by Isabella Soares
You know those soft indie pop tracks that make you feel relaxed but at the same time extremely reflective about life and your surroundings? Well, Virgo Rising, a local trio formed in late 2018, will definitely bring you to this state of mind with their lo-fi indie folk sound. Stylus Magazine was able to sit down with Emily Sinclair (lead vocalist and guitar player) and sisters Jenna (guitar, violin and trumpet) and Lauren (percussion, key and harmonies) Wittmann to talk about the early stages of the band, their connection during the song writing and production process, and their next goals as a group.
While Jenna and Lauren grew up in a musical influenced background, and naturally picked up their instruments at a very young age, Emily looked up to bands such as Paramore, to find her own voice. “I have always had support at home even though I didn’t have any musical influence so I had to draw it from myself,” she said.
Despite knowing each other five years before Virgo Rising came to be, it was only in 2018 that Jenna and Lauren reconnected with Emily through Instagram, while they were on a search for a lead vocalist.
When asked about the origin of the band’s name, Jenna quickly replied by saying, “I have a Virgo rising in my astrology birth chart, Lauren is a Virgo, and Emily is a Virgo… I also believe that your rising sign is supposed to show how you present yourself and how other people see you.”
As a relatively new trio, their similar musical tastes and connection with other musicians, helped them to continuously develop their own sound. “At first we sounded a little cuter, and then we decided to make some heavier songs. Our first show had two ukuleles in it, and it was very soft,” said percussionist and keyboard player Lauren.
Even though they have only released one song online entitled “Winter Song”, their future goal is to put all their tracks out there. “Winter Song, was made in my phone through Garageband and it worked surprisingly well. When we tried the same method in another song it didn’t work out, but we had a couple people approach us and we will start to record.” [Emily Sinclair]
Lauren added, “We are also working on a cassette tape, Isaac who drummed for us in our last concert, is going to record that for us. We will also do a split cassette with another local band, so that’s going to be fun… we have quite a couple songs and we are trying to get them together now.”
On live performances, the band brings out a very eclectic setup. Other than the traditional keys and guitar, they have a melodica, an egg shaker, violin, and an organ from time to time.
As for the song writing process, all the girls said in unison that it is very collaborative. “Sometimes we get an idea and Emily will send a snippet of the song, and then we work on it together. Lyrics too, we try to find a central theme and then we will go off of that,” said Jenna.
When listening to Virgo Rising you can’t help but notice the use of imagery and themes such as night time, seasons, and existentialism. Their poetic sound and heart-felt melodies, reflect their growth as a group and their urge to make their shows unique and especial for each of their audiences.
“Were so new and we are always evolving, which I think is super important. Since Winter Song is such an improv song, if we do it in a different way every time, people will experience something different in every show that they see with us” [Emily Sinclair]
New, organic and constantly evolving, Virgo Rising is a promising band that will surely continue to surprise listeners both on and off stage. While the wait for other recorded tracks remains, Winter Song is available on SoundCloud and on their Instagram page @virgorisingmusic.