Volleyball Talk Latest Single Nosediiv, Nightmares and New VR Experiences

There are fewer words and more action with Volleyball’s latest foray into music with the release of ‘Nosediiv’. 

It certainly makes for a compelling listen too. As the fourth in a line of six, at this point I think it’s safe to say that Volleyball aren’t afraid to push the boat out. This latest single is a dream world of catchy beats, shimmering guitar, synths and drums. Despite the lack of many lyrics, it’s a song that will stick with you for other reasons. This song isn’t just a song – it’s an exploration. 

Described as a ‘falsified memory,’ the music certainly takes that form as it progresses. From moments of pure calm, with slow-building drum beats to another moment of soaring guitar strums, it takes you on a journey as a lot of Volleyball’s music has so far. 

It screeches to a halt and then bursts back into life yet again. It’s polished perfection from Volleyball and as they continue to release some intriguing new music, it was great to catch up with the lads to question them on their latest release.

It’s another great single from you lads! How’s it been trying to create this kind of music doing a global pandemic? 

Thanks so much! It’s been interesting, we’ve had to find ways around being in the same room together. As a positive it gave us the time to really focus in on the small details.  Coming up with ways to present live versions of the songs was a particular challenge...but it led us down a few paths which we otherwise would have missed.  

 

It’s the fourth of six releases for yourselves. Which of the six songs did you most enjoy creating though? 

Thats a tough one! Each track has had their individual journey, I reckon each of us probably has a favourite for different reasons. Paradisco, for example, was the first track to come together with the four of us, so that will always be special. Slide got lost for ages as a demo in an email until we rediscovered it. In a way the last of the six is a really special one so we've got that to look forward to. 

Who have been your musical inspirations in terms of creating the type of music you have? Any particular bands or artists? 

We're always talking about bands and sending each other stuff. There's a bunch of modern-psych artists such as Morgan Delt, Tame Impala and Caribou that have been instrumental but we listen to all sorts. Here's a playlist that we all jointly curate and update on the regs with bands and artists in a similar vein to what we're creating: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3JUdHbl0yFlUQLjaGlKTpY 

Nosediiv has been described as like a falsified memory - is there any particular memory you drew on when thinking about making this song? 

It was more about the concept of a memory changing slightly each time you go back to it, getting little embellishments or losing details till it could have changed entirely. There are a few instrumental passages that repeat through the song - slightly different each time they come back. I can’t recall any particular memory that I was going into whilst writing it - more so just a bit of a nostalgic feel looking back.  

What does this latest single represent to you as a band? 

Nosediiv was always an odd one out of the six as it isn’t a 'traditional' single, but for us it was important to put out as it shows some of the less conventional side of our sound. Each of these releases cover different aspects of what we're about. 

 

I believe you’re collaborating on some VR experiences! It’s a really cool step to take. Can you elaborate on what that might entail at all or? 

We can't say too much about it yet tbh, but we're pretty excited about it and we've never seen anything quite like what we've got in the works. We’ve been developing the concept with the technology’s creator, we aren’t entirely sure how it will come out as he hasn’t worked with a full band in this context before. Check out https://volta-xr.com/ for more info.  Keep your eyes peeled on our YouTube channel for more on this.

With live music potentially on the horizon, what have you most missed about gigs? 

Actually being able to play! As we launched Volleyball in the middle of the pandemic we haven't played a show yet, so we'll get back to you on that one soon! 

Who would be your absolute dream act to tour with if you could pick anyone? 

King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard - mostly because they have so many songs to choose from over such a varied range of sounds, it would be so great to see how they put together their setlists and evolve this over a run of shows.  

 

Your music is very much rooted in the dream psych genre and is dreamlike in nature as I’ve already mentioned. So, what’s the worst dream you’ve ever had? 

Ermm, I got really delirious when I had chickenpox and had a load of waking fever dreams between bouts of falling unconscious. One of the worst was winning the lottery and accidentally giving the money to someone at school I didn't really get on with. It's not that bad but I was crying for ages lol because I was so gutted for my family.
 

[Rudi] I’ve had a recurring dream of jumping into the sea and watching the surface disappear above me as I keep sinking into the dark. Also I’ve dreamt multiple times of a shoreline that I’ve never been to in real life, but can recognise it purely from dreams I’ve had revisiting this place. 

Charlie Gregory

@CharlieSGJourno

Image: Nosediiv Official Artwork