I was already envious of VCO Vault’s creativity, energy, and vision. It seems I am now also envious of his work commute.
Earlier this week, Gridwalk Labs released the first musical project from VCO Vault, who, although no stranger to experimental soundscapes and electronic melodymaking, had been, thus far, using this particular pseudonym solely for forays into visual media. His signature GIF-based live projections can be seen at 8BitSF events (including this past weekend providing visuals for GRIMECRAFT) as well as occupying the focal point of CODAME’s .GIF Happy Hour (the next one is this Thursday!)
Common Gateway is the first musical release from VCO Vault which, much like his visuals, comes with a unified aesthetic. The EP was made entirely with Nanoloop for iPhone during daily trips on BART. The name Common Gateway is a reference to CGI scripts, (common gateway interface), as well as the fact that smartphones are becoming an increasingly common gateway for users to connect to the world.
There’s something singularly appealing about the transformative power of a journey. Road trips, college curricula, sunset runs, and lunchtime strolls, all have a way of allowing ideas to bubble up from the traffic jam of stressors. The gateway opens the moment the journey begins, and, if we’re lucky, we’re able to pay close enough attention to the changes — in scenery, in experience, in ourselves — to profit from the inspiration.
I don’t think VCO has ever let a moment’s inspiration go to waste. And appreciating what he’s been able to do on daily BART rides makes me think twice about whether or not those extra thirty minutes of sleep are worth driving to work.
Not that me on public transit would result in anything half as creative as anything he’s produced… but it would be nice to stop scribbling illegible t-shirt ideas and shenanigame plans on the backs of gas station receipts while staring through my windshield at traffic on 880. Just think what one MUNI ride might do for my penmanship alone.
Every Dragging Handclap 