VELOFAX ARE:
Chris Wackrow - Vocals, Guitar, Synth
Gary Law - Bass
James Bell - Drums
Richard Berks - Keys

DISCOGRAPHY
Albums
Velofax

LINKS
Official Site

A good friend of mine at art school booked this band for an up-coming party and gave me their CD to have a listen to in advance. Having only reached about track 3 I was already totally sold on Velofax, whose album I can honestly say is one of the most refreshingly different and exciting CD’s I’ve had the pleasure of listening to in quite some time. (The CD of course immediately winged its way over to our music dept never to be seen again, all that I have heard since are sounds of approval and delight from that side of the office so I know the feelings are reciprocated from those in the industry.) How would I describe it? Electro-punk or disco rock maybe? Although this is hopelessly vague and really doesn’t do justice to the veritable musical spectrum that Velofax seem to be renewing and mastering with their sound.

Keen to find out just where this little piece of genius had come from, I tracked down lead singer/songwriter Chris Wackrow for a summer cider in an old Soho haunt.

Having conquered the music scene in their hometown of Jersey, the lads from Velofax are (somewhat reluctantly) descending one by one on the music Mecca that is London to drum up the attention and fanbase that the album, and the band so desperately deserves. Chris is currently attempting to live on the cheap in South London, rehearsing in his flat with the band members that have also made the

move, and trying to persuade those left in Jersey to join him and commit entirely to the band.

Chris is obviously passionately focused on his music and the progression and growth of the band. He draws heavily on the influences of his musical heroes such as Prince, Out Hud and Talking Heads to name but a few, but Chris insists that although the music which prevails from Velofax reflects these influences, the overall sound has a ‘huge hunk of me in it.’ Fiercely committed to their musical individuality, Velofax are fighting to disassociate themselves from the sound of disco-punk that has saturated the majority of new British music in the past few years, which I would have to agree has grown somewhat dull and even passé of late.

Having split from his previous band ‘The Pantaloons’ early last year, Chris experimented alone with samplers, synth, guitars and his own voice to produce some pretty impressive electro while he assembled together the band members to form Velofax. The album was entitled ‘Dirty Melee’ and went under his surname Wackrow. When I asked what he had done distribution-wise with this CD he shrugged ‘you know, I was going to send that album to Prince, I think he’d have liked it. But I never actually got round to it, I’m lazy like that.’ Very cute Chris.

As far as future plans go for Velofax, I think they really need to establish a 10 song playlist which they are happy with and can gig with and just get out there and play. Chris’ continuous song writing means that the tracks on the current album have already been outshone by an abundance of new and according to Chris ‘much better’ material, I get the impression from Chris that he is the kind of artist that is very rarely totally satisfied with his work and is ever-producing to restyle and improve his music. There is a certain necessity to Chris’ creative drive that almost verges on the compulsive and I think that if he can apply this drive completely to Velofax, and establish the total commitment from the other members of the band that is required, then I have no doubt that they will be enormously successful.

Interview by Anna Bosworth