After two years of being on our radar, New York three-piece Violens are finally stepping up with their self-released debut album 'Amoral', an exciting blast of hazy psychedelia, and are touring the UK with The Drums over the winter months. We catch up with lead singer and guitarist Jorge Elbrecht.

Dazed Digital: There used to be four members but now there are three. What happened to Ben?
Violens: Yes Violens used to be a four-piece. We fluctuate as far as the live show is concerned. Ben is happily married and lives with his beautiful wife in Miami.

DD: Apparently dreams are a big influence on this album?
Violens: Everyone knows that dreams are cooler than reality so the closer the music is to that world the better, in my opinion.

DD: Is the DIY aesthetic important to you?
Violens: I never describe our music or band as DIY. DIY is not important to us as an aesthetic, it's not even something I stand behind, necessarily. It's our only option, unless we want to involve people who will try to change our ideas to make money for themselves.

DD: What are you listening to at the moment?
Violens: This weird old dude outside who gets drunk and humps the fence in my neighbourhood, groaning and moaning like a rhino. His voice does some crazy things, like a didgeridoo at times.

DD: What do you think will be the biggest surprise for people listening to your album?
Violens: I guess some people are surprised to know it was made on an iMac in my apartment.

DD: Describe the artwork for the album.
Violens: It is an illustration of a bearded man with cuts and boils all over his face and body. The colour on his face has been manipulated to read like some sort of Fauvist abstraction.

DD: You’re touring with The Drums, tell us a bit about the live show.
Violens: Yeah we're looking forward to that a lot. Those guys are awesome. We had been talking about doing some shows for a while and I guess the schedules just lined up and it made sense. It's been really fun so far. We have a lot of fun playing the new songs. It’s very loud but involves a lot fewer amps than we'd like.

DD: Why should people listen to your new album over every other album out there?
Violens: It would probably sound cool to hear them all playing together like that, especially if our record was on a little louder than the others. Walking through our rehearsal space hallway sometimes sounds like every album being played together at the same time.