Vancouver group Vox Rea, previously known as The Katherines, debut their new project with the release of their first single “Dose Me Up“. With the artful collective featuring a unique brand of noir pop, blending string arrangements and harmonies into a dreamy soundscape.
In case people have forgotten your backgrounds could you please tell us little about the three ladies in the band.
Kate and Lauren are sisters and Kaitlyn is our childhood best friend. We all grew up in the same neighbourhood in Vancouver and carpooled to choir practice. We formed a band in 2012 to compete in a teen band contest and the rest is history …
Vox Rea is an re-imagined version of the Katherines or something else?
Vox Rea is definitely its own animal. In the writing and making of our new album we ended up working with our good friend Mitchell Schaumberg and he brought so much magic to the songs that we decided to ask him to become a more permanent member of the band. Though he probably could have rocked being a “Katherine” we all decided that it was time to leave that project behind and create something new together.
Tell us about the name change to Vox Rea and what it means.
We wanted a name that was lacking in preconceptions. Vox Rea has an ambiguity and androgyny to it that allows us to have an identity beyond always being labeled as a ‘girl band’. The exact meaning of Vox Rea is open interpretation. To us, Vox Rea is a question rather than an answer, and that represents the ethos of this project.
You have a new single coming out shortly called “Dose Me Up”. Tell us about the song.
Dose Me Up was written by Lauren and Kate at home on their grandmother’s piano. This song belongs to October — the mourning of summer and the fear of winter. It is childhood reverence and adult indifference. I guess you could say that Dose Me takes a bite of the proverbial apple.
The video features underwater filming. Tell us about capturing that.
We filmed those shots in a river on Vancouver Island on a GoPro. Our videographer had a hilarious snorkel and flipper get-up. It was COLD and we realized pretty quickly that wearing clothes underwater makes you feel like you’re drowning… #noregrets
We are assuming that this is a lead off single with a full length project in the works. If there is a full length project can you share some of the details and when we can expect to see it.
Yes! There is definitely a full length project coming your way. We made the album in a nomadic state, writing songs in Berlin, Boston, Toronto and Vancouver. We recorded most of the record in a studio in the woods just outside of Montreal. The plan is to release a few more singles then drop the album in the spring.
With the world wide pandemic raging what does the future hold for Vox Rea?
The pandemic has forced us to reimagine what it means to be an artist working from home. We’ve been doing a lot of reading and thinking. We’ve dumped a lot of our restlessness into creating new things — whether that’s writing a song or experimenting with stop motion collages. We’re basically just taking things one beat at a time. We’re just trying to wake up everyday and make something new.
We are always interested in what artists are listening to for inspiration. What is on the Vox Rea’s playlist.
The list is endless! Patrick Watson, Weyes Blood, Michael Kiwanuka, Nancy Sinatra… We made a playlist to go along with the release of Dose Me Up if you want to listen:
