Ivonne Van Cleef
Not much is known about this mysterious (and anonymous) one-man psychedelic-drone and acoustic driven act, hailing from the sun-baked desert landscape of San Jose, California. So far we have 7 EPs and one double-limited cassette release on Luxury Bucket which compiles the first five EPs. I then was contacted by the act for a review, and I was literally gobsmacked by the material. I immediately made an order for the double-cassette release... and my´oh´my! One of the best music on cassette I have ever invested in... seriously!. For those who didn´t read the former review (see link below), I can quickly describe the sound/style as being; drone-driven guitar psychedelics, hints of slowed down surfer-strings/guitars here and there while a cool breeze is blowing through the desert. A slowed down ambient version of Kyuss, or Ry Cooder deciding to do a soundtrack for the latest David Lynch flick. And yes, it is that good. Seems like that perfect psychedelic soundtrack-experience which you just have been searching for in years. And heck, there is not much info about this cool (cult) act! Let´s get it on with an interview then!
Q: The name... Is that a name for the act, or your real name?
Ivonne Van Cleef it’s just a pseudonym, the name for the act.
Q: What is your interest+background to this kind of music you do?
I’m interested in a lot of artistic ways of expression, musicals, and graphics, photography, photomontage, paintings, literature and I could go on and on. I wouldn’t know if that’s “my background” or the things that lead me to create the kind of music I do, but I think it’s the result of all of these. For a long time I’ve been wanting to be a part of a project like this one, I had a portastudio 4-channel and I lost it, but when I got the chance to buy a new one, that’s the one that started it all, experimenting with it. After a while, I got myself ready and dared to publish Ivonne’s first EP
Q: Why the rural setting as a theme?
I live and also work in a rural area a few minutes away from the city, it’s just a part of my daily life, it’s fauna and habitat and the local’s habits it’s my last obsession and that’s why it’s reflected in the aesthetic of Ivonne as a whole, and in my music through all the field recordings.
Q: Where do you get your ideas and inspirations from?
I listen to tons of music weekly, from classics to artists that are not famous or actually pretty unknown, all genres, and also I get a lot of recommendations from my friends and they share with me their own music. I guess it all affects and influences me unconsciously. However, now that I think about it one of the things that influence me the most might be the fact that I play all the instruments even though I don’t quite know much about them. Clearly, when you play and record everything by yourself and gives you a different perspective, you see everything from a different point of view, it gives you certain freedom but also limitations that are just different when you compose in a group or a band. Above it all it’s a hobby, I’m an amateur with no formal education in recordings or playing any instrument.
Q: Is there an interest for this kind of music in San Jose?
I wouldn't know, right now Ivonne Van Cleef goes from my studio to the internet and that’s it.
Q: What about live performances?
Live performances it’s always an idea I have in mind, in fact, sometimes we reinterpret (play) one of Ivonne’s tracks with friends and we daydream about a performance. It’s also something that worries me because the time it would take to get everything ready for a live performance its time taken away from continuing to record as frequently as I do it, and I would get different results from the EPs I’ve already released. Once you start to rehearse to play it live, it often happens that you change and rearrange and maybe a couple months in and it changed a lot and it’s something different than when it all started. Finally, I have to say that there’s a chance of doing a live presentation.
Q: Will there be more physical releases in the future?
I would love to, and I’m always down for a new project. I’m sure enough I’m going to release new stuff.
Q: Do you have any recommendations for your listeners, other bands, and acts?
Everything that Luxury Bucket has published is awesome, my favorite is Lewis’ project, “Shit greek”. I also really like all the material published by Liquid Library, Rota Frangitur, Orb Tape.
I found The Eagle Stone Collective and I loved it. I love the craziness of Pilowsnake. There’s a lot of good proposals in Latinoamerica, like Thenatoloop from Chile, Prius discos, and Anajunno from Argentina, El octavo from Uruguay and lots more. It isn’t fair that I only name certain labels and bands because there’s a lot of great labels and projects.
Q: Any last words?
I’m so thankful for this, giving me the space to say all of these and to give people the chance to get to know me.
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