We are delighted to welcome electronica metal hybrid artist Vulgarithm to Divine Magazine.
Vulgarithm is for fans of riffs and club classics on steroids. Andy “Dirt” McGurk takes the best metal riffs of the early 2000s, mixes it up with 90s dance music, and adds a unique touch of crushing beats. It is for fans of music who crave originality and fresh ideas, and for those who seek to escape.
Vulgarithm is has only been around since 2020, so just as Dirt was about to bring it to the live scene, COVID hit. He had performed a couple of live sets from his teaching room but until then he just had to wait until lockdown eases. The new goal is to have as many people know about Vulgarithm as possible before heading out into the gigging world.
As usual, we like to warm our interviews up with some silly fun stuff first
What is the most useless talent you have?
Remembering precise quotes from a very select collection of comedy shows, mainly due to the endless hours of watching them at university. I can’t put that on a CV unfortunately
What would be a good theme song for your life?
Morse by Nightmares on Wax. It is the most chilled song ever and I’d like to think it represents my personality outside of music.
Which are cooler? Dinosaurs or Dragons?
Due to the sheer number of variety of them, and the fact they ACTUALLY existed, I’m gonna go with Dinosaurs. Dragons are still cool, but do we know that some Dinosaurs didn’t breathe fire?
If you could learn any language fluently what would it be?
Latvian, as that, is my wife’s native language and still, after 10 years, I struggle to remember any.
Are you a valuable asset on a Pub Quiz team?
I’m pretty good at remembering pointless facts in life, so yes, many of my mates will say I’m pretty useful on their pub quiz team (I think I’ve been on a couple of winning teams before).
And now to the more serious ones…
Are you finding the isolation of the pandemic conducive to your writing or is it hindering the experiences you can write about?
Thankfully as Vulgarithm is only a year old, it has only existed in a Covid world, this gave me time to write and focus on getting my songs just right. I’m often moving around a lot for a living and don’t always get time to sit down with a guitar or synth and just jam and build sounds. Also as a man who thrives on making fun of the awful things in the world, it was a great release to help me cope in lockdown.
What about your music is rebellious, unconventional, or unusual?
It is an approach to music that many people haven’t done before. Bands from either a Rock/Metal background have touch on electronics, and Dance acts have also touch on some guitars, but they’ve never tried to hit that sweet middle. This is what I’m trying to achieve, the perfect blend of Dance and Rock/Metal. I call it “Riff Rave”. Another important aspect of my music is no subject is off limits, and song structure doesn’t have to follow the same way. I will write and joke about being a rapper, Gammon, destroying Twitter, etc, and I’ll also write about conspiracy theories, the pandemic, politics. All is fair game.
What sets your music apart? What is unique, or at least uncommon?
The sound is like nothing else. This is not just another prodigy or another industrial band or Nu-Rave. This is taking the best riffs of the early 2000s, combining it with the best styles of 90s dance, and finally added a modern touch to give it that needed punch.
Has your musical journey had a deliberate direction or did it simply gradually evolve in whatever direction it found?
I had a general musical idea from the beginning I wanted to keep, and that was incorporated more electronic drums into my music to bridge the gap for a solo artist into rock/metal. As each EP went on, the sounds, textures, rhythms all eventually started taking shape to what Vulgarithm will be in the future. The first EP – “Share if you agree” – was a mishmash of ideas that while all had good songs on it, was a little all over the place. The second EP – “Share if you disagree” – seemed to give me a more clear vision of what I want Vulgarithm to become, and the EP itself had more of a linear approach to it. The upcoming 3rd and final EP of the trilogy – “Share in the 3rd Degree” – which will be out sometime in Spring, has a lot more focus than the previous two. Still a little out there, but I don’t want to be predictable.
What are your musical plans for the next 12 months or so?
Release the latest EP, promote new songs, and then once lockdown is over FINALLY perform live in front of people, as that is something I’ve yet to do with this project and it’s very frustrating. Once gigging is out of my system, maybe start on a debut album.
Do you have any other plans relating to this release? A video? Online Shows?
I’ve had a few, nothing set in stone, but if you follow our Facebook page and our website www.vulgarithm.com, you will get all the information you need when it’s ready.
Andy, thanks so much for taking the time to answer our questions and let us know more about yourself and your music.