Vynilyn – Guardians of the Space Hog

By starrymag | August 4, 2023

By: Jamie Steinberg

 

 

Q) How would you describe your sound?

 

cb: Our music could be classified as “Dance Pop,” but we draw from all musical styles, including Rock, Pop, Electronic and Hip Hop.

 

Adrianna: “Think Fugees meets Linkin Park. You can also hear a little Clean Bandit and Avicii in our sound since our main instruments are the violin.”

 

Q) Who are some of your musical influences?

 

A) As a group, we’re inspired by so many things. We all have very interesting individual tastes. Adrianna loves Neo Soul, Jazz and 70’s Funk and Disco. cb is into Singer/Songwriters, and DJs. Carissa leans more towards Rock and Hip Hop.

 

Q) Talk about the story behind your new song “Guardians of the Spacehog.”

 

A) VYNILYN’s “Guardians of the Spacehog” is an interpolation of Spacehog’s 1996 hit “In The Meantime,” which was featured in the new Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3

 

Q) What do you think it is about the song that fans connect to?

 

Carissa: I think this song is very nostalgic for 90s fans who know “In the Meantime” by Spacehog. For newer fans that aren’t familiar with that song, I think they connect to the carefree, upbeat nature of the track. The hook is so easy to sing along with and will definitely get stuck in your head!

 

cb: It’s a killer hook. I think putting a new twist on an old idea is always a fun thing to do, if it is done tastefully. The tie in between Spacehog‘s “Resident Alien” and our theme of Pleiadian Aliens probably draws a few people in. Our video for “Muppet’s Pigs in Space vs Spacehogs” was another way that people found the song. Quite a clever word play, if I do say so myself.

 

Adrianna: And, of course, the Guardians of the Galaxy tie-in, which was the inspiration for making it our first single!

 

Q) What is your song writing process? Do you need music before you can create lyrics?

 

cb: I write lyrics both with and without music. Even if I write something to a beat, I end up refining it once we get to the recording stage. I’ll listen back and make slight adjustments, usually a syllable here or there. Often it sounds great until I hear it coming out of the headphones and then I realize that there are more words than beats, or vice versa, and I need to find something that fits the rhythm better.

Melodic hooks are always coming out of nowhere and getting stuck inside our brains. When I catch myself humming a song I’ve never heard before, I sing it into the voice notes on my phone. Every few months we get together and audition those ideas and see if we like any of them. I sing silly made-up songs to our baby daughter all the time. Every once and a while I record them. Maybe some of them will end up in our show?

 

Q) How much of a hand do you have in the production of your music?

 

Adrianna: We produce the music and play all the instruments ourselves. I sing, play the bass guitar and violin. I also use the violin to play melodic ideas on other instruments by turning my violin into MIDI.cb raps, play the guitar, scratch the turntables and do most of the heavy lifting on the recording editing and production. Carissa sings, raps, plays the violin and plays the piano, as well as other keyboard parts in the songs.

We have fun creative writing sessions where we will work on several ideas in the same evening. Sometimes as many as twenty or thirty in a single night. Then, we will have more refined sessions where we hone in on the best ideas. Then, we will have deliberate sessions dedicated to a single song or two that we want to finish.

I love that your Las Vegas act combines original music, DJ beats, singalongs and turntable tricks! There is so much to engage the audience.

 

Q) What kind of feedback have you been receiving to those who attend your shows?

 

Carissa: People love our high energy, lively performances with the custom light up instruments and the fully choreographed show. Along with our custom videos, there is so much to keep the crowd engaged in what we are doing on stage!

 

cb: One of the most important pieces of feedback we get from the audience is when we play one of our originals or remixes and it doesn’t have the same response as the rest of our set, which is full of the best music in the world. It’s a high bar to measure yourself against, but if the audience loses some energy, it’s time to have another look at that track and see what we can do to make it better. And if the energy level goes up, then we know we are really onto something!

 

Q) You also include custom remixed versions of beloved/iconic songs in the show. Which are your personal favorites to cover?

 

cb: We do so many songs in our show, that it is hard to pick just a few. All of the songs we play are remixed in some way and shortened to just the best parts. We recently did a forty-five-minute show with over ninety songs in it. We’ve done an uptempo cover of “In the End” by Linkin Park, which goes over really well. It will be our next release on Curtain Call Records. We’ve also recorded a clean radio friendly version of “Killing In The Name Of” by Rage Against the Machine that always brings the house down! Plus, we have few others recorded that we’re keeping under wraps for now. We’d love for it to be a surprise!

 

Carissa: “Don’t Start Now” by Dua Lipa, “Sweet Child of Mine” by Guns N’ Roses and, of course, I love rapping, so “Push it” by Salt-N-Pepa!

 

Adrianna: I personally love playing “Blinding Lights” by The Weeknd and “The Devil Went Down to Georgia” is always a crowd pleaser for the violin fans!

 

cb: There is a moment in our show where we drop “Gangsta’s Paradise” in an unexpected moment that always gets a huge reaction from the crowd. That’s always fun because we know it’s coming, but the audience has no idea. Surprisingly, Kelly Clarkson’s “Since U Been Gone” is old enough to be a classic crowd favorite sing along now. Who knew?

 

Q) Will there be a full album or EP coming in the near future or are you more focused on releasing singles to accompany your live performances?

 

cb: For now we’re releasing singles, but once we have a decent catalog of singles, we will put out an album in the style of a mix tape with each song flowing into the next, just like our live show. We have so much material – originals, covers, remixes, mashups, interpolations. It’s going to be an exciting journey sharing it with everyone!

Q) Who would you most like to collaborate with on a song in the future?

 

Carissa: Anderson Paak!!!!

 

Adrianna: I think a collab with Doja Cat or Dua Lipa would be amazing! I really love Doja Cat’s alien vibe, and how she combines pop music and rap music. That is exactly what we are doing, but with a 90’s feel. And I love Dua Lipa’s Nostalgia album for its 90’s feel plus the Disco style Strings she puts in her music and that saucy bass!

 

cb: I agree with Adrianna and Carissa on all of those artists! Rick Rubin would be the dream collaborator since he helped invent the style of back n’ forth rapping style we use in our music. Plus, he seems like such a positive, humble guy. I’d love to work with Joni Mitchel on something, just for my own personal feels. We could remix anyone! It would be fun to do a Rod Stewart remix since Adrianna worked with him for so many years. Also, a great guy!

 

Q) What artist/musician are you currently listening to and why do you dig them? 

 

Adrianna: I’m listening to Yebba right now. Her voice is just so amazing, her tone and vocal riffs are effortless, and I want to absorb some of that sound into my own voice.

 

cb: As a DJ, I have to listen to all the new music just to stay current. Some of it is great, but a lot of it is just an imitation of something that is already currently popular. I love it when I hear an idea or sound that I haven’t heard before, something that stands out from the crowd. It’s always fun to hear someone who isn’t afraid to be themselves!

 

Carissa: Dua Lipa —- her music is so expertly produced. WuTang — those beats have been keeping my head nodding for over 30 years. 311 — see above. [laughs] Coi Leray— because girls are players, too!

 

Q) You are a part of social media. Why is that such an important way for you to connect with your fans?

 

Adrianna: Social media is a great way for people who can’t see us live where they live to get a chance to see what the live show is like. It also gives the super fans an opportunity to connect with us. Just those small interactions can mean a lot to someone who is a fan of the group. We like to put ourselves in the position of the fans and imagine what it would mean to them for us to respond or connect back in some way. We’re trying to find our tribe!

 

cb: Outside of the US, Brazil has been our strongest supporter. On some platforms we have more Brazilian followers than any other country. When we first started, we wouldn’t have thought of Brazil as a place to tour. But now that we know so many people from Brazil are interested in us, we are making plans to play there soon. It’s a fun way to connect with fans, but social media will never take away the thrill of interacting live with the audience. The live show is so much better than any online video could convey.

 

 

Q) What would you like to say to everyone who is a fan and supporter of you and your work?

 

Carissa: Thank you so much for taking the time to listen to us and appreciate what we do! I can’t wait for you to see all of the new exciting new tracks coming soon!

 

cb: We’re so happy you’ve chosen to spend some of your time with us. There are so many distractions out there and we really appreciate you going out of your way to watch our videos and listen to our music. We put a lot of effort into all our content and we hope you enjoy it as much as we enjoy making it for you!