In Conversation with: The Virtigos
Recently, the London music scene for young people has been exploding in popularity. Venues across the city are now hosting events and gigs for young musicians who want to show the world their talents. Meet The Virtigos, a three-piece indie band from Twickenham, London. The band consists of guitarist Serena, bassist Millie and drummer Joe (Millie and Serena also provide their amazing vocals), and the band was formed during their time at secondary school. They perform regularly in the Southwest London area, and released their debut EP titled Crossroads in September 2019. In this interview, you’ll get to know how they started to discovering their unique sound.
Who inspired you to start making music?
We all listened to a lot of music before starting a band, and we wanted to emulate the artists that we looked up to. We also had a very encouraging music teacher who pushed us to start music outside of school and helped give us opportunities to perform.
How would you describe the style and genre of your music?
We don’t try to aim for a specific genre! Instead, we try and pick out different features from various other genres that we enjoy and are inspired by, most of which are under the subgenres of indie and alternative, such as shoegaze, Japanese math rock, dreampop and modern psychedelia.
How did you start and name the band?
The three of us met through school, where we played as a group in our music class. From that, we realised that we really enjoyed working together because of our similar tastes in music and decided to carry on as a three piece in 2018. Our first gig was in the Spring of that year. The name The Virtigos came from a list of names that we had brainstormed for the band that we didn’t end up using originally.
How would you describe your creative approach when writing songs?
Both of our vocalists [Serena and Millie] write solo music, which they’ll bring into practise and we’ll try to develop them. Either that, or one of us will come up with an idea and we’ll try to jam it out!
What were the main influences of your EP, Crossroads?
We had many influences for Crossroads, and aimed to use the EP to establish our sound. We were inspired by other artists such as Soccer Mommy, The Orielles, The Cure and Soko. Currently, we’re trying to refine our sound, but many of our influences are rather similar!
What’s your favourite song to perform on the EP?
We really enjoy playing Tastes Less Sweet because it is the most recent song from the EP, and reflects the style that we want to bring forward into our new songs.
If you could open a gig for any artist, who would it be?
If we had to choose, we would likely pick a band like Big Thief because we admire their music and would have an audience who would have a similar taste and enjoy our music.
How has the global pandemic impacted your songwriting?
Our songwriting both personally and as a group has been affected by Corona, as there is not much to take inspiration from, being stuck at home, and we aren’t able to jam as usual. There’s also a lack of motivation due to gigs being cancelled, but we’ve had time to reflect on our style and listen to more music with the extra free time.
What’s next for The Virtigos?
We’re currently working on recording some new singles that are close to being finished! We’ve also spent some time refining our sound and improving our skills as musicians which we can apply to the band.
Finally, do you have any advice for other young artists who are trying to get started?
If we had any advice to give, try and find like-minded people, as a lot of friction comes with people who don’t share the same vision as you. We were lucky to meet people who have such similar tastes and work well as a group.
If you enjoyed this interview and want to know more about The Virtigos, their latest EP, Crossroads, is currently available on major streaming platforms, including Spotify and Soundcloud.
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Images courtesy of The Virtigos