Vehlinggo turns six today, entering its seventh year amid some wild times. On Nov. 19, 2014, I published the inaugural post: a review of College’s Save The Day EP. Compared to last year’s fifth anniversary jubilee — the compilation, the release party, and weeks of social media celebration — this year is fairly tempered. In fact, it might be the most tempered celebration of the anniversary to date. This is primarily because things like the COVID-19 pandemic and my overall busy life have altered things a bit. Overall, I’m thankful to still be here creating and thankful to you for being here with me.
Regardless of mood, I’m still not above some level of ceremony. See below, for example. (I don’t make galleries often, so forgive me if it’s not magazine-quality.)
A Taste of Vehlinggo’s Sixth Year
This has been a year of changes for Vehlinggo. Perhaps the most pronounced is that I’ve shifted gears a bit in terms of coverage. Although this site has been interviewing composers and reviewing their work since almost the beginning, I decided last summer to make these releases my main focus. Interviews with Bobby Krlic about his score for Midsommar (one of my all-time favorite films); with Colin Stetson about his Color Out of Space score; and with Jesse Novak about his work on Bojack Horseman are among the high-profile interviews of the past year.
The first Vehlinggo Presents vinyl was released in February in conjunction with longtime Vehlinggo friends Burning Witches Records. Rory Mohon’s Darkly Dreaming is a hauntingly captivating body of work that Makeup and Vanity Set (AKA Matt Pusti) helped me A&R.
Of course in March the COVID-19 virus overtook North America, just as predicted, and at this point has encompassed most of the world in a once-in-a-lifetime pandemic. To help us get through that initial time, composer Ben Lovett (The Wind, The Ritual, Synchronicity) contributed a poignant guest post recommending the best scores and soundtracks for lockdown.
A month later I hosted a livestream for COVID-19 relief for The Midnight and friends. We had 15,000 people concurrently watching it live and then had hundreds of thousands of views afterward. We raised more than $6,000 (that we could track) for artists facing (and who still face) life-changing challenges as a result of the pandemic. Then in May I hosted a fun Q&A tied to The Rise of the Synths documentary.
At some point this summer Vehlinggo welcomed a new freelance contributor, Rachel Reeves, whose resume includes contributions to publications and websites such as Nightmare on Film Street, Rue Morgue, and Film Cred. She wrote two pieces on the Fantasia International Film Festival — an interview with composer Steph Copeland and a review of Anthony Scott Burns’ Come True, which he scored under his pseudonym, Pilotpriest, in collaboration with Electric Youth.
In October Vehlinggo Presents released a special 12″ extended mix of Diamond Field’s and Dana Jean Phoenix’s contribution to 5 Years entitled “Freedom Pass.”
Somewhere in there Vehlinggo began premiering all of the episodes of Lakeshore Records’ podcast, On Cue With…, and I even began hosting some of the episodes again. Also at some point, Sean Cusson (formerly known as Computronic) helped me alter the Vehlinggo logo to its stark new look.
Overall, Vehlinggo’s sixth year may have been more tempered, but it clearly wasn’t a hiatus by any means. As this six-year-old website heads into year seven, I’m going to keep providing you with quality material. The Vehlinggo Podcast will return with the first episode since fall 2019 — look for that in early 2021. Also keep an eye out for some long-form interviews (like the Power Glove one I just published), along with more mixes and guest posts. Oh, and there will be a Drive 10th anniversary-related print product.
It’s going to be a great time. I hope you’ll be along for the ride.
Happy birthday. Cheers to six MORE years!