Voka Gentle

Photo by Hannah Sommer

Name, where are you from?
We are Voka Gentle (Imogen Mason, Ellie Mason, William J. Stokes) and we're based in London and Stroud.

Describe your style in three words?
Texture, glitch, organic.

What’s the best gig you’ve ever been to?
W: Richard Dawson at Islington Assembly Hall. His song 'The Vile Stuff' was one of the most epic pieces of music I’ve ever witnessed live. Only he can make poetry of screaming "Year sevens on a school trip to Featherstone Castle / and some wee scallywag's brought / a Coca-Cola bottle containing a spirit!" 
I: Thurston Moore Group at Scala was a raw, energising, hypnotising masterclass in feedback.
E: Sufjan Stevens at the Hollywood Bowl, Los Angeles - one of the most euphoric and grandiose concerts I have ever been to. Sufjan did a monster set that cycled through all of his previous records - he wore huge angel wings one moment, a helium balloon costume the next. There were trumpets and dancers and bombast and also moments of incredible intimacy and simplicity. 'I Want To Be Well' was a particular highlight for me and really captured the great sense of play you can have within a performance. Sufjan played the guitar over his head and jumped off the piano many times!

If you could be on the line up with any two artists in history?
W: Talking Heads and Scott Walker. It would be enough inspiration to sustain a whole career.
I: An epic mix: Grace Jones and Kate Bush.
E: Sandy Denny and Sister Rosetta Tharpe. To hear her guitar playing in real life would be incredible.

Which subcultures have influenced you?
The Black Mountain College, John Cage / Merce Cunningham / Robert Rauschenberg / Willem De Kooning etc. Because it was completely fearless while being full of joy.

If you could spend an hour with anyone from history?
W: St. Paul, while he was in prison. We wouldn’t even need to talk.
I: Would love to have a chat about poetry with Denise Levertov.
E: Daphne Oram - to talk about her life and her philosophy of sonics.

Of all the venues you’ve been to or played, which is your favourite?
W: Paradiso, Amsterdam. Beautiful, sounds great and perfectly laid out. 
I: The Goods Shed in Stroud! It's got the best vibe - gorge sound, gorge people and is a real community space.
E: Lafayette, Kings Cross. Fairly new London venue but already stands out to me.

Your greatest unsung hero or heroine in music?
W: Joe Zawinul is famous in the jazz world but not in the hip-hop world. He always insisted he created the original hip-hop beat, even years before recording it with Weather Report on the track '125th St Congress' in 1973, and I believe him. So I’m flying the flag for the Zawa beat, which is what their drummer Peter Erskine called it!
I: Someone I think more people should listen to is Oliver Wilde - he is one of my all-time fave musicians and everything he touches is gold for me.
E: Blaze Foley (Clay Pigeons) - an incredibly brilliant lyricist and country/folk songwriter, sadly had very little commercial success during his life, but is inspiring to all who come across his music.

Voka Gentle released their new album 'WRITHING!' in October 2021. Listen, purchase or stream it via vokagentle.lnk.to/writhing.