East-London-based Polychrome, who channel the spirit of Cocteau Twins with the electronic ecstasy of M83, are made up of Oliver of The Bronze Medallists and Victoria of Victoria and Jacob. Victoria and Jacob have been championed by the likes ofNME, Time Out, The Line of Best Fit, Uncut and DIY to name a few, and have also supported The Mystery Jets, Com Truise, Daughter, and Katy B. Oliver, frontman of indie electronica band Bronze Medallists (also solo performer/activist Olly the Octopus AKA ‘Boris Johnson’s Nemesis’ – City AM), has worked with the likes of Lucy Rose, Mt Wolf, L.A. Salami, and been supported by Radio 1, Radio X, Radio 2, and6music to name a few.
Synesthesia – named after a condition in which one sense is simultaneously perceived as if by one or more additional senses – wouldn’t go amiss in the Drive soundtrack. The track crescendos to beautifully thick choruses filled with Victoria’s multi-tracked vocals. Accompanying synthesisers and guitar complement her, as well as 80’s-style live drum-kits; giving the track organic undertones which supplement its apparent synthetic style.
Here’s what Vicky had to say about the track/video:
‘The lyrics to this song are very important and personal to me, it’s about the crazy emotional shifts when big life changing events happen to you. I had a few of them come along at once and this is me trying to make sense of them. Sometimes the feelings are so intense you feel like they cross over with your other senses, a bit like Synesthesia, muddling up light with sound, tasting fear. Our other videos have been quite abstract or tell a story, we wanted this one to be more personal, like the lyrics. The director (Martin Senyszak) caught this vulnerability I think, and combined it with some of that sensory confusion.’ – Vicky
Victoria studied Creative Music Tech in Cambridge and has contributed a large amount of the production on the album. Victoria feels that there is still a long way to go for women in the music industry; she wants to inspire more young women to get into production and engineering roles since these are typically male-dominated.
Much of the Polychrome album was written in isolation at Grianian Eco Lodge in Scotland – close to Oliver’s hometown. The band took some time out to focus here. Inspired by the incredible landscape and isolation, the duo feels their sonic soundscapes are massively influenced by the Highland views, rivers and incredible mountains.
T R A C K L I S T – Polychrome
