Matt Menovcik of Vinca Minor Talks About Flowers and Music With Absolute Punk

Seattle's Matt Menovcik loves flowers. Listening to his moody but beautiful music, under the moniker Vinca Minor, flowers are probably not the first thing that comes to mind. In an interview with Absolute Punk Menovcik talks about how the name Vinca Minor comes from the name of a flower and how an essence of that flower influences his music.

"This is the name for the lesser periwinkle, which produces violet-purple flowers. This species is less aggressive than the Vinca Major species. The flowers are solitary in the leaf axils, though form large colonies as ground cover. Do I think we are ground cover? No. Do I think we are solitary in the midst of a colony? I think the music on this album is very lonely and “isolated”. I am very aware of us being solitary beings in a larger colony. I think flowers are beautiful and I am a big fan of beauty."

Absolute Punk asks different bands the same 20 questions in their lively regular Q&A feature, but Menovcik's answers have to be some of the most thought out, meaningful and revealing. Click Here to Read More..

Vinca Minor's Matt Menovcik talks to Delusions of Adequacy

Vinca Minor's Matt Menovcik speaks to Delusions of Adequacy about his album Isolation and so much more.

"In a world where most musicians are stuck in their own head, contemplating ideas of existentialism and other frivolous thoughts, it is always refreshing to meet someone who is genuinely trying to make it out there. Vinca Minor's Matt Menovcik may wake up to the music of Brian Eno and he may appreciate movie soundtracks but the electronic/post-rock/classical composer is very much a working-man’s musician. Following the success of his solid album Isolation, he took time out to sit with DOA to discuss what his music means to him, what film music possesses and what his future plans are."

Read the Q&A here.

Click Here to Read More..

Vinca Minor is "Here" on Ball of Wax Compilation

Vinca Minor’s ethereal ambience will be featured with the unreleased song "Here" exclusive to the Ball of Wax Volume 19 Compilation. Vinca Minor will also appear at the release show on Wednesday March 17th at The Sunset Tavern. Show time 9:50 pm. Click Here to Read More..

Ryan's Smashing Life States Vinca Minor One of Best New Albums of 2010

Vinca Minor's Matt Menovcik wakes up every morning in his Seattle apartment to Brian Eno's Music For Films CD. Ryan's Smashing Life proclaims, "One listen to Vinca Minor's sparse but powerful new release Isolation, and we are completely won over. Menovcik is a master it seems at pulling on emotional strings. In the space of seven epic songs, we go from being prideful, soaring to empty, alone and confused. We at times feel whimsical and light, other times paralyzed by beauty our eyes can't see. Menovcik has lifted us out of our lives and into his. It would be the understatement of the year to see Vinca Minor has been influenced by epic movie scores. These are epic explorations of other worlds - reminding me a bit of the sonic landscapes rolled out by Gustav Holst."

Menovcik explains, "That's the thing I really like about film music – that building of a world. That is something I was definitely trying to achieve with this record. I really wanted to make a place where the listener could escape to and get lost in. Film is such a powerful medium with both the imagery and the sound, which is why I like scoring films."

While comparing Vinca Minor to other noteworthy minimalist instrumentalists like Sigur Ros, Explosions in the Sky, Ghost of the Russian Empire, and The Photographic, Ryan says "To expound further on the material would likely lessen from its power - and it is powerful. Unpredictably, Vinca Minor has released one of the best new albums of 2010. Highly Recommended."

Hear for yourself by downloading the free "From Here to Eternity" mp3 at Ryan's Smashing Life. Click Here to Read More..