V▲LH▲LL

V▲LH▲LL is one of the best witch house projects still in existence thanks to their sheer force of will, excellent production techniques, and consistent musical evolution. They have gathered a bit of a cult following since their debut and have since continued to impress with release after release. "Grimoire", their newest album under Artoffact Records, is guaranteed to charm you and bestow its teachings without you even noticing. We got an interview with V▲LH▲LL: discussing the new album and so much more. Be sure to click that play button while you read all about the mystical duo: 



Hello again V▲LH▲LL! This is the third time we've spoken together, the last being an interview we conducted in November of 2014. Obviously a lot has happened since then with EPs and singles being released, your name spreading a bit more, and so on and so forth. How are things at your neck of the woods currently? 

V▲LH▲LL:  To answer such a question would mean we would have to reveal all the secrets hidden behind our work and that in turn would mean we would have to keep you silent you in a most peculiar and mystical way, so to save us both the trouble (and because we do so enjoy being interviewed by you) lets just say… we dabble in a little bit of this and a little bit of that.
V▲LH▲LL:  This album has taken a lot longer than we planned, the past couple of years have been painful and dark that in turn has made the album reform several times. Songs that were finished suddenly felt flat and alien. During this time, the music was our sanctum and in some ways helped us through it all. We ended up merging songs and found inspiration in rummaging for hours and hours through old books of gods and creatures. When we finally emerged to the surface we realised we had created our own Grimoire, a book of spells that led us to sanctuary. 
V▲LH▲LL has always been associated with the witchhouse scene. However, as you continue in your journey your music seems to blend more than one genre from darkwave to neofolk and so much more. Has this always been your intention or did the maturity in your craft appear without much thought? 

V▲LH▲LL:  What we love about witchhouse is the freedom to wander back and forth through genres. We argue a lot with each other to keep ourselves on our toes and make sure we do not get comfortable. Our intention is to always keep on travelling. 


V▲LH▲LL:  We’ve been in touch on and off since Jessica posted a video and wrote about us on Instagram a few years ago. While we were working on the new album she posted another video where she played the violin like a goddess, and since we wanted that on “Ormens Offer” we reached out and asked if she’d be up for stopping by our studio for a session. Luckily for us, she was! Jessica is one of the most humble, warm-hearted and inspirational people we’ve ever met. It was fantastic working with her and the lyrics to the song was actually written while she was warming up with the violin and recording – we already had other lyrics for the song but as the sound of the violin echoed in the studio the words just came down on a scrap of paper.  
V▲LH▲LL:  We create all artwork related to V▲LH▲LL ourselves. The story of Medusa has been told differently but the version that caught our interest was the one of Medusa as actually being a beautiful maiden who was raped by Poseidon in Athenas temple. Athena in rage of what had happened in the temple punished Medusa (and not Poseidon) by turning her into a hideous monster that with her gaze could turn creatures into stone. The story continues with medusa finally being beheaded by a man and the head being used as a weapon…
V▲LH▲LL:  When travelling somehow the present place seems to be the best, most exotic and wonderful at the moment. However, of course we look back on our previous journeys and love them too. 
V▲LH▲LL:  The album is pretty versatile and our favorite tracks seems to change day by day. Since the release last week we’ve had a lot of people reaching out and sending us love and feedback on the album. One of the most interesting, and possibly best, things is that so far we can’t make out a pattern. We’ve had all tracks about equally mentioned as favorite tracks by different people.


V▲LH▲LL:  We have a lot of ideas on where to go next. We’re already discussing the outlines for the next LP, but there will be both EPs, remixes and hopefully a lot of live shows before that. We already have a few shows booked and announcements should be coming up any day now. 
V▲LH▲LL:  Thank you! All we have to say is that we hope everyone who reads this will head over to bandcamp, Spotify, Apple Music or whatever you prefer and give “Grimoire” a listen, and hopefully dig it. It’s available through Bandcamp as digital download, limited CD digipak with alternative artwork, and ultra-limited green/white vinyl. If you do like it, the best way to support and help us is to talk about it and let your friends know about us. Hope we’ll see you at a V▲LH▲LL concert soon!