Ferrarilover is a dark ambient gothgaze guitarist, outward-looking dj, and darkwave producer / vocalist nico wyland aka the goth ladyboy, who represents non-binary / genderqueer art in the scene. he / she is known as the founder of Ace of Spades, aka L’Ace of Spades, aka Ace of Spades Recordings (aceofspadesrecordings.com), and for his lush, haunting sound and downtempo // progressive // darkwave dj mixtures.
We have had the pleasure of talking to him about his latest releases and this has been the result.
Hi there ! Where can we find you right now? How did you start your day?
Hi… I’m in my home studio near the beach just outside San Diego, California. I’m a night owl; got up around 9, made tea and did my meditation, took a shower, listened to some jazz. I like slow starts to the day.. I have this special green tea from Japan. Then I put on a Sisters of Mercy record.
When did the idea of starting a project start to take shape? Has it always been something you wanted to do?
I fell in irretrievably in love. That does not happen to me easily. Wild emotions. Very unexpected. Darkness, uncertainty, spiritual crisis and intense heartbreak prompted me to record the vocals, free flow. The lyrics are improvised to the music and written down after recording. I have been in a depression mixed with creativity. Normally, I don’t work well when depressed at all. You read these interviews of über prolific, ultra tortured artists who experience severe despair and make a brilliant record out of it. I have never been like that! This time it was productive.
The lyrics to “Barely Black” are actually quite literal. I’m not sure how the experience will end, it’s continuing…The day I tracked the vocals was a hard day (understatement)… I just got this psychic knowing to ‘change the channel,’ and decided to go in the studio and record some vocals—- completely spontaneously. “I’ll always have / barely black” is my way of saying “well, everything is fucked, but I’ll always have endless shades of black—- which to me represents all the subtleties and infinite variations of fashion, art, dark couture music subculture, ancient beauty in the everyday. This is what I live for. I don’ t find it depressing. It is also a reference to the infamous panty hose colour.
How would you define the sound of your latest work? What is the concept behind?
Dark Knight of the Light.Less ‘concept,’ more feeling.
What artists are you interested in these days?
There is Sanskrit mantra running in the house 24/7 on very low volume. I have a different one for the day and night, but sometimes i play night mantra in the day. Suede, the KVB, Actors, classic trad goth like Sisters of Mercy. Tamaryn. Debussy piano works. Post-punk revival darkwave like Drab Majesty. the KLF Chillout. I always listen to my friend and mentor Daniele Gottardo. New organic house on beatport.
How do you manage to combine such disparate genres? How do you manage to give them unity and harmony? What do they have in common for you?
Harmony is everything. I think my best skill is harmonizing. In my mind lives a kind of constant, detached dj… even if I’m not thinking anything, which happens often. I loathe ‘talking in genre,’ but it is necessary to describe one’s work. The ideal is to create a genre! Since being a tiny child, I was always weirded out by black and white definitions and categories; I do black and white in endless grey area.
Music is my #1 obsession. I’m always making music out of music. I’ve spent years improvising on guitar to my favourite bands, and finally started doing dj sets again.
How would you define your sound?
Addicted to love.
Can you tell us something about your current or future projects?
The next record I’m working on is all vocal trax. Ethereal darkwave gaze… Dreampop tinged trad goth, yet something else entirely. Ferrarigaze. Writing vocals is scrawling random lyrical poetry on whatever paper I can find when the line comes to mind. I try to organize it in pocket music notebooks. I’m not sure exactly where this next record will go. It is open ended, but I have done some drum programming, obsessively pouring the internet for samples. I am currently obsessed with dialing in my guitars.
I have a custom Jem from Japan being done right now. I would like to find the right collaborator, but I can do it on my own; it’s just way more work than it seems for one person. When I almost joined a darkwave band around 2013, it was incredibly fun to play with others. That was not the right fit for me though. i remember the live drum machine guy saying “have you heard Some Ember? (that was excellent; I’ve been a fan ever since) and then in the same breath “oh no… we’re not standing in a dense haze of weed smoke.” (not good, as drugs were surrounding me and I was newly clean and sober, and totally into <not dying>). Nonetheless… we would have been a great band. I’m playing the long game as far as collaborating.
SOCIAL MEDIA:
ferrarilovermusic.com
https://www.facebook.com/ferrarilovermusic
