At a glance, it would seem the cryland marquee had a fresh new headliner, Opal Voss. But on arrival, I recognized her as the evolved form of their former Thursday night residency holder. I work as a music reporter– I’m familiar with the strategy behind changing your moniker to something punchier– but this was more than just a name change. Opal looked more elegant than normal, more comfortable in her skin. I’ve often attended Cryland for nights out with the girls and had seen Opal perform her previous work many times. In all frankness, I was never that impressed with her set, which consisted of dark and foreboding songs about loss. But a few months back when she started to play, her sound was something totally new: sparkling synthesizers arranged into tightly-woven pop opera (the plural of opus, in this case). This change in sound corresponded with other changes in Opal’s life.
I got to watch first hand as this change in sound helped to expand the audience from a dozen or so locals chatting while she performs in the background to 3CC’s coolest kids struggling to get a ticket to sold-out shows. The sonic combination she’s concocted on her debut album, Start 2, is intoxicating. Her newest single, ETA, has long been a favorite of mine during these sets.
I caught up with Opal right after her cover shoot for this month’s issue of Idol Chatter, her body still glowing slightly from the magical effects used in the shoot (magical effects she generated herself with additional work from Franz Cristine).
First off, tell us about this shoot. I know you were involved in conceptualizing it.
The shoot was a lot of fun! Having a sword pulled from your chest symbolizes a lot to me. It subverts the usual way that a sword and a chest interact?
You mean stabbing?
Yes! Stabbing! It’s the opposite of stabbing…the sword is coming out of my chest, where emotions are born, and instead of going to my heart where I would feel them, they’re turning into a sword where I can… weaponize them? Kind of like a sad song using notes to make others feel what you feel.
I know you did a lot of the magical effects yourself. Were you scared you’d lose focus and end up with the sword solidifying in your body?
I was nervous beforehand, but Franz is a great magical technician and I knew he had my back if anything started to go wrong.
Let’s talk about some music.
Okay <3
ETA…is it a break up song? Is it a love song?
ETA is a love song to a partner you really should break up with. You’re out of their league, they’re inconsiderate, they’re a loser, but you know there’s potential, so you just keep waiting for the fantasy to come true!
Wow, that's a little brutal.
Yeah…a little…
Moving on, it’s time for the signature Idol Chatter Idol question: who are your idols?
My musical idols are kinda all over the place.
That’s probably what makes your sound so distinct.
Maybe…anyways. I love False Idol, but who doesn’t, ya know?
Mmm. We love False Idol at Idol Chatter.
Of course. Product01 was a HUGE influence on my sound design and thinking about how fun music can be. My dad was a huge fan of Duke Leblanc and we really bonded over that. They taught me so much about how people see you impacts how they hear your music. Finally, and I know he’s kinda a cheeseball, but I do love the earnest storytelling of Dean Domonic.
Reader Questions:
What other artists or pieces have inspired your work? - Kobe00kk
Outside of my idols I do really love DJ Lilcrunchyleaf (we may or may not have a collab coming up…) the way they use minimalism really inspired me to pare back my own sound.
My neighborhood in the Sapphire Coast really inspires me. I can see the lights from the skyscrapers turn on one by one reflected in the river and that really makes me feel calm. It gets me in the right mindspace to reflect and write.
Thoughts on metal music?- Koolestk2d
I really respect how hardcore it is, but the sad truth is that this girl’s core is very very soft.
What's Opal's favorite restaurant in Three Cloud City? -Joan
Lichen Share (and I'm not just sayin that because they gave me a great deal on that ETA billboard). I love their Crustose sharing platter; it's an appetizer, but I usually just get it as my main lol.
Be sure to stop by Lichen Share in downtown Three Cloud City to catch a glimpse of Opal Voss's ETA release billboard while it's still up!
Hey all!
Just some site updates! We lost access to our editing privileges for a short while, so we need to go back and update with our new music releases, merch, the Kickstarter, Opal's name change, etc.!! Please bear with us here while we get these things taken care of. :-) Expect a big wave of posts in the near future! Thanks for visiting!
PS: Our wallpapers page needs some Opal Voss-related updates too, but don't forget to visit it for all your phone and desktop wallpapering needs!
I get to Cute Nick’s 10 minutes early to set up the interview. It’s a quiet cafe in a surprisingly residential part of Thundertown. The kind of place you stop by before work but never actually go to. I prefer interviews in places like this--normal places, nice places--but it’s rare that artists (or more often, their agents) want to meet in them. Usually they pick spots that have an obvious story or angle.
When I walk through the door, shuffling my notes and reviewing my questions, I see Opal Voss has beaten me there. She’s chatting--flirting?--with the man I later learn is Cute Nick himself while she’s foaming another customer’s milk. Does she work here, I wonder? Did she invite me to her day job? Cute Nick takes my order, and when he asks for my name, Voss looks right at me and hands the foamer to another barista. “Tennison from Plastic Platemail?” Cute Nick understands this interjection, and despite my protests, my cappuccino becomes free of charge.
We find a secluded table near a window that Cute Nick has reserved for us. “Whenever Nick comps someone,” Voss says, swirling her americano, “They always end up tipping more than the price of the drink.” I have the distinct impression that Voss arrived early, warned Nick about our interview, and had my drink comped just so she could make this observation. “I think that’s cute,” Voss says, and she takes an excited bite into her puffy pastry.
No, Opal Voss does not work at this coffee shop, though she tells me that she’d love to. She smiles at me, as if foaming someone’s drink is one of the many activities available to customers at a cafe, and asks, “is that your first question?”
Okay - to get us started I have some RAPID FIRE questions from readers of our magazine:
What are some of your favorite ways to unwind after a hard day? I like to fix myself a potion of calming, do a bit of journaling, and, if I’m being honest, watch a romantic movie. I love love!
What’s your biggest inspiration for lyrics? People... Three Cloud City! So… people in Three Cloud City? Yes. Everyday people, people I see on the train, people in this coffee shop. I don’t like to think about myself, so I think about them. And then I write their songs.
[At this point, it seemed like Opal didn’t want to elaborate, so I moved on.]
What’s your favorite place in Three Cloud City? Any place that’s new to me. There’s so much to see here. Every time I take a different turn I feel like I’m somewhere new. Oh! Have you been to TerryTerroir’s in the Umbrella district?
-No, I haven’t.
One of my fav bars/isolation chambers. The top floor’s got a solid glass roof, and you can watch the rain fall at you all day long--I never feel closer to the clouds than when I’m at Terry’s. When you go, order a Courier and wink with your left eye when you do. They’ll know.
Do you have a water bottle to show off? I just reuse an empty potion vial.
How long have you been a singer? I started singing when I moved to Three Cloud City. Before then I was a producer flirting with the possibility of singing. When I got here, I said to heck with it and just started singing. I realized that I needed to use my voice to tell the stories I needed to tell.
So you haven’t been singing that long? No, I haven’t. Learning how to sing in the city is a trial - it’s hard to find a place you can belt. In my first place, my neighbors used to bang on the wall whenever I started to really get into a song - great people though, made a mean lasagna. I’m still learning, so a lot of the time I make potions to help me with pitch and range. But that kinda feels like cheating.
Alright Opal, those are all of the reader questions we had for you. I have some questions for you myself though.
Fire away.
Three Cloud City has a very specific sound, which you don’t quite slot into. How did you develop your music? I grew up in a One-Dynastid Town. Nothing to do, no one to meet. I visited Three Cloud once when I was young, and I immediately knew I had to live here. As soon as I moved, I fell in love with the music scene here, especially what they played in clubs. It’s a real inspiration - the high impact, glittering sounds of MEGAPLEXX artists, in particular - but the core of my songs are still rooted in the music my dad played in the car. I just can’t escape my hometown, I guess.
Tell me about the process of writing I’m a Snake? Every Thursday night I play a set at the Cryland bar. I know it’s called Cryland, but my sad stuff never seemed to land. It hurt to submit myself to this week after week so I finally decided to sit down and write some fun ones. I wrote this one song back at my mom’s house that was a major bummer, and I thought: “what if I made this a dance track?” The song was always about how you have to change yourself to reach your goals, so it felt right to turn the track itself inside out. This is actually the first song I finished in Three Cloud, which makes it super special to me.
You have an EP on the way. What can we expect from that? These are my misfit songs. I stand behind each of them, but they don’t really have a home anywhere else. Except for Snake, which is my baby who I love very much!
Opal Voss's debut EP is now back up on Spotify!
Opal lost all her followers when she changed her name, so please head over and follow Opal Voss on Spotify! :-)
New Opal Voss single! "Getaway Driver," the first single from Opal Voss's upcoming album, has just dropped.
“Shades On,” the newest single from Knapp, has just pulled up. Streaming now on Spotify, Bandcamp, and YouTube
Lyrics: I been living in the present music blasting though my headphones
Life been long
horns right
no fur gone
Strapped in the back of the bus with my shades on
Arms stay crossed called my lyrics a liaison
I rep my lanyard like the chain on my neck
Pins rattling Running from the hunger that I’m battling
I just want a sandwich Chicken pickles on potato bun
Chew a little gum
Get a bagel from lavagabond Street
Light on the meat
Already imagining the stains upon my tee
I been living in the present music blasting though my headphones
Life been long
horns right
no fur gone
Stop, next stops my stop
But my cool got stopped by thoughts
Looked to the back there’s the local mob boss
Hair uncombed looks like bob Ross
Fear stricken
I just want my chicken
I’m the next stop But my adrenaline is kicking
I just wanna kick it
With no inhibitions
But got dirty dishes in the sink up in my kitchen
I been living in the present music blasting though my headphones
Life been long
horns right
no fur gone
Hiding in my seat from the G
Five more minutes I can count my heartbeat
1 1 2 3 heart hear on three
Oh this stop's me
