Victor Internet Finds His Way Back Home
Photography by Michael Salisbury
Just a couple of days after releasing their sophomore project, Blue 2000, Victor Internet hosted a pop-up at famed Chicago establishment JP Graziano’s. The scene consisted entirely of young people aged anywhere between their late teens to mid-20s, mingling with one another, vibing to music from the DJ speakers, eating sub sandwiches on the curb, or playing Super Smash Bros.
Victor floated around talking to guests in attendance, making sure everyone was having a good time (rest assured they were). After spending more than a year and a half living out of state and curating an online community for his fans via discord and social media, Victor was finally home and connecting with the same fans they had been engaging with online for nearly two years. Despite the fact that the age of social media and a global pandemic has kept the relationship between artists and their fans almost strictly virtual, one can see that the connection between Victor shares with fans is organic and real.
With the intention of making art as personal as possible for fans, Blue 2000 is Victor’s most vulnerable body of work to date. It is also arguably their best and most exploratory project yet. Victor laments over love, heartbreak, and owning up to their past mistakes over dynamic production that emphasizes complex chord progression instead of the traditional layering previously featured in past work. Songs sound both simultaneously from the future as they are nostalgic, a feat certainly reminiscent of Stevie Wonder and Prince, two artists that Victor credits for serving as the primary artistic inspiration for the project’s overall sound. From both a production and lyrical standpoint, Blue 2000 highlights both their evolution as a musician and maturation into a young adult. The project’s final two songs, “FOREVER” and “GOODBYE,” highlight this fact.
“FOREVER” sounds like a callback to the days where Prince once ruled the radio waves. The song perfectly captures the chord progression that inspired the sonic direction of BLUE 2000 with a groovy bassline and harmonious synthesizers. Victor passionately croons as he promises to do better as a romantic partner, admitting the selfishness of their ways. About halfway through, they incorporate a deeper vocal pitch that adds another layer of instrumentality and emotion that blends seamlessly into the production.
On “GOODBYE,” Victor goes a step further into diving into vulnerability. While the majority of songs on the EP feature a more colorful musical palette, “GOODBYE” goes the acoustic route with Victor pouring their heart out and opening up with the lines, “I’ll admit that I wasn’t the best and I wish I can start again / there some voices that live in my in head, they force me to say goodbye.” Learning how to love others is incredibly difficult when one struggles to love themself, and this is a song about that process.
After damaging relationships they’ve had with people that care about them due to toxicity and ego, Victor gives these former friends one final farewell admitting that they were in the wrong the whole time, with the hope that one day they can rekindle their bond. However, nothing is ever guaranteed, and Victor accepts this reality by ending the song with, “or maybe this is the end.” This song strikes a personal chord with me as someone still learning how to say goodbye to people I previously hoped/expected to have stayed in my life forever. Sometimes saying goodbye is truly for the better, but it never makes it any easier to do. Nonetheless, relationships with others are ultimately a mirror reflection of ourselves, and the lessons that come from failed ones can help us learn to create stronger, more meaningful connections in the future so that we can better avoid having to say goodbye to the ones we love.
When Victor first came on the scene as a high schooler with the success of “Tinder Song,” they were admittedly mad at the world. A typical but valid feeling that many young people experience, especially having grown up in an environment where toxicity is the norm. One of the unintended consequences of having a spotlight put on you at such a young age is that it can cause your ego to grow and make you lose sight of the person you are. In a way. “GOODBYE” feels like they’re speaking to their 17-year old self.
“If I was 17 Again, I would practice more patience, and I would probably stop being so crazy. I think I've learned to be patient with myself and with others and to just be nicer to people… I think I've been trying to figure out where I belong, or how I belong, but talking to my friend Eric the other day, he said ‘it doesn't really matter if you belong or not, as long as you're just like doing your thing and you're happy.’ I think I'm just always trying to figure out where I belong, or where I should be, when I should just focus on what makes me feel good.”
After living in Los Angeles and Texas in the last two years, Victor has made their way back to Chicago as a wiser and more empathetic human being. To be young and living on your own is never a small feat, especially when you’re forced from seeing your family and friends. It was this time away, though, that allowed them to grow into who they are today. Now they aim to take these lessons learned and apply them in the city that raised them, although they plan to move back to Los Angeles eventually. Right now, Victor Internet is just living in the moment and strengthening the foundation of their community.
“I wanted to come back and kind of get back to my roots, because when I was here I felt really comfortable making music because I was surrounded by family and friends, and I think I really need that, after a pandemic. So, yeah, I've missed my family or friends here and I think it'll be really good for me and hopefully it helps me write my next album too. I'm not really worried about where I belong, so much now I just kind of want to be happy and keep moving around, I love it.”
Victor Internet Presents: Hello, Welcome Back!
Catch Victor Internet live Thursday, October 14th as they headline Lincoln Hall with support from LOWERLIPDRIP and Adan Diaz. You can purchase your tickets to the show at the button below, and be sure to listen through Victor’s catalog of releases on Spotify and Apple Music.