MUEN: HI. YOU HAVE QUITE A DISCOGRAPHY UNDER YOUR BELT: �THE
WANDERERS� EP, �THE NAMELESS AND THE FACELESS� LP, �UNDER THE CLEAREST MOON� EP AND A NEW LP �IT REALLY SHOULDN�T BE THIS HARD�, HOW LONG HAVE YOU TWO BEEN TOGETHER AS �THE MYSTIC UNDERGROUND�, AND WHO DOES WHAT?

Vladimir: Hmmm, we�ve been together in some way, shape, or form since
1999 when we were both in school. We were just messing about writing
songs and dealing with lineup changes until everything solidified in
2001. Basically the mystic underground consists of Benedetto Socci who
writes the music and manipulates the synthesizers. I�m Vladimir
Valette, my sole purpose in the band is to stand there and sing the
lyrics that I spend less than five minutes coming up with. Ha!

MUEN: COULD YOU EXPLAIN THE NAME � THE MYSTIC UNDERGROUND�?

Vladimir: I wish I could! "The Mystic Underground" is pretty much a
combination of different ideas we had come up with whilst sitting in a
coffee shop in Smithtown, New York. Our original name was "The
Vanishing Point" for a few months when we had first started, but I
guess we had outgrown the name and if I remember correctly, there was
a band already around with the name so you know what that means! So we
sat there at a table with a piece of paper and wrote down some ideas.
I think my idea was something pretty dumb like "The Vanishing
Underground Scene" and Ben had "Mystic Proportions". Obviously neither
one would fit the bill and get us laughed out of any venue we would be
playing at so we combined those two names into "The Mystic
Underground". With that said, what does the name, "The Mystic Underground" mean? Beats
the heck out of me. If you can find something, let us know! Maybe our
name should be "garbage"? :P

MUEN: I READ THAT YOU WRITE THE SONGS WITH SOMETHING TO SAY. CAN YOU TELL US WHAT THE GENERAL THEME OF YOUR SONGS ARE ABOUT? ARE THEY DRAWN FROM PERSONAL EXPERIENCES?

Vladimir: To me, the purpose of engaging in any sort of artistic
endeavour should be to express oneself to as many people as you can.
In so doing, you�re sharing your feelings on such concepts as life,
love, the world around you, etc... In my case, I tend to have a very
melancholic look on things according to most people. I think it�s more
of a sarcastic view with tongue firmly planted in cheek. A lot of the
songs I write generally deal with people I come across in life. I
don�t like to write about myself per se. If anything, the songs
usually have a tinge of the autobiographical mixed in just to add a
sense of levity.

MUEN: WHEN I LISTEN TO YOUR MUSIC I�M REMINDED OF SOME OF THE
BRILLIANT BRITISH 80�S ELECTRO POP BANDS LIKE ERASURE AND DEPECHE MODE, WHO WOULD YOU SAY ARE YOUR MAIN INFLUENCES?

Vladimir: To be honest with you, we get those comparisons all the time,
but neither of us hear it. It�s always nice to hear that you�re being
placed in the same sentence with some legendary artists, but at the
same time, we really don�t feel we are similar at all except for
the fact we both employ synthesizers as the main source of
instrumentation. Ben, for example, hates Depeche Mode and doesn�t own one record, we both like erasure a lot but I wouldn�t say our oeuvre is nearly as
poppy and accessible as Erasure�s is.

Our influences tend to vary, but we generally meet somewhere in the
middle to write our stuff. For example, I grew up listening to tons of
post-punk, Brit-pop and hip hop. I grew up idolising the Smiths and
naturally Morrissey along with David Bowie, etc.. Ben was a metal head
who moved on to freestyle and dance music.

MUEN: WHAT KIND OF SYNTHESIZERS AND EQUIPMENT DO YOU USE?

Vladimir: As far as synthesizers, Ben is a proponent of Roland�s gear
as far as hardware synthesizers are concerned. We also use Cubase 5.1
for recording and lately especially for the new record we used a lot
of soft synths which are very useful and allow you an immense palette
of sounds. This is very very useful when writing with synthesizers
where the sounds are just as important as the song structure itself.

MUEN: DO YOU USE ANY GUEST MUSICIANS FOR WHEN YOU ARE RECORDING?

Vladimir: We�ve only used one guest musician when we�ve been recording
and that was back during the "Under The Clearest Moon" days. His
name�s John Kane from a very solid hardcore band, stray from the path.
So go check them out. If John�s reading this, you owe me money for the
name check!

MUEN: YOUR NEW ALBUM IS AVAILABLE ON iTUNES, WILL IT BE AVAILABLE ON CD, OR ARE YOU LEANING AWAY FROM THAT FORMAT?

Vladimir: As of January 8th, the record is available via i-tunes,
Amazon, Napster, emusic and every other worthwhile online retailer. We
most definitely have not forgotten about the physical format at all as
we�re both fans of that medium. We still need and crave the liner
notes and the packaging. It�s something we still take seriously. As
convenient as mp3s are, there still is something missing when you
download a song as opposed to buying the whole package. Granted it�s up
to the artist to ensure that the music inside the packaging is up to
snuff. That said, there will be a physical release and it�s slated for
release April 21st on our Stereosonic label

MUEN: WHO IS "STEREOSONIC RECORDINGS"?

Vladimir: Stereosonic Recordings is my label that we set up for our
releases. It�s obviously very small, but lots of fun. Ultimately in the
future, I�d like to set it up where we sign artists who being
something new, interesting and worthwhile to the game.

MUEN: WHERE WAS �IT REALLY SHOULDN�T BE THIS HARD� RECORDED AND WHO PRODUCED IT?

Vladimir: The new record was recorded in our studio, which we
affectionately call "the basement," which was located in Ben�s former
townhouse in Long Island, New York. The album�s production was a joint
effort between Ben and myself. He works the gadgets and manipulates
the machines whilst I lay down on the carpet and supervise. It works
well that way! He works and I say, "hmm, vocals should be higher",
"drums need to sound tighter", "I�m going for some water"...

MUEN: WHO IS MADELEINE?

Vladimir: Madeleine is actually a fictional character, but the story
told in the song is a true one. Pretty much it�s based around a girl I
used to know and used to fawn over but was a total space cadet. The
term "a beautiful disaster" seems apt for her. Anyways, she was very
destructive and I�d hang out with her thinking that eventually I would
get together with her but all that would happen is me getting us out
of trouble. Not very healthy for me to say the least so I ended up
distancing myself from her a few years ago and I haven�t heard from
her since so I�ve no idea what she�s up to these days.

MUEN: DO YOU EVER PERFORM LIVE? IF SO WHERE ARE SOME OF THE PLACES WE CAN SEE YOU?

Vladimir: We love nothing better than
playing live! We�re working on a tour at the moment, but as of now,
we�re playing shows in NYC, New Jersey, and Philadelphia with more
coming. The plan is to hit the east coast of the USA before heading up
to Canada and then head west. We�d also very much like to make some
European stops as well, but we will see what happens. This of course
serves as an invitation to your readers to come check us out when we
make a stop near you. I mean it. Really.

MUEN: IF YOU COULD GO ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD, WHERE WOULD BE YOUR DREAM TOUR?

Vladimir: Anywhere in the world? Hmm...I dunno. I�d love to do a world
tour honestly. I know that sounds like a cheesy answer, but I�m being
honest. I couldn�t pick a single region. I�d love to travel through
different lands and learn more about different cultures in an in-depth
fashion. That�s the great thing about music. It�s an international
language that can bridge people together. We might not be able to
understand each other immediately through our native tongues, but can
via rhythms, beats, melodies thus allowing us to foster a kind of
understanding. A jump-off point, if you will. That being said, it
would be wonderful if we could cover everywhere from the US to Europe,
the Middle East to China and Russia.

MUEN: ON YOUR MYSPACE PAGE YOU HAVE WRITTEN �PLEASE DON�T DENY US THE RIGHT TO BE FAMOUS...� WHAT DOES THAT MEAN FOR YOU EXACTLY? A LOT OF BANDS AND MUSICIANS MIGHT SAY YOU�RE DOING WELL WITH WHAT YOU�VE ALREADY ACHIEVED.

Vladimir: Well, I guess that line is a rallying cry for us as a band
to do whatever it takes to get our name out there for people to hear
our music. We�re not afraid of success and we�re not afraid of having
people on a grand scale being fans of ours. It�s a statement meant to
tell people that it�s okay to rally behind a band you like. A band
that has a profound effect on your life through the songs, lyrics,
image, etc... I think that�s what�s lacking in this day and age of
immediate consumption, mp3s, blogs and guitar hero. People don�t take
the time to appreciate what they have and underestimate their
feelings. It�s the application of the saying, "the grass is always
greener on the other side" on hyper speed. We don�t feel that we�ve achieved anything yet to be honest. The key
is to keep striving. To keep writing songs that impact you in the
hopes of impacting others in the same vein. In that sense, it keeps a
band hungry because you don�t want to reach the bar you set yourself,
you just keep pushing it higher and higher because it keeps you
level-headed and constantly willing to learn and improve.

MUEN: WHAT ELSE DOES 2008 HAVE IN STORE FOR THE MYSTIC UNDERGROUND?

Vladimir: 2008 will bring about a new record, a tour, a Grammy, a cover on Rolling Stone and Worldwide Superstardom. We hope to have this accomplished before June and then take the rest of the year off. :)

MUEN: WELL YEAH, GOOD LUCK WITH THAT AND THANK YOU FOR TAKING THE TIME TO DO THIS INTERVIEW.

Vladimir: No, thank you. Really. The pleasure is all mine. Love to do this again sometime. Cheers!

Interview by Lissy MacMillan