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Nirvana in REM (Inspired by the Art of Fred Stonehouse)

by Victoria Vox

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  • Streaming + Download

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

    Includes PDF of book with a QR code to enjoy all the artworks as they "come to life" (animated).
    Purchasable with gift card

      $20 USD  or more

     

  • Book/Magazine + Digital Album

    MADE IN THE U.S.A.
    Limited Edition (of 300) Hardcover Book with CD in the back pocket.
    Signed by BOTH Fred Stonehouse and Victoria Vox.
    44 pages, full color.
    Includes QR code for a unique viewing experience!

    Ships Media Mail w/ added insurance.

    Includes unlimited streaming of Nirvana in REM (Inspired by the Art of Fred Stonehouse) via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 2 days
    edition of 300 
    Purchasable with gift card

      $130 USD or more 

     

  • Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

    Hand-numbered Limited Edition (of 200) Vinyl w/ 4 page full color insert with art and lyrics printed by Paper Chase Press on beautiful heavy weight paper. MADE IN THE U.S.A.

    Includes unlimited streaming of Nirvana in REM (Inspired by the Art of Fred Stonehouse) via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 2 days
    edition of 200 
    Purchasable with gift card

      $35 USD or more 

     

  • Book/Magazine + Digital Album

    MADE IN THE U.S.A.
    Softcover, 44 pages, full color, with CD in sleeve.
    Includes QR code for a unique viewing experience!

    Ships Media Mail.

    Includes unlimited streaming of Nirvana in REM (Inspired by the Art of Fred Stonehouse) via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 2 days
    Purchasable with gift card

      $35 USD or more 

     

  • Full Digital Discography

    Get all 12 Victoria Vox releases available on Bandcamp and save 35%.

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Nirvana in REM (Inspired by the Art of Fred Stonehouse), Echo of Luck (single), Clean (single), A Very Merry Mouth Trumpet Holiday, Colorful Heart, When the Night Unravels, Key, Vox Ukulele Cello, and 4 more. , and , .

    Purchasable with gift card

      $58.99 USD or more (35% OFF)

     

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1.
Clean 02:43
I’ve been thinking ‘lot lately How all of this has changed me, I’ll even admit I was wrong It doesn’t matter what the truth is, The who or why or what ifs, If we both agree to move on Can we start Clean? I won’t let this anger get the better of me N’ looking behind us will only blind us every time Can we start Clean? N’ stop looking for answers for everything No mentioning triggers or Pointing of fingers and give up the fight Can we start Clean? yeah, Clean I get the feeling that we tiptoe But it’s time to let go All the pain from yesterday Deep down I know that I love you And how I wanna call you But I don’t know what you’d say Can we start Clean? I won’t let this anger get the better of me N’ looking behind us will only blind us every time Can we start Clean? N’ stop looking for answers for everything No mentioning triggers or Pointing of fingers and give up the fight Can we start Clean? yeah, Clean (We gotta try / and give up the fight)
2.
Love knows where you’ll find it You’ve seen it in your dreams The something you can’t touch, taste, or feel, or see Salvation is waiting With fire you’ve never known Such a vulnerable hunter so sacred and alone Quest for Love, will it ever be enough Is it the drug that saves you? Quest for Love, will it ever be enough And be the drug that tames you Be careful who you aim for Impressions can deceive Don’t fall for beauty, that’ll bring you to your knees Quest for Love, will it ever be enough Is it the drug that saves you? Quest for Love, will it ever be enough And be the drug that tames you
3.
Easy Money 02:59
The tickin’ of the clock complicates the heart But you will never catch me running Though tempted by the shine and rattle of the coin I am God in an animal body The spirit in the sky complicates the part In the land of milk and honey I would rather suffer than be chained to gold I don’t want your Easy Money Everybody’s talking if I’ll take the bait I can hear the voices humming I’m managing a smile for my inner child He thinks I’ve got a good thing coming Deep pocketed investors wanna buy you out Even if their hands get bloody Caught in the dilemma that nothing comes for free I don’t want your Easy Money
4.
Echo of Luck 03:54
We can flip a coin I’m feeling good about how it’s gonna land An element of chance Left to a rabbit with human hands Perhaps I’m superstitious But with karma as my witness It’s animal, radical, mystical, and magical, like Maneki-neko or a dreamcatcher at my door I can see it now, I can feel it now, What I hear is the Echo (echo) of Luck I can see it now, I can feel it now, What I hear is the Echo of Luck We can spin the wheel A fortune’s waiting at the end of the rainbow It’s out of my control but my aura is all aglow, With a 4-leaf clover I’m tossing salt over my left shoulder It’s illogical, improbable, and weirdly psychological, The things that I will do to release the bugaboo I can see it now, I can feel it now, What I hear is the Echo (echo) of Luck I can see it now, I can feel it now, What I hear is the Echo of Luck
5.
Silent Song 03:09
The prayer that I feared and was too scared to say, Kept the demons away Denying the ghosts, I abandoned my post of chosen one I hid, but the voice always found me, Like some bizarre dream, Speaking with eyes, internal cries, calling out This is my Silent Song With every word written on my heart This is my Silent Song I learned to express with your hands on my face, Moving me into place Fixing my words and how we converse, quietly We gather the family, in a pattern we move, Our lips are so loose No need to explain, then we start to sway and dance This is my Silent Song With every word written on my heart This is my Silent Song This is my Silent Song With every scar written on my heart This is my Silent Song
6.
Deep in the jungle where the lion sleeps Someone with a gun waits quietly It’s man versus wild The smell of trouble and an unfair fight Where it’s just for fun at market price It’s hardly survival In the Eye of the Animal, so much sorrow In the Eye of the Animal, a lost tomorrow Out in the ocean where the dolphin dance Someone’s with a line and a cash advance But no compassion An arctic erosion under global heat ‘Cause we’ve crossed the line for our energy The temperature’s rising In the Eye of the Animal, so much sorrow In the Eye of the Animal, a lost tomorrow
7.
Tell me where we draw the line Or turn a cheek to say it’s justified Do we choose stayin’ in the dark Or face the troubles of a secret heart I’m an honest liar and so are you To protect each other, we avoid the truth I know you know what you don’t know won’t hurt you The farther that we fall I see the Color of Lying The farther that we fall I see the Color of Lying We make our rules to the game Where either one of us could walk away So, we both go with the flow You never ask and I don’t want to know I’m an honest liar and so are you To protect a lover, we avoid the truth I know you know what you don’t know won’t hurt you The farther that we fall I see the Color of Lying You know what you don’t know won’t hurt you The farther that we fall I see the Color of Lying
8.
I’ve had wicked dreams that stain my heart I’m floating above the reeds of Horicon Marsh Haunted by creatures and three-headed snakes They’ve been feeding me lies and calling it fate So, I’m caught between the truth and the family story Catholic verse and mystical warning I’m still making up moves on the Checkerboard Flooring Well, nothing’s as it seems when the words fall out I’m a pawn with the kings and queens, I feel like walkin’ out Strange conversations with a devil man While eating the fruit from a foreign land Now, I’m caught between the truth and the family story Catholic verse and mystical warning I’m still making up moves on the Checkerboard Flooring I’m a batwing doll in a grey costume Pitchin’ fits ‘cause I want all and daddy’s turning blue He gave me answers, broken and bent But I’ll never know what his words actually meant Now, I’m caught between the truth and the family story Catholic verse and mystical warning I’m still making up moves on the Checkerboard Flooring So, I’m caught between the truth and the family story Catholic verse and mythical glory I’m still making up moves on the Checkerboard Flooring
9.
Think Twice 03:57
Try me, I can understand Nobody’s perfect and things don’t always go as planned Wishing you could disappear When all that you need is to take a breath deep and clear Think Twice for the friends who won’t forget you Think Twice, for your family can’t replace you When you find yourself in the darkest of minds Think Twice because we love you Digging in the dirt below Uncovering feelings and thoughts you buried long ago Peering through the tears you’ve cried Wondering if you could ever be satisfied Think Twice for the friends who won’t forget you Think Twice, for your family can’t replace you When you find yourself in the darkest of minds Think Twice because we love you Sometimes it’s hard to get out of bed And ignore the voices in your head But remember you’re not alone It’s just that everyone is traveling a different road Think Twice for the friends who won’t forget you Think Twice, for your family can’t replace you When you find yourself in the darkest of minds Think Twice because we love you, we love you
10.
Like a dream that never ends Connected by a single thread The sound of change is moving through the trees Finding solace in the dark From the glow of ancient stars It’s the Night King’s prophecy Sunday morning gifted warning The secrets of a serpent were whispered in my ear I had a vision, I had a vision, come in clear I’ve been here before, a mantic case of déjà vu Here in the garden, here in the garden, Floating on Fruit Protected by the evil eye On the wings of butterflies Stranger things are better left unknown The Universe falls out of place In a distant time and space As the future starts to unfold Sunday morning gifted warning The secrets of a serpent were whispered in my ear I had a vision, I had a vision, come in clear I’ve been here before, a mantic case of déjà vu Here in the garden, here in the garden, Floating on Fruit Nirvana in REM The secrets of a serpent were whispered in my ear I had a vision, I had a vision, come in clear I’ve been here before, a mantic case of déjà vu Here in the garden, here in the garden, Floating on Fruit

about

Nirvana in REM is an audio-visual experience of 10 original songs by singer-songwriter Victoria Vox, inspired by 20 works of art by Fred Stonehouse. “These new songs have an atmospheric quality that is deeply emotional and psychological, as well as hauntingly poetic,” says Stonehouse about Vox’s music. In this 44-page book, together, they explore the connection between reality and the nonsensical world of dream logic.

Art Inspires Art

34 songwriters gathered in a warehouse basement for a game of spin-the-bottle one cold February night in 2020. The Holiday Music Motel was hosting their annual Love on Holiday songwriting festival in Sturgeon Bay, WI, and Victoria Vox knew the drill. She would be grouped with whoever’s feet the LED light affixed to an empty Jameson bottle landed on. Each newly formed group then spun the bottle again to determine which piece of art (out of 20 artworks by Wisconsin-based artists) would serve as inspiration for their song. Some artists came to talk about their art before a single note had been sung or before a phrase was thought up. But Vox and Fred Stonehouse, her randomly chosen artist, wouldn’t meet in person until a week later—a week filled with songwriting, music-filled motel halls, and sometimes joyous chaos—when she performed her co-write, “Quest for Love,” which had been paired with Fred’s Untitled painting of a humanized deer gazing forward. As many are the first time we hear Vox’s songs, he was struck.

Both Vox and Stonehouse are deeply colorful, thought-provoking, and touched; both hail from Wisconsin themselves—but each is a highly accomplished artist in completely different mediums. After the show, he approached her. He thought his enthusiasm for her piece might have caught her off guard. Nevertheless, he promptly suggested that she create a series of songs based on his work, and lucky for us, she agreed.

“After the show, there is always an afterparty where the songwriters continue to jam and play our freshly written songs,” Vox said of their meeting at Butch’s Bar, a self-described five-star dive bar. “Fred came to that, too, but as we had just met, most of our ‘meeting’ was over the phone, across two time zones.” Occasionally she would call to gather more backstory on a particular piece. But, she says, “otherwise, he really just let me curate which art pieces I wanted to use or was inspired by.”

The title for this album came during the writing of “Floating on Fruit”, inspired by Stonehouse’s work Garden. “Many of Fred’s ideas have come from his own dreams and the creatures in them, intertwined with his childhood and family history,” Vox said. “It all made for some very interesting songwriting.”

In early 2021, Vox had taken an online music production and songwriting course which focused on creating “vibes” manipulating recorded bits of music and instruments to create a song. “Working with samples can sometimes be limiting,” she said, “but like the four-stringed ukulele, the limitations made me stretch creatively. The mélange of sampled and live instruments, and the ukulele, sometimes affected, allowed me to construct some lovely soundscapes.”

Stonehouse’s paintings have been described as, “an amalgamation of woodland creatures and sometimes anthropomorphic beings from his wild dreams which are often accompanied by quotes or reflections of a vision half-remembered.” Changing just a few descriptive words, an astute listener could describe Vox’s work the same. The breadth of her musicianship, the boundlessness of her songwriting, and the dream-like state we enter as we are folded into the layers of poetic lyricism and tracks.

Only two songs on the album were previously written. “Eye of the Animal,” had been an orphan for about ten years but when Vox saw Stonehouse’s work, 21 Tears, she felt the song finally landed home. The other, “Think Twice,” Vox had written on the piano just two months before the artists met. When Stonehouse heard the fledgling song, he created the work Buried Thoughts as accompaniment. “I loved the creatures and the looks in their eyes. Each one tells its own story,” Vox said of Stonehouse’s unusual portraits. She reveled in the task of taking on so many unique characters.

Like Stonehouse, despite the emotion Vox dives into on any given song (be it humor, hope, ardor, regret), it is her voice that threads the needle and carries us through to the darned side of the trusty wool sock. We are once again wrapped in her strength with roots in jazz, folk, pop, and beyond. Between the two inimitable styles, there is a kind of synesthesia one could only dream of finding far beneath any semblance of pretense.

Originally from Northeast Wisconsin, Vox­—an award-winning songwriter and performer­—has lived in France, England, Nashville, Baltimore, and now resides in Costa Mesa, CA. She has graced the covers of Ukulele Magazine (U.S.) and Uke Mag (U.K.) and is considered one of the leading songwriters on the ukulele scene.

Stonehouse, whose work is collected by A-list celebrities like Sheryl Crow and Madonna, considers himself “just a guy from Milwaukee.” But Stonehouse is also one of Wisconsin’s most active and successful artists, juggling teaching at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and multiple exhibitions in galleries from New York to Los Angeles and Berlin to Milan.

And yet these two found each other, not too far from their roots. There must be something in that Midwestern air, something intangible in the ether that grows from the fields and industry, the people and how they see and hear the world, that forms an understanding of the sheer depth and complexity of, simply, feeling.

Stonehouse, who has been influenced by folk and outsider art “was repeatedly impressed by the darkly magical songs that emerged from Victoria’s creative process.” He explained further, “These new songs have an atmospheric quality that is deeply emotional and psychological, as well as hauntingly poetic. Seeing how an artist from a very different creative vocabulary works and processes is tremendously enriching for how I understand my own artmaking practice, and I thank Victoria for letting me ride along.”

Collaborative in every dimension, pulsing forward while keeping a tab on the nostalgia of a time gone by, we meet in the fold as if by random and yet as though we were chosen. With our eyes and ears wide open, we witness this great unraveling. The menacing facade breaks layer by layer, and as the audience, perhaps we can see the light shine through what each artist, together, untangles.
by Rachel Anne Warren


For more information, please visit:
victoriavox.com
fredstonehouseart.com

credits

released April 1, 2022

Produced by Victoria Vox
Mixed by Geoff Stanfield, Well Recording (Seattle, WA)
Mastered by Rachel Field, Resonant Mastering (Seattle, WA)
Vinyl Mastering by Levi Seitz, Black Belt Mastering (Brier, WA)

Recorded at Pacific Silo Studio (Costa Mesa, CA)
Additional recording at: Well Recording (Seattle, WA),
The Orange Room (New York, NY), and Rathole Studio (Lakewood, CA)

Background vocal arrangements by Andrea Wittgens.

All artworks © Fred Stonehouse. Used with permission.

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Victoria Vox Costa Mesa, California

Victoria Vox has taken the artful sound of the ukulele into eclectic new directions. Her music ranges from upbeat and clever to honest and moving, while incorporating her signature “mouth trumpet” and occasionally singing in French. Her whimsical songwriting uses a unique palette of sounds and beats that delight audiences of all ages. ... more

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