ROXI DRIVE - 'Video Fantasy' | An Interview
Roxi Drive burst onto the Synth Scene like the 1st rays of a Miami sunny morning in 2017. Since then she's electrified the Electro Pop masses with some excellent hits that wouldn't feel out of place being introduced by Casey Kasem as part of his American Top 40....in 1984!
As part of a wave of talent coming out of the Electro UK scene to include the legend that is Sunglasses Kid she has held her own more than admirably with her retro MTV aesthetics and sound which has garnered her a lot of fans worldwide. Arguably as a genre Synthwave had always lent itself to a more pop orientated sound and it's this sound that has served the likes of the wonderful NINA, Ollie Wride and the amazing Dana Jean Phoenix well and Roxi has more than earned her place as one of the Synth Pop pillars of the genre.
We were so grateful that Roxi took time out to chat to Forged....take a look!
Thank you so much for taking the time to do this interview Roxi and massive congratulations on the huge success of your music career to date, how do you feel this year in particular has gone for you?
Thank you, Ashley,! Well, what can I say this has been a really crazy and particularly difficult year for so many people. The biggest way it affected me was financially as my side self-employed jobs had to be put on hold. I have however still been able to carry on writing and recording music. I was still able to finish my second album 'Electric Heart' which I released in April and have since released a few singles so on that side of things I have been able to be productive musically which I'm very grateful for.
I also managed to release a music video for my track with Sellorekt/LA Dreams called 'Video
Fantasy' which people from the 80's community on Instagram all took part in during the lock
down. They all filmed themselves dancing around their bedrooms and homes in full 80's outfits and hairstyles and its one of my favourite music videos. Everyone really came together and put so much enthusiasm and heart in to it, I'm so happy with how it turned out.
Tell us about your creative process, how long would it take for you to lay down a track?
It really depends. Some tracks I've composed, written and recorded in a week. Some take me months. I might start them and then find I need to put them down and come back to them later when inspiration hits.
How do you think your sound has developed from your early releases?
I wouldn't say drastically. I've always stayed within the 80's inspired synth- pop arena. That, said I'm moving far more into a more authentic 80's sound. I introduced more of a rock pop sound with more electric guitar in my latest album. I want my music to sound like it really does come from the 80's. I suppose you could say I like to offer a time traveling experience to my audience. I like to look like I live in the 80's and I like to sound that way too. My voice is far better suited to the 80's anyway. It's a form of escapism and indulging in what your passionate about. The 80's covers a wide range of different genres and sounds and I have a lot of fun exploring them.
What is the one guilty pleasure you cannot live without?
I absolutely love watching true life paranormal TV documentaries from the 80s and 90s.
Marmite on toast is another one of my guilty pleasures. I could eat that stuff out the jar.
Who had been your musical inspirations growing up? Has it changed much in the intervening
years?
Well I still remember some of the pop stars from the late 80's leaving a huge impression on me as a young child. Kylie Minogue, Tiffany, Pet Shop Boys, The Bangles, Bananarama and then later on I discovered more artists from the 80's like Tears for Fears, Depeche Mode, Cindy Lauper, Nu Shooz...I mean the list is endless. I'm hugely inspired by so many artists of that time. I was a teenager in the late 90's and honestly never gelled much with the music. I was just in the wrong decade... I still am, I think.
Possibly putting you on the spot here but in your entire discography what would you say is the track you’re most proud of? Why?
I think 'Dangerous' stands out to me for a few reasons. It's certainly a track I've had a lot of people tell me how much they love it. When I wrote it I wasn't actually entirely sure how it was going to come out but when Juno Dreams sent me the final mix I was really excited as it just came together so well. It's a really uplifting track and really captures a time of letting go and jumping on that dance floor. I love performing it live.
Those who follow your career with interest will also know that you’re an Actress too, which do
you prefer? I’m guessing Music gives you more freedom in a way!
I much prefer the freedom and the ways I can express myself through music. I do love acting,
although I think I'm a better stage actor. I'm quite expressive and I always worked better in evil roles or comedy. I'm a bit picky about what I would like to act in. I mean if Stranger Things called me tomorrow, I would be off but that's the thing, I would have to be passionate about what I was acting in and a lot of the things I used to audition for, didn't actually interest me at all but I was expected to go and audition anyway and pretend I wanted to do it. So yes music allows me more creative expression and control.
Can you tell us anything about current and future projects in the pipeline we can look forward
to?
So there is an EP with Sellorekt/LA Dreams which has been an ongoing project for the last
couple of years. We are nearly there with it but busy lives and and everything else have got in the way but we will get there and hopefully there will be a release next year. I am working
towards my next full-length album which of course will be another love letter to my favourite
decade but I have no idea when that will be finished. I have a few features coming up with some artists which I'm excited to release.
I'm also releasing a VHS tape of all of my music videos with exclusive interviews in between each song. I'm really excited about this as it's something I've wanted to do for a while now. It's hard work and time consuming transferring the digital videos on to VHS format but its going to happen! It was something most 80's artists did with all their videos and I'm very proud of the music videos I have made with David Irons and I think they deserve to be on VHS format.
Are there any Artists/Bands on the scene currently that you enjoy and would love to collaborate with?
I've been really lucky because I've collaborated with some of the best in my opinion. And I'm
going to work again with some of the artists I've already collaborated with. Including the band
KARR and MicroMatscenes who are both wonderful. I really love Jay Diggs, I would love to work with him. He's got that late 80's/ early 90's vibe down perfectly! He's a very talented guy.