Venus Fly Trap - Alex Novak, founding member and vocalist with Venus Fly Trap

Can you give a brief history of Venus Fly Trap - I had been in a band called Attrition who were based in London at the time, I had done an album and toured Holland/UK with them. Decided to move back to my native Northampton famous for Bauhaus, Alan Moore and the film Kinky Boots, hooked up with my brother John Novak (Isaws, Where’s Lisse) and Tony Booker an ex art school student, I had also studied at art school. The line up has changed many times over the years, Andy Denton joined via a local band Crowman, initially as the drummer and ended up playing guitar and has done for many years.

Your new album Time Lapse collects tracks from three albums Totem, Pandora’s Box and Luna Tide. What was your reasoning for a three-in-one rather than individual releases?
It was basically the time it would take to release individual albums, to promote those        albums, and the costs, it just seemed to make more sense, if someone else would like to re-issue everything in one go in the future then that’s fine. It gave me an opportunity to pick tracks and create an alternative album for this alternate reality.

You’ve talked about VFTs albums as existing in triptychs. How do these three albums relate to each other?
Well, two came out on Danceteria, the line-up was pretty consistent with the core       members being present, I would say Luna Tide was a transition album with members who had joined at the time of Pandora’s Box being retained, so shifts in line-up rather than   seismic changes. But generally it was a band line-up with the usual drums, guitar, bass and keys which kept it within certain parameters but with some experimenting in the      studio.

There was quite a sonic shift from the post punk of Totem to more organic Luna Tide. Why the constant evolution?
As new members join they add their influences to the pot, also we replaced electronic drum pads with a real drummer (on Mars we had a drum machine) and sequencers with an analogue keyboard player so that will effect the feel.

Despite this they remain easily identifiable as VFT. What’s the aesthetic holding them together?
I guess one thing would be myself: I have been the only constant in all the line ups and I want the sound to fit certain parameters, Luna Tide was at the edge of those parameters and i didn’t want to continue in that particular direction for Dark Amour but that’s another story.

Certainly not a metal album Luna Tide nevertheless got a glowing review in the metal bible Kerrang!. What was the crossover appeal?
I think at that time the magazine was covering a lot wider musical tastes not just the       traditional stuff but also grunge, alternative rock and goth so we fitted within that brief.

How did you decide what tracks to include on Time Lapse?
Tried to get tracks to fit together and get a flow going, changed the order on some of the tracks from Luna Tide as they seemed to fit together better.

Fans have a special relationship with songs. Were you worried about omitting someone’s favourite when assembling Time Lapse?
This is an alternative album for an alternate reality, those albums don’t exist in this reality, another time and another place the dice would fall differently.

Time Lapse seems a pretty apt title for these strange times
Time has been changed are we going forward or are we in limbo?

How will you promote the album in the midst of a pandemic?
Via the net, magazines, radio and whatever portals and wormholes are open to transmit  information.

Een van de meestbelovende Franse rockbands van het moment is ongetwijfeld Slide On Venus.  Dit viertal uit Besancon combineert energieke rock, een scheut powerpop en een vleugje posthardcore  en voegt daar een eigen, Franse toets aan.
‘Put Your Music to Your Trouble’ is sinds het ontstaan van de band  in 2007 reeds de derde ep en bestaat uit vijf fijne nummers.  Vernieuwend is de muziek van Slide on Venus zeker niet maar dat hoeft wat ons betreft ook niet.  De spannende riffs en fijne teksten in combinatie met een passionele zanger zorgt er voor dat SOV goed is in wat ze doet. Wie een aantal aanknooppunten wil, vindt die in de muziek van bands als Lostprophets, Hundred Reasons, Bloc Party, Paramore en zelfs At The Drive In.
De vijf nummers vinden we stuk voor stuk prima met daarbij een voorkeur voor het krachtige en afwisselende openingsnummer “California Saturday Ghost”.
Slide On Venus is duidelijk een naam om te onthouden!