Violet Temples – Enemy
ARTIST NAME: Violet Temples
SONG TITLE: Enemy
RELEASE DATE: 07/30/21
GENRE: Pop, Electro Pop, Disco
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Violet Temples is the pop project of the 23-year-old singer, songwriter, and producer Justin Venrick. Hailing from Sugar Grove, Ohio, he currently resides just forty-five minutes south in Athens, studying at Ohio University. Growing up in an environment that was surrounded by music played a vital role in his upbringing, and he soon realized that he wanted to spend his life making music. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, he released his debut EP, “Polaris,” which was produced and recorded entirely in his home. Rebecca Cullen of Stereo Stickman calls his first outing “a decidedly personal yet impressive and easy to enjoy EP.” While Polaris steadily gained its’ first one thousand streams on Spotify, Justin diligently began working towards the next steps in his music career, planning to release a number of singles to finish out the year. Justin is particularly inspired by modern alternative pop musicians such as Allie X, Troye Sivan, Sigrid, and Carly Rae Jepsen, as well as musicians from eras past such as ABBA. Venrick plans on paying homage to hitmakers of the past and present with his upcoming releases.
LYRICS:
Hey, I know you hear me
Look, I’ve got something to say
Times are tough right now
There’s so much on your plate
But now you’re turning into someone that I hate
Please, I know you crave a taste of sweet relief
A major breakthrough
Great ideas stay up your sleeve
Gone to waste,
You don’t pursue them
You just sleep
I know you better than anyone else
No running away from reality
The person who’s putting you through all of this hell
Is staring in the mirror back at me
My enemy, my enemy
You’re chained to me
I can’t escape
You’re with me every step I take
My enemy, my enemy
I have the keys
I could be free
Yet you still have this power over me
Hey, I would evict you if you weren’t up in my brain
Gotta get creative just to stop your reign
All this history we share can’t ease the pain
There’s no use crying bout the mess I made
So please, you’ve made it clear
That you aren’t gonna leave
If you wanna stay,
You’ve gotta work with me
Pick yourself up off the ground and earn your keep
I know you better than anyone else
Time to wake up from the fantasy
The person who’s putting me through all of this hell
Is staring in the mirror back at me
My enemy, my enemy
You’re chained to me
I can’t escape
You’re with me every step I take
My enemy, my enemy
I have the keys
I could be free
Yet you still have this power over me
Gotta try and push harder
If I wanna escape
You’re chained to me
I can’t escape
Gotta try and push harder
I can change my own fate
Yet you still have this power over me
Yet you still have this power over me
My enemy, my enemy
You’re chained to me
I can’t escape
You’re with me every step I take
My enemy, my enemy
I have the keys
I could be free
Yet you still have this power over me
My enemy, my enemy
You’re chained to me
I can’t escape
You’re with me every step I take
My enemy, my enemy
I have the keys
I could be free
Yet you still have this power over me
Influence: My parents are both music lovers and very musically talented people. I was exposed to a lot of different music growing up; mostly pop music and music from the 70s and 80s. They definitely influenced my music taste and kick-started my drive to create music. I grew up pretty introverted, but I also really liked to perform, too. When I was little, I would make “tickets” for concerts that I would put on in my house and give them to my family members. Even when my interests started to shift as I got older, my passion for music was still there, deep down.
Instrumentation: I started developing “Enemy” as I finished my debut EP, an ambient, synth-heavy project. I was unsure of which direction to take my next release in, but I knew that I wanted to make something that was danceable and fresh. Disco-inspired sound has been making a comeback as of late, and while it may seem like I am just jumping on the trend, the disco elements of “Enemy” serve as an homage to the music that I grew up listening to.
Song Writing: I came up with the melody first, in chunks. Every time I would think of something good, I would stop what I’m doing, open the voice notes app on my phone, and sing the melody. I’ve done this in the car, at work, everywhere. But once I had the melody and lyrics finalized, I began making some rough demos. I was inspired by “Sarah Come Home” by Allie X, and I was planning on “Enemy” to sound similar: fresh, light, and modern. That fell through, but I think that the disco-inspired sound was the right move, ultimately.
Musical Ability: Music has been a staple in my life for as long as I can remember. I can play a bit of piano by ear and I played trombone all through middle and high school. I am a bit rusty when it comes to music theory, but I was thankfully able to retain some of it! I began experimenting with music production in 2016, but I didn’t put out anything that was worthwhile at the time. It took a long time for me to find my sound and style (I am still finding it, in all honesty!).
Lyrics: “Enemy” serves as both a self-intervention and also as a love letter, in a way. I have been struggling with self-discipline for a long time, and it has gotten to the point where it is affecting my future; not doing my schoolwork in a timely manner, not applying myself when it comes to my music, etc. I was getting so frustrated with myself. I recognize the potential that I hold; yet here I am, sabotaging myself. “Enemy” is essentially me telling myself: “You are a very talented person and you deserve good things. Why are you making this so hard on yourself?”
Structure: “Enemy” is written in standard pop structure (Verse 1, Pre, Chorus, Verse 2, Pre, Chorus, Bridge, Chorus). It sits at 115 BPM and is in the key of D minor. Earlier demos were a bit slower, but I decided to speed it up to give it more drive. My favorite sections are the pre-chorus and bridge into the final chorus. I love how the instrumental dissipates, leaving behind the filtered chopped vocals and synth pad, slowly building into the thick chorus. It was so satisfying to get right. I listened to it over and over again. Hell, I still do!
Performance: Even though the melody of “Enemy” is not a challenge by any means, I wanted to make my vocal performance as dynamic as possible. I think that the delivery of the lyrics has the potential to make or break the success of a song, regardless of how good the lyrics, melody, and instrumental are.
Recording Session: Almost everything happens in my bedroom; recording, mixing, etc. I don’t have the money to afford studio sessions, but there is a silver lining! I really like the freedom that it gives me. There is no pressure if things don’t go just right. It’s not like it will burn a hole in my pocket or anything. So once I set up my microphone, I make sure to record a few takes of me just messing around and letting loose as a warm-up. Once that’s finished, I jump right into the recording!
Teamwork: I composed everything in “Enemy” except for the bass line, written by the incredibly talented Dave Cerelli. I gave him a really basic guide of what I wanted it to sound like and he went above and beyond. He came back with the finished product in less than twenty-four hours.
I still have a lot to learn when it comes to mixing and mastering. I have been relying on the help of my extremely talented friend and bandmate (see: Clowns Online) Dozer on all of my releases. Although I mixed “Enemy” myself, she was involved in literally every step of the process. If something isn’t right about a mix and I can’t put my finger on it, within seconds, she’s like, “X is way too loud and I cant hear x,” She has such a good ear for that stuff. She helped master the track and has designed a majority of the graphics for all Violet Temples releases. She is literally a jack-of-all-trades and releases music as Whoever She Is.
Impact: In my opinion, “Enemy” has so much potential. It’s catchy and pretty easy to sing along to! Lyrically, I think that there are a lot of people that can relate to the song, especially people in my age demographic. I’ve given the people around me early listens and it has gotten really good feedback, so I am extremely excited to release this one!
Promotion: With my first EP, I was still learning the ropes when it came to music promotion. I was a bit hesitant. I wasn’t sure who to reach out to or how to go about doing it. Thankfully, I was able to land an interview with my local radio station, 105.5 WXTQ, which is one of my biggest accomplishments so far! This time around, I have been doing my research, gathering press contacts, and sending emails like crazy. My first project did well for my standards, but I recognize that I could have been much more successful if I had promoted it better. However, I see major potential in “Enemy” and my upcoming songs, so I am going to be going harder than ever before in terms of promotion. I am even in the process of making a music video for “Enemy,” which is new territory for me.
Vocal: Having multiple vocal takes of every section is super important, but sometimes that isn’t enough. I run vocals through an application called Melodyne to make timing and pitch corrections.
Vocal Melody: Even though I am working with budgetary constraints, I set out to make sure that the song is as polished as possible, which is key when it comes to pop music in this day and age. I tried to make the melody and vocals catchy, easy to understand, and clean. I have been sparse with harmonies in the past, so I wanted to add a few more sections that feature harmonies this time around.
Song: “Enemy” is a danceable, upbeat pop song, but don’t let that fool you! It is a very personal song, and it served as a wake-up call for me to get my act together. Sometimes, the first step to solving a problem requires brutal honesty with yourself. If you are someone that is dealing with this, then this song is for you!
Artist’s Name and Album’s Title: I have two origin stories when it comes to the name Violet Temples; one being kind of boring, and the other having a bit of a deeper meaning. Initially, the name sounded cool and I really like the colour purple. After workshopping the name and deciding on it, I noticed that purple string lights have been a staple in my bedroom for years. My bedroom is not only where I make most of my music, but as an introverted person, it also serves as my safe haven. I feel most at home when I am in my bedroom. So, my violet temple, per se, is my bedroom!
Press:
“The first and hardest step to becoming your best self is coming face-to-face with any sort of self-sabotage that you’re dealing with. Like, how am I supposed to unlock all of this potential when I am dragging myself down?” – Violet Temples
Having released his debut EP, Polaris, earlier this year, pop artist Violet Temples is now slated to release his newest self-produced single on July 30.
Violet Temples has been hard at work crafting new music with an upbeat and danceable sound. In contrast to the dark synth-pop tones that dominate his earlier singles, “Enemy” is a track that makes use of its infectious melody to pair a driving, funky bassline alongside punchy, disco-inspired stabs. “Enemy” illustrates an ongoing internal battle with a lack of discipline and self-sabotage. “I started to get embarrassed… I wanted to break the cycle, and in order to do that, I had to look at myself and realize what I have been doing wrong. ‘Enemy’ is sort of a self-callout with loving intentions, in a sense, almost like an intervention,” Violet Temples stated.