Perhaps the only way to describe entering Violet Hull’s inner-city home on a Sunday is to capture it as a soundscape. Her driveway was coloured by the faint hum of synth music emanating from her mother’s studio, mixing gently with the murmurs of children playing in the park opposite. After a brief phone call to notify Violet of my presence came the beat of bounding footsteps and the crescendo of an opening garage door. A brief shriek of recognition and a muffled “thank you” for her welcome.
Music, understanding, connection: these were the tunes underscoring our conversation on that languid summer afternoon.
Our time together began with a tour of the warehouse’s lower level, a brush with a talented family led by a rising star. Meandering through the gallery space, woodwork creations and beautiful watercolour canvases, we settled at one of the kitchen’s steel tables. A familiar breeze whistling through a fleeting weekend catch-up, I asked Violet the first question of our interview: “can you introduce yourself?”
As I’ve learned over the course of our friendship, Violet is many things: a pop artist who has recently released her first EP, a national representative on the Australian Fencing Team, a soon-to-be graduate of the University of Sydney and a lover of podcasts. But instead, she told me about her formative years.
Having grown up in New York City, Violet moved to Sydney at the age of ten. Her family, composed almost entirely of musicians and artists, has surrounded her with creativity and self-expression “since forever”. Although she cannot read music, Violet can attune her vocals by ear because of the rule in her household to “never tell someone to stop singing.” In some cases, she and her brother were allowed to get out of doing the dishes if they played the guitar – needless to say, I was envious.
When I asked her how this creative freedom shaped her time at school and university, one word came to Violet’s mind: “friction.” With so many voices coming from within and refusing to be stamped out, it was easy to be misunderstood by classmates and teachers. But as we thought more together about the intersections between music and her choice of a degree in media studies, we realised that both are about communication: between people, between groups, and between mediums. Telling a story is, as Violet pointed out, “an immersive, colourful, life-affirming experience” – it is rhythmic in its form, climax and conclusion.
Coincidentally, these are also the words I would use to depict Violet’s music. After the release of her first song Away in November 2021, she has consistently tried to “push pop” by reframing fresh sounds and themes. The release of her first EP, V.POP, in December last year represents the apex of this vision, a sweet, salty, spicy play on the “different flavours” of popular beats. Violet thinks of her current sound as a type of “gay k-pop”, a form of “pure escapism and spirit” inspired by dance-pop legends like Miley Cyrus, Charli XCX, Kesha and Demi Lovato which also “appropriates the male gaze.”
This is particularly important for a song like Stuck In My Brain, where Violet sings about a girl in the way audiences would expect a man might. For Violet, singing about queerness is an homage to “the idea that people just want to be themselves”, and a challenge to “the world trying to repress that so much.” In high school, listening to queer artists like King Princess share their stories made Violet feel “seen and heard and not alone.” Writing queer pop songs has been a way to “continue what all queer artists have done already”, and to “undo the straightwashing” she experienced while coming of age.
Of course, these melodies have not always sounded the same or been easy to write. I was interested to learn that Violet began her career by writing emotional ballads, and became worried that more upbeat songs did not fully represent her personality. It was her mother who convinced her to release this music under the persona Hot Poppy, Violet’s disco alter-ego in a bright blue wig. While this helped with “escapism from mental barriers and stereotypes”, Violet became increasingly reluctant to play a character for the rest of her life. This is how listeners were graced with the stage name VOH: a childhood nickname, and a heartfelt homage to the kaleidoscopic tapestry of Violet’s talents and interests.
It is no surprise, then, that Violet is most inspired by her family and watching live performances. She describes performing as “very giving, very selfless”, in many ways an antidote to the isolating experiences of “solitary writing” and “practising alone.” As much as tapping into these lifebloods has shaped Violet’s creative process, she is also open about the need to “water some of the other plants in my life” in times of stress and burnout.
Not only does she prioritise rest – most recently, by not sleeping with her phone in her bedroom – but also pursuing other projects. Violet describes working on the Sydney University Dramatic Society’s original Stujo! The Musical, coincidentally where Violet and I met, as a pivotal point of “energy and common purpose” in her life. Learning choreography to Charli XCX’s Vroom Vroom may have been far out of her comfort zone, but it also made her realise that she “needed to do it again” in her own music. After creating the My Kind of Bad music video, Violet reached an earth-shattering conclusion: “I guess I’m a pop star because I can dance.”
When I asked Violet about her plans for the new year, she laughed. She has been “moving songs around like puzzle pieces” for her next release, but has not finalised anything yet. Above all, she hopes to get on stage, sing and learn from all the people in her life. I smiled, the gentle tapping of my keyboard subsiding as I sat back in my chair. I think it’s safe to say, I cannot wait to hear more from VOH soon.
You can keep updated with Violet’s new music releases, gigs and other performances on Instagram @voh.rox, Spotify and Facebook. Don’t miss her performance at the SUDS Welcome Week Party, kicking off at 7pm on Friday February 16th at Marrickville’s Red Rattler Theatre!