“Our long term goal is to play outside of the country… If any promoters out there want to invite us to play elsewhere, we are open to invitations!”
At Spittingflower Productions, we converse with many musicians, bands and fans of underground music right around the world on a daily basis. Be they independent new artists/musicians or old hands well established on the gig circuit, we’re always keen to shine a light and give some well deserved exposure to the alternative music scene across the globe.
Hailing from South America, Brazilian Industrial Rockers ‘The Negative Vision’ (TNV) are a band about to take the current ‘alt’ scene by storm. Presently in the studio recording new material, two new singles ‘Turn On the Light’ and ‘Red Skies’ are now available for download. With a long track record as a recording musician, we managed to track down Andre TNV as he and fellow band member Rodrigo are about to launch the next phase of the bands career.
Andre you are fairly well known on the São Paulo underground music scene and have been making music for over 16 years now. What can you tell us about your band ‘The Negative Vision’ (TNV)?
Well, the current format of TNV is based around aspects of electronic music, EBM and post Punk. We’re basically an Industrial Rock band drawing inspiration from Dark Rock and the 80’s sound. We’ve been recording for some time as an electronic and instrumental experimental project in Brazil, but as we evolved, we wanted to further explore the use of guitars and bass in the composition of our music. This eventually led to a more hard edged industrial sound. It suits our lyrics which are often politicized against the Brazilian political system, thus following the ethos of punk as a means of promoting democracy through our lyrics and music.
How and where did you form?
I first started TNV as a solo project back In the city of Campos Gerais, near the capital of São Paulo in the mid 1990’s. At first the focus was very much on creating electronic music and EBM. In 2002 however I began to use greater software, eventually introducing a more guitar based sound. We then independently released our first EP ‘SOME SECONDS’ in 2011. In 2012 we released the second and official EP ‘PULSE’ with singles that were well received on the São Paulo underground scene. Another EP release followed, ‘MONOCHROME VISIONS’ which featured special guests US Lisa Rose and Portuguese Francisco Vaudeville. We recorded cover versions of some Iggy Pop classics,’ I WANNA BE YOUR DOG’, ‘BANG BANG’ after which we launched the most recent EP ‘DIRTY AND SARCASTIC’. In 2014 I returned to the south of Mines where I live today near the capital of Sao Paulo where the emphasis has now turned to playing live and developing the TNV sound.
What has been the highlight of your career as a musician so far?
The release of our EP ‘PULSE’ was really well received here in Brazil and also very rewarding in the creative sense. It’s given us an opportunity to reach a greater fan-base and demonstrate our diverse range of creative influences. It’s also given me the opportunity to invest in updating my studio equipment.
After your last album release ‘Dirty & Sarcastic’ in 2011, you then went on to release a singles collection featuring all of the bands EP’s – Does this signify an end of an era as you embark upon the next phase of TNV?
No, ‘WE WILL KEEP OUR PASSIONS’ is a collection inspired by one of the letters of Ian Curtis of Joy Division. It means for us simply keeping all of the singles together and all the EP’s released. We are a completely independent band financing all of our own releases. It’s difficult to release records due to the sheer expense and lack of a label assisting with promotion. It would be preferable to have the help of a label particularly with studio costs etc. But for now, we will continue much in the same vein releasing most of our music online.
TNV originally started out with a more electronic heavy industrial sound.
Does the recent introduction of guitars mark a departure from your previous sound, and is this the direction you wish to take the band?
Yes, we started out more so electronic and then over time have evolved into an Industrial Rock sound but without losing that 80’s inspired synth vibe! The idea is to keep the electronic databases following the melodic keyboards and guitars with a cutting hard sound.
The 2014 single release ‘Red Skies’ offers critical objection to communism and life under socialism – Is politics a driving force within TNV?
Do you believe musicians have a role to play in delivering political/social commentary?
Yes – ‘RED SKIES’ was and is a single that we released just before the Brazil elections. Just like the single ‘The Body Politic 2012’ we wanted to comment and express civil dissatisfaction with the circle of corruption that exists within Brazilian, and indeed world politics. The single ‘RED SKIES’ is just one of several singles that TNV has recently recorded, it might well make the set list at our live appearance at the Woodgothic festival scheduled for June this year!
Speaking of this year’s Woodgothic Festival in Brazil, are there any surprises lined up for this gig? Will this mark a new transition for the band?
Yes, we are very happy to be playing ‘Woodgothic 2015’ on June 4th. It will be rather a great victory for the band and for me particularly. For the first time will give the Brazilian public something different! We’ll play some covers of bands we like and bands who inspire us, and yes I think that our performance will be very good for the band as a whole, and a great opportunity to expand our current fan base!
Are there any plans to tour the new material outside of South America?
Yes, I always had this plan. Our long term goal is to play outside of the country. If any promoters out there want to invite us to play elsewhere, we are open to invitations!
Finally, as you prepare for the release of the upcoming album/EP “Still Alive” where do you see TNV in terms of your sound and direction in the alternative music scene now and in the future?
‘STILL ALIVE’ will be an EP with better production in every way yet will remain independent and produced in my home studio. We are exploring more our new sound, and hope to launch our new album after our performance at Woodgothic festival. Presently however, we are busy rehearsing for the show in June and very much looking forward to meeting the fans new and old as we prepare to take the world by storm!
Photo/video credits: Alessandra
Special thanks: Andre TNV
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/officialtnv
Soundcloud: http://www.soundcloud.com/officialtnv
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/officialtnv
Reverbnation: http://www.reverbnation.com/officialtnv