…something Gothic this way comes.
Artwork by Anna Romero
Straight from the underground New York Goth scene comes an entirely unique amalgam of morbid creepiness, punny humor, resonant instrumentals and amazing vocals.
As a fan of the unconventional (especially in music), I couldn’t help but be instantly drawn to gothic folksinger Aurelio Hernández, who goes by his middle name “Voltaire.” I first heard of him from a friend who sent me his song I’m Sorry with an emphatic, “You will love this guy!” And she was right. Voltaire’s rich, melodious violin is perfectly complimented by sweet, sad and charmingly apologetic lyrics, and had me mesmerized from the first note. It’s not just the one song that’s amazing, though. Throughout his entire discography can be found sonorous instrumentals and a singular vocal quality that just isn’t found in most modern musicians, coupled with a sardonic wit unprecedented in the industry.
Voltaire hails from Cuba, and has deeply European musical roots spiced up by gritty influences such as the Goth scene and Cabaret. He declares his musical style to be Gothic Folk, but many fans claim he is Darkwave like many other artists sponsored by Projekt Records.
The way he got signed is an interesting story in and of itself. Voltaire himself admits that he was very lucky in getting signed as soon as he did. “I was really thrilled that we got signed so quickly. There are so many bands that have played in the New York scene for more than eight years with no label interested whatsoever. So it was really gratifying to play only a handful of shows and within a year attract label interest,” he said in a 1998 interview with Peter Marks. Voltaire then went on to describe how he went to play at a gig he was sure was pointless, which actually lead to Projekt Record’s owner Sam Rosenthal getting a hold of Voltaire’s demo. “The next day I received an e-mail from Lisa stating that Sam had listened to the demo all the way back to Chicago and could not get my music out of his head. This got the ball rolling and eventually lead to a showcase here in New York and then getting signed.”
Though he is often credited as a solo performer, Voltaire has a band that he features in his studio-recorded albums and at some live performances made up of Gregor Kitzis, Matthew Goeke, Kiku Collins, George Grant, Glenn Sorino, Stephen Moses and Grisha Alexiev. He also had a side-project new wave Goth quintet called The Oddz, but the band became a victim of Voltaire’s busy schedule after only one album.
Before getting into the music scene, Voltaire wrote several parody how-to books about the Goth lifestyle and two graphic novel series called Oh My Goth and Deady. He also worked as a stop-motion animator for MTV, and used to teach stop-motion animation at the New York School of Visual Arts
Voltaire isn’t just big in the Goth scene, however. Being a fan of several “nerdy” things such as Star Trek and Star Wars, he’s often found at conventions such as Anime Expo, I-CON and Dragon*Con. He has also done special performances for Artix Entertainment’s MMO (Massively Multiplayer Online) game, Adventure Quest Worlds in which an avatar of Voltaire adventures with the players on quests to find special items created just for the event. When first approached about performing on the game, however, Voltaire was hesitant to say the least. “I said, ‘What is it that you do?’ He said, ‘I am the owner and creator of a massive multi-user online role playing game.’ And I didn’t know what that was, so we talked for a little while and he explained to me what it was, and I asked ‘How many people play this game?’ and he said ‘Well, we have six million subscribers.’ Then I said: ‘May I have your business card, please?’ He then replied, ‘I gave you my business card, but you said it would never find its way home.’ I said ‘I never lose the business card of someone with six million customers,’ which is probably a really cheesy and awful thing to tell a person, but it definitively made me very curious. They were fans of my music, and then I saw their game and then I became a fan of their game. So, it has been a lot of fun and I think we’re going to do many more things in the future,” said Voltaire in an interview with Vorutania.com. For these events, Voltaire has written AQW-specific versions of his songs, as well as an original song titled Goodnight Demonslayer, which also appeared on his album To The Bottom of the Sea.
His albums include The Devil’s Bris, Almost Human, Banned On Vulcan, Boo Hoo, Then And Again, Deady Sings!, Zombie Prostitute, Live!, Ooky Spooky, To the Bottom of the Sea and Hate Lives in a Small Town. If you’re unable to get all of the albums (which would really be a shame), some songs you can’t go without are Zombie Prostitute, When You’re Evil, Hell in a Handbasket, Cantina, Snakes, and Future Ex-Girlfriend.
Rating: ★★★★★
