Interview with Multivox

Love Music: How did your musical journey begin, and what inspired you to get involved in the Manchester alternative indie scene in the late '90s?

The Manchester music scene of the late 80s and early 90s really inspired me to start making music myself. I discovered several bands whilst listening to the John Peel radio show on BBC Radio One. Amongst my favourites were The Fall, Dumb, Cranes, PJ Harvey, I Ludicrous and The Wedding Present. I was working at NatWest Bank back then and I soon realised that music was an area I wanted to explore. I saved up my wages for months so I could get myself an electric guitar and small amp. I self taught myself and instantly started writing my own material. I never had any interest in learning covers or playing along with others music. My time working with the bands Thrush Puppies and Monomania served like an apprenticeship and I an definitely writing my strongest material now with help from my wonderful producer and friend Jon Brooks aka TrackSonix.

Love Music: Can you share the creative process behind your solo project, Multivox, and how it differs from your previous experiences with bands like Thrush Puppies and Monomania?

My solo project started in lockdown one. I had always been in bands in the past so having 100% creative solo freedom was something very unfamiliar but incredibly empowering. In my two previous bands we jammed out a lot of ideas in rehearsals so having total control over the direction of the songs has been a totally new experience.

Love Music: Multivox is "quirky and off-kilter." How do you personally interpret these qualities in your music, and how do they influence your songwriting?

I have always naturally written about topics that don't fit into the traditional mainstream. I think growing up listening to the likes of John Cooper Clarke, Frank Zappa and Mark E Smith had a huge influence on me. I was always drawn to leftfield subjects although it was never intentional. Manchester Life magazine described me as off-kilter and quirky and I think it's a huge compliment so be seen as different to the norm. 

Love Music: Collaborating remotely with female vocalists worldwide during lockdown is an intriguing concept. How did this idea come about, and how did it impact the development of Multivox's sound?

Whilst writing my solo material in lockdown I realised that a lot of my vocal parts would suit a higher female register. That's when I considered working with female vocalists remotely and it soon became hugely addictive. Working with lots of different vocalists has been a wonderful experience which I intend to continue. Working with girls from different continents is thrilling and some of the newest vocals are in their native languages too. My latest time called Sexuelle is in French and another song called Stockport, Neu Berlin is in German and I hope to produce several more tracks in many different languages in future.

Love Music: Nataliya Negodaeva, aka Multivox, is described as an "immortal live portal of dual nationality." Could you elaborate on the significance of this description and how it ties into the overall concept of Multivox?

Multivox is my vocal portal and she represents all the girls both live and visually. She gives me complete freedom to access voices and work with vocalists of any nationality. For those of your readers who don't know, vox stands for vocals and multi stands for multiple hence the name Multivox.

Love Music: Being a multilinguist, how does Nataliya Negodaeva's linguistic diversity contribute to the range of voices and emotions conveyed in Multivox's music?

Nataliya aka Multivox allows me to work with any vocalists all over the globe. Thus far I have worked with vocalists in Australia, Argentina,  The Dominican Republic, Ukraine, China, Japan, Germany, France and many others. Multivox truly is a multilingual portal of dual nationality.

Love Music: Can you share any memorable experiences or challenges you encountered while working remotely with artists from different parts of the world during the creation of Multivox?

Sometimes it can be hard to express how I want the vocals to be delivered. It can often require multiple takes, and other times it's plain sailing. I have been lucky to find such talented girls with amazing musicality, energy, professionalism and creative intelligence. The language barrier has only been an issue on one occasion where the desired result was simply unachievable but it was a tough vocal rhythmically so it wasn't entirely surprising.

Love Music: How do you balance incorporating different voices, including your own, to create a cohesive and harmonious sound in Multivox's music?

It's been pretty easy so far. In fact finding space for my own vocals has been the biggest issue. I enjoy the female vocals so much that I often forget that I am also a vocalist myself. My latest track features my vocals and it's nice to hear my vocals alongside Nataliya. 

Love Music: What do you hope listeners take away from the unique combination of your solo work and the collaborative efforts with Nataliya Negodaeva in Multivox?

I hope they will find it a joyful experience hearing such a diverse group of Multivox vocalists. Each track brings a different energy and unique flavour. I realise it's not your average run of the mill music project but I think that makes it more interesting for the listener.

Love Music: Looking ahead, what can fans anticipate from Multivox in terms of future releases or creative projects?

We are looking at releasing singles in 2024 and the debut album Musikprojekt will land in 2025. All updates will be on our website www.multivox.net and on our social media.