Start Listening To: VR Sex
You’re invited to ‘Rough Dimension’, a sensual feast with a dash of bullshit.
Noel Skum is an anagram for Elon Musk and a man of many freaky faces. The trickster, the jester and, foremost, the musician, has just released a new beast under the name of VR Sex. Stockpiling material from 2011, he packed it all in one hard-hitting experience, ‘Rough Dimension’, an unforgiving realm fueled on painful humility, delusions and amphetamines. After a surface-level look, it might sound not as appealing but we promise it’s highly addictive. Just like VR Sex.
Can you tell us who you are, where you’re from and about the music you make?
Name is Noel Skum. I'm a born and bred Los Angeleno and I try to make music that doesn't compromise my soul. I use a variety of tools and textures. Harmony, dissonance, distortion, trickery, and of course a dash of bullshit like all of us.
How did it all start?
I'd been stockpiling VR songs for years and finally I just had the time to do it. While the band technically birthed in 2018, I'd been making this music since 2011 and never figured out how to present it.
What’s the story behind your stage name?
Noel Skum is an anagram of Elon Musk. Or maybe it was Elon Musk who was born as Noel Skum and then realised he needed to rearrange the letters in his name to make himself more palatable to the public?
Can you tell us a bit about your new album ‘Rough Dimension’?
It was recorded pre-pandemia in Brooklyn with the inimitable Ben Greenberg (Uniform) and demoed on a mobile rig in various hostels and hotels around France in 2019. There's no direct connection between France and this album other than it afforded me the space to clear my mind of distractions and just get into probing inward for the material to come through.
What are the themes that you’ve explored there?
Track 1 - Amphetamines. Track 2 - Selfishness at the cost of sanity. Track 3 - Shit. Track 4 - Myopia. Track 5 - Delusions of grandeur. Track 6 - Aging and loss of relevance. Track 7 - Painful humility. Track 8 - Being sold a lie. Track 9 - Death of a friend.
Is there any song on the record that’s particularly special for you?
They're all special to me and encompass some aspect of my reality.
If you were to describe your sound to someone who’d never heard you before, what would you say?
Accidentally taking too much of the wrong drug.
What inspires your music?
My own cynical experience. My interest and disgust in the freak show that is this world and all of its perfect atrocities and absurdities.
What advice would you give for anyone trying to achieve a similar sound to your band?
Don't try to sound like anything or be too pointed with your references; just make what comes naturally to you and commit. I think authenticity is audible.
If your music were a film or TV show which would it be?
Nip Tuck
Name an album you’re still listening to from when you were younger and why it’s important to you?
Jimi Hendrix "Band of Gypsys". It's always been a staple in my musical diet. It's a live album and a document of pure magic.
What do you hate right now?
Beauty and looks overriding the merits of talent in the music industry.
What do you love right now?
Snorkeling
What comes next in the VR Sex’s story?
A tour of the US and Canada! Starting March 25th. Then, hopefully some recording this summer.
What upcoming 2022 music releases are you most excited about?
I honestly have no clue what is happening with new music these days! Almost by design. I usually hear about anything that is hot at least a year after it's released.
Is there anything else you would like to share with our readers?
No blue light at least 3 hours before bed time!
