Moods 22: Vicki Siolos
Happy new near. Moods Season Three begins with @vickisiolos offering some of her all-time favorite post-punk and goth rock selections. Her previous mixes present her ear across ambient, techno, acid, and experimental music, but she returned to some of her core influences for this one.
What story are you trying to tell with this mix?
This is the music that I turn to first—when I’m done with techno, going to parties, and prepping for gigs and recording other mixes. I listen to these artists when I need to hear something that makes me feel like me. I pulled from a small pool of beloved artists, and there are so many other artists that didn’t make the cut. I was trying to create a narrative that felt deeply personal, as if you were following me around in my headphones. I want you to enjoy this mix, but let’s be real...I made it for me.
Where did you grow up?
Deer Park, New York. People ask “Where is that [on Long Island]?” and I always say “In the middle.” It really is. I spent my first 18 years there before moving to New York City.
Can you pick one song in the mix and explain where you first listened to it?
I bought the “Lovesong” single from The Cure around 1996 because I was actually a massive Tori Amos fan in high school (don’t even get me started on Boys For Pele). I fell in love with their original version through her live covers of it at the time, and had to buy the single on principle. “Fear Of Ghosts” is the B-side and it was an instant favorite. I taped the lyrics to my bedroom wall after I typed them up, styled them in a stupid font, and printed them out. In fact, I promised myself, when I started learning how to DJ, that I would someday find a home for this song in a mix.
Do you have other memories of discovering these songs?
Bauhaus and Joy Division were all me. I started with Crackle and Heart and Soul, respectively, and immediately went as far down the rabbit hole as possible. I’ll never leave, and please don’t ever ask me to pick a favorite Bauhaus album. In fact, I have tickets to see Peter Murphy perform a Bauhaus set next week, and I am over the moon.
My partner Patrick Russell introduced me to Liaisons Dangereuses years ago as well as the Nocturne LP—I truly never knew Siouxsie until I saw that live recording. JD Twitch from Optimo put “Tube Disasters” in his 60 Minutes Of Fear mix, and I have cherished that comp ever since. The vocals are perfect in the last chorus, and I think it makes so much sense right before Siouxsie takes it to a whole new level in “Pulled to Bits.”
What do you want to say to the techno community?
Make the music that you know is missing from this world. Play only the music that you love.
Joy Division - Atrocity Exhibition
Bauhaus - Terror Couple Kill Colonel
Tones On Tail - Copper
Suicide - Ghost Rider
Section 25 - Dirty Disco
Cocteau Twins - Feathers-Oar-Blades
Liaisons Dangereuses - Etre assis Ou Danser
Bauhaus - In Fear Of Fear
A Certain Ratio - Do the Du
Tones On Tail - Rain
Martin Hannett - First Aspect Of The Same Thing
Bauhaus - Silent Hedges
Joy Division - Warsaw
Flux of Pink Indians - Tube Disasters
Siouxsie and the Banshees - Pulled to Bits
New Order - Senses
A Certain Ratio - Waterline
The Cure - Fear of Ghosts
Tones On Tail - Lions
Joy Division - Isolation
The Human League - Seconds
Love And Rockets - The Dog-End Of A Day Gone By
Vicki also has a monthly show on The Lot Radio, Bright Patterns, exploring early-morning spontaneity and expression, and she’ll soon publish The Art of the Artist Bio, an educational zine that divulges 15 years of music industry experience.
We paired her mix with a print by Patti Smith and an image of Vicki Eric Holmes. It’s not only an artist we love very much, but both works reflect the concept of reaching back into time, toward memories, sounds, and sights we treasure as it ticks on. Keeping ourselves rooted in our past and histories is something we always cherish on Moods. Xx