“You’re pretty good for a girl,” sighs veteran Rhode Island-based electronic rock artist Jenn Vix about one of the many comments that plagues her as a female artist. “I have been asked questions such as ‘Who writes your music for you?’ and ‘Oh, so you’re a singer, right?’” Her plight as a woman in rock is nothing new, especially considering that not only is she a successful electronic-rock recording artist but has also been a songwriter, a producer and a recording engineer. With her new EP 6 however, Vix is wearing all hats at once and showing that, yes, she can do it.. and yes, she is a girl.
Out May 3, 2019 via Umbrella Music Co., 6 plunges Vix’s already fascinating electronic music which Carpe Noctem once described as “songs that surf the brainwaves, stimulating them in different ways… enjoyable and complex at one time” and posits it into an even more accessible and unapologetically pop paradigm. Her first single “Ride” kicks off the EP with a delicious electropop beat and colors it with a New Wave brush stroke. “’Ride’ is inspired by the feeling you get when you’re on a first date with someone, and you’re riding around in the car with them,” she explains – an answer which is typically standard enough… but then she takes a left turn into uncharted territory, continuing, “but you’re actually a space alien and you’re going to take your date for a real ride, aboard your spaceship.” The accompanying video follows this narrative, with Vix going full-on extraterrestrial in the makeup department.
The EP traipses through all the different shades of electropop from the minimal and Gary Numan-ian “The Mask of Charon” with its space age synth washes, to the midnight dance floor beats of “Rover” which injects the aural drama of mid-era Depeche Mode.
The tribal echoes of “Show Me The Sun” reflects the early 80s vibe of Malcolm McLaren, which is quite appropriate as it features former Adam and the Ants/Bow Wow Wow drummer Dave Barbarossa. This song in particular tackles a painful and terrifying event in Vix’s life. She explains, “’Show Me The Sun’ is a song about how I came back to music after almost dying. I almost died from a misdiagnosed illness; a specialist refused to send me for tests. When I was in hospital, I thought it was my last day on earth. I was mentally preparing to die as they hooked me up to the monitors. It was the most frightening day of my life, thus far.” Once the error was properly diagnosed and she was given the correct treatment, it was a long and arduous recovery both physically and mentally.
An important force since the late 80s (her first band Disco Donut featured Adam Horovitz of The Beastie Boys on bass), Vix has released a handful of albums,singles and collaborations with a virtual who’s who of alternative music including Reeves Gabrels (Tin Machine with David Bowie, The Cure), John Ashton (Psychedelic Furs), Marco Pirroni (Adam & the Ants, The Models, Rema Rema), and the late Andy Anderson (The Cure, Iggy Pop, Edwyn Collins) who died three weeks ago suddenly after being diagnosed with terminal cancer. “I’ve known him since 2015, when he recorded on one of my tracks. He really was a sweetheart,” she recollects sadly about her close friend.
Now, as she gets ready to launch her sixth release, this multi-faceted artist is ready to take over the world… but first, not before she tackles sexism in music. “I have also heard ‘I didn’t know that women could be recording engineers.’ It’s a guy thing,” she says unapologetically. But if there’s one mantra she holds dear that has proven to be a life-saver for her, especially during her terrifying near-death experience, it’s three simple words that she has tattoo’ed on her forearm. She smiles devilishly and, with a heightened sense of confidence, smirks, “Never give up!”
6 is Jenn Vix’s sixth “non single” release and will be released independently via Umbrella Music Co. on May 3, 2019 on all DSPs and streaming services including Spotify. It is self-produced and features Jenn Vix (music, lyrics, guitar, synths, vocals, electronic drums, recording), Paul LF (bass guitar) and David Barbarossa (drums).