Frontman Ben V of Ludovico Technique Interview

Fresh from his band’s set on the Sophie Lancaster stage, Ludovico Technique’s main man Ben V is swaggering around the press tent, still in full makeup and costume, ready to tell anyone who’ll listen about his modern goth band. We caught up with him about his first UK tour, his influences, and certain band members becoming architects.

So it’s your first time in the UK?

Ben V: Certainly is!

How come you’d never been before?

Well, you know, we live in America. Maybe you guys can let me know, but from what I hear, a lot of people are actually trying to get there!? We were just trying to make sure that we had really well established in the United States, and then once we felt pretty comfortable with all that, let’s go ahead and go across. So here we are!

And that tour stemmed from the invitation to play Bloodstock? Has it gone well?

Yeah. They offered us to come play and we were like, well, there it is, there’s the opportunity!

And it’s been amazing. We did like five headline shows and then this. Glasgow, Manchester, Sheffield. Then we did London. I can’t remember where [it was The Lexington in Islington], but it was a smaller room, only like 150 people, but it was packed. I think it was sold out. And then you know where we played? Cardiff! It’s a whole other world. Yeah. There were dragons and all sorts. But then yeah, here we are!

What was your favorite show of the tour?

Well, I don’t want to play favorites, but I mean, I will say that it’s going to be a hard time beating Bloodstock, right?

Well, it was packed and people loved it! Your live show is quite a theatrical experience. Where has the inspiration behind that come from?

I think most people have some sort of darkness inside of them. At my show, you’re are free, and you don’t have to worry about society judging you. That’s the whole thing. You dig into intense places and that’s what comes out. It’s like a sauna. You can sweat out all your toxins. When we perform, I’m getting out all of this anxiety and hatred and the death of loved ones and the loss of romance. All these things are permeating through the skin and being presented as art.

So it’s quite a therapeutic experience for you?

Yeah. It’s not just like some acoustic jams, you know? When they come to see Ludovico Technique, they want it. If you go to an Italian restaurant, you don’t want Mexican. After you become a fan, you’re like, I kind of want some of that.

What made you decide to keep the other members of the band anonymous?

Mostly because they’re not always the same people. I write all of the music and the band sometimes rotates. If for some reason my bass player decided to go off and become an architect [a subconscious reference to today’s headliners creeping in there] then they can.

Has that exact scenario happened yet?

Not that exact one! But I’ve had people want to go do prog rock. So then that way, they can go do that and it makes it a little easier. Then people don’t get tattoos of this one guy, and then they’re not even the band anymore, you know?

Has it ever caused problems in the past?

No, they love it. They can remain as anonymous as they want. In today’s day and age, where everybody knows everything about everything, it’s actually refreshing for them.

There was almost a ten-year gap between your second and third albums. How did your approach to songwriting change in that time?

I think that was the halfway point where I started introducing more metal and rock elements. We moved from this industrial kind of thing and it evolved into the current sound. We have a more organic sound now, with stringed instruments like cello and these classical elements, mixed with the guitar and bass. I like the emotional expressiveness of instruments of that nature.

What do get up to that ten-year gap?

We were touring a lot and building our fan base. I was trying to find the most effective way to go about releasing things in a way that made me feel like it was being received how I wanted it to be received. It won’t be that way again! The next album’s gonna be next year.

What are your biggest non-musical inspirations?

I love dark woodland areas with mist and light. Anything that lends itself to the darker aspects of existence where you can kind of let your mind wander. You can either be afraid that you’re there, or you can either be content in the knowledge that you’re the scariest thing out here. You can let your mind run wild.

Thanks for talking to us and good luck with the new album!

Thanks so much!

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