly I just wonder about the money.
QBiM: Favourite breakfast food?
VS: Vanilla milkshake.
QBiM: When was the last time you got in a fight?
VS: Last night. Ha. I actually think fighting is healthy to a degree. One of the lyrics on The Grind is “You know I like to fight, you know I like to make it up at night.” I like that kind of tension in a relationship.
QBiM: What’s the one song you wish you’d have written?
VS: A couple off the new Jim Ward EP (In The Valley, On The Shores). Beautiful, well crafted songs.
QBiM: Do you listen to your own music in the car?
VS: No to car. Yes to subway.
QBiM: What’s the last good book/movie/record you read/saw/heard?
VS: I am completely obsessed with The Belle Brigade (http://myspace.com/barbarasongs), whose record isn’t out yet. Stupid good. 2009 has kind of sucked for movies so far.
QBiM: Define “pain”.
VS: The Twilight movie.
QBiM: Mac or PC?
VS: MAC FOREVER. (Ah a man after my own cybergeek heart. *sigh* -JD)
QBiM: What’s been the greatest learning experience you’ve had between this album and the previous one?
VS: My biggest learning experience has more to do with the business side of things than the music itself (isn’t that the way it is?). I’ve always seen getting the big fat record deal as the ultimate dream come true for a musician and that’s not really the case, especially in 2009.
~~
The big fat record deal may be a dream, but Keys & Machines is the real deal: it’s an electro-pop fans dream. Smart, intelligent pop that you can dance to, sing along with and play over and over again. I’d love for you to have the chance to hear it yourself, and thanks to Vivek, you can! I have a copy of Keys & Machines to give to one lucky reader who drops me an email at CONTESTS [at] QUICKBEFOREITMELTS [dot] COM with “Gimme Keys & Machines!” in the subject line, your mailing address in the body, and a question you think would be fun to pose to a musician for an upcoming QBiM Q&A session. You can look for your questions in an upcoming interview; and the fun part is, you don’t know who’ll get asked the question!
Thanks to Vivek for his participation, and the contest (which closes on Friday, November 13 at 11:59 p.m.–your lucky day!). Next Monday’s interviewee is one Kirk Ramsay, whose better known by the musical moniker Giant Hand!
MP3: Vivek Shraya “In/Out”
Myspace: Vivek Shraya
1 Comment so far
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LOVE! Can’t wait for the 17th.
Comment by Ray Ray 11.09.09 @ 9:57 amLeave a comment
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