Introduce yourself… (Where are you from, what band do you play in etc..)

Hello, we are a two piece rock group called The Acute based in NYC. Viveca drums and sings; Stephen plays guitars and sings. We write songs together and are both multi-instrumentalists playing keyboard, bass and electronics. Viveca was born and raised in France and moved to NYC as a teenager. Stephen grew up in New Jersey and then Amherst, Massachusetts (home to the Pixies, Dinosaur Jr., and others). We met for the first time at Radio City Music Hall and noticed that we had similar music influences. A few years later, we ran into each other again and The Acute was born. 

Why do you play music?

V: I have never asked myself why I do. To quote Steel Pulse: “Life without music, I can’t cope.” There’s music for every mood and all moods can be subject to music. The music listener is as crucial as the player, so I suppose if I didn’t create, I would just listen to music all the time anyway and make up songs in my head.

S: Nothing else seems to do the same thing for me! Really got into it as I explored bands like Radiohead and Nirvana. Also the 2000s bands with their pop sensibility led me to get into it.

What was a major influence on you as an Artist/Band?

V: My mother’s friend gave me the Sex Pistols “ Never Mind the Bollocks” when I was 12. I listened to that record everyday on my way to school and then discovered New York and California hardcore. On the softer side, the Doors inspired me a lot as well as all the 90s bands like Hole, Nirvana, Garbage etc. But ultimately 80s New Wave became my favourite. Talk Talk, Killing Joke, Depeche Mode, Siouxie and the Cure for example. On the French side, Etienne Daho and Mylene Farmer, Mano Negra etc. The list goes on and new favourite bands pile up!

S: Definitely The Fall, Velvet Underground, and CAN.

What's your ideal festival line-up?

V: That depends! Do you mean in the 1970s, 80s or now?

S: Probably one of those early 80s wild festivals when hardcore rock hit the states and the Brits went pre-industrial. There was also a festival with Kraftwerk and CAN from 1969, when both were light years ahead of their time. There’s a video on Youtube of it. We would have loved to have played that. So, time travel!

Do you prefer the recording process or performing live?

Both!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What would be a dream collaboration?

Too hard a question. Way too hard. Robert Smith? The remaining members of CAN? 

Describe a favourite album.

V: A favourite album is like a captivating novel. You can read it over and over again, and even ignore other books for a while. The records that do that for me are Killing Joke: Fire Dances, The Cure: Faith, Pink Floyd: A Saucerful of Secrets and many many more.  

S: One that feels connected from start to finish. The Fall’s I am Kurious Oranj. Face to Face by the Kinks. It always changes. Once it was Silent Alarm by Bloc Party.

What's your favourite local haunt?

Tompkins Square Park. Sure, it’s famous and all, but our shows there have been really fun in their own right. We’ve played there about ten times since the pandemic. Once some teenagers started moshing too hard. I think they cut our sound. Haha.

What's your strangest experience while performing live?

The time when we set up a show with a band from upstate New York and the sound guy was completely disrespectful to us. No idea if it was a sexist attack or just normal adult bullying but it was definitely unnecessary. 

What are some of your favourite aspects of being a musician in NYC?

Following footsteps of legends such as Lou Reed, Joan Jett, Chrissie Hynde etc. We live in the East Village and feel the reverberation of rock gods and goddesses who preceded us. 

Has the current COVID-19 pandemic and quarantine influenced your creative process?

Recording and mixing your own material without shows is quite isolating, so we’re glad the weather is warming up so we can play outside. It definitely changed the concept of live shows though, it’s hard not to know when the next festival or life changing concert will take place. 

If you weren’t playing music in NYC where would you be ?

Touring!!! Not sure really. Probably setting up our own studio. We’re full-on producers now, and are recording and mixing our debut full length. Or maybe coming up with a guitar, drums and keyboard line. We have some ideas.

Any sage advice for young musicians?

 V: Do things your own way! Yes, you can follow other styles, methods, and there are great teachers out there. But at the end of the day, it’s rewarding and fun to develop your own way of doing things, and to discover the many ways to play music that you can tap into.

S: Also. Detune!!! Thanks for having us! Hope to play Canada soon!