After a stretch of silence, Volcren returns with Reborn. Paul Littlestripes talks about what it means to begin again—and why the record refuses to settle into a single sound.
Interviewer
Paul, Reborn is coming after a stretch of silence. What had to break—or be rebuilt—before this record could happen?
Paul Littlestripes
Reborn is a kind of rebirth. And I think it’s available to anybody. You can start over at any point—after a rough stretch, after something traumatic. When you do, you go back over everything that happened before, but you see it through different eyes.
Interviewer
Is there more anger in this rebirth, or more clarity? The title almost sounds like a manifesto, but it could also be a very private reckoning.
Paul
No, there’s no anger. It’s more about clarity. It’s a way of looking back at the past—and at the machinery that set certain things in motion—with a clearer head. You’re no longer seeing it as the person who’s still completely caught up in it.
Interviewer
How does that clarity translate musically?
Paul
It depends on the moment and the situation. There are passages where we used a certain kind of music simply because it was right for what we were trying to say. Some moments are more psychedelic; others are more modern. We didn’t try to force one style onto the whole record.
Interviewer
So several different sides of the band coexist here.
Paul
More than two, definitely. There are four of us, so really there are at least four different souls.
Interviewer
How did you keep those four souls from stepping on one another? Was there a clash?
Paul
A clash of musical instruments! No, we managed to avoid the clash. What we tried to find instead was the right kind of harmony.
Interviewer
So the thread running through the record isn’t necessarily sonic. It’s mostly thematic: that point of view you get after the fall, when you can finally look at what happened from somewhere else.
Paul
Exactly. You got it.
Interviewer
What about playing it live? How would you bring all that complexity to a stage?
Paul
Playing live could be a little difficult, considering we’re virtual!
Interviewer
Fair point. Then the real challenge is different: creating that emotional impact through the music and production, without the physical presence of a band in front of an audience.
Paul
Absolutely. That’s the challenge.
Interviewer
Let’s end with one direct question. If Reborn could leave the listener with just one feeling, what would you want it to be?
Paul
A peaceful sense of unease.
Interviewer
A peaceful sense of unease. Maybe that’s the best definition of Reborn.