Vertigo Child is a fresh solo act bound to deliver earworms to listeners everywhere.
Hailing from upstate New York, the brainchild of Frank Pascarella Vertigo Child brings a nuanced, copacetic approach to R&B.
With the recent surge of R&B groups like Nightlife/Hurtwave, Vertigo Child convincingly earns a spot in the same conversation.
Aloft with bouncy drum grooves and melodious guitar riffs, the backbone of the project complements Pascarella’s chops with layered verses ahead of infectious choruses.
Add pristine production and Vertigo Child is a no-brainer for playlist adds and the repeat button.
A handful of impactful singles comprise Vertigo Child’s discography, set to double when the new EP arrives.
Sparking collaborations with Jonny Craig and Rio Wiley in the past, Vertigo Child has more aces up his sleeve for this release.
Legendary voices AJ Perdomo (The Dangerous Summer) and Ollie Baxter (Broadside) lend their talents to craft a remarkable experience.
Whether it’s the afflicted “The Greatest Risk” or the infectious “One More Time”, every song is a winner through and through.
The EP, entitled Finding Comfort in Strange Places, captures the fervor and trepidation of relationships and their twists and turns.
Fans of Bilmuri/Too Close To Touch will thrive as they put this new Vertigo Child release on.
With so many elements coming together in each song, Finding Comfort in Strange Places is ear candy waiting to be consumed.
To capture the energy and dedication of this project this early is a delight for listeners discovering Vertigo Child.
This passion project sees the best of Pascarella’s songwriting, executed with a dedicated backing band.
Top that with his sensational swagger in musical delivery and you’ve got R&B’s newest diamond in the rough.
Spin some Vertigo Child and revel in one of the brightest young R&B artists around!
We’re talking today with one of the most exciting music artists on the scene today, Vertigo Child; welcome to Vents! With two months of the New Year officially under the belt, how would you rate 2022 personally?
It’s definitely off to a bittersweet start. Things are finally going back to somewhat normalcy, live music is back in full swing for the most part. Bands are touring. I’d say anywhere between a 6 & 8 out of 10. I can only hope this year gradually gets better.
- Major kudos are in order for your upcoming February 18 single Lost In You! This is such a beautiful and rousing anthem! How did this song come into being?
So around the time I began working on this EP, I had been really obsessed with Craig David. More specifically his song “You Know What” and I wanted to make a song just like it. The tempo grooved nicely so I ended up hitting up my producer Mike the Mix and had him make me up a beat that was along the same lines.
- Who was your producer on Lost In You and what did that particular collaboration look like?
This song was produced by a collective of about 3 different people. RJ DeMarco, who is in a band here called Fernway – he engineered, produced and mixed the entire EP. Mike the Mix co-produced this song as well as 3 others that are featured on the EP. Lastly, Rio Wiley assisted on vocal production as well as lyric writing. He worked with me on this whole EP as well as a good majority of my back catalog.
- How does a song like Lost In You differ from Body On Mind? How is it similar?
I definitely feel like we had a lot more time to properly craft Lost In You. The writing process for the song was a lot more focused and we were truly able to hone in on what we wanted to make exactly so the execution. During the writing process for Body On Mind, the guitarist I was previously working on decided to step down. So myself and my backing band were in a bit of a bind and needed to figure things out. Ultimately my producer (RJ DeMarco) ended up playing guitar on the track and it became what it is today. I think the only similarity between the two is probably the lyrical content, as both songs walk that risque line.
- Rhythm and Blues, Punk and Metalcore seems to be very much an influence on your style – what is it about these three distinct styles that quickens your pulse and makes you want to make music?
So I went to Warped Tour for about 8 consecutive years and was surrounded by metalcore and punk/pop punk music which ultimately led me to wanting to be in a band and such. R&B has more recently become one of my all time favorite genres and I want to do a lot more of that style going forward. My goal is to almost infuse the alternative rock genre with r&b to create my own kind of thing. I can also give my producer RJ credit for bringing a lot of the heavier punk elements into my music. I don’t think they would’ve happened if it wasn’t for him since he comes from that background.
- What is your take on the music scene as it exists in 2022? What do you feel are some of the highs and some of the lows?
It is definitely a lot harder these days to get your name out there and get noticed. With Tik Tok being a major asset, artists & bands have to take a bit of a new approach to reach a wider audience. It’s become very content based instead of music based. You can’t just release a single with a music video and expect something to come from it. You really have to grind and put out supporting content. I can’t think of very many highs because over the course of the last few years things just became a lot harder.
- What does your creative process look like when you’re putting together new material?
Previously when working on music it would start with a beat as the foundation, which would then get pulled back and my band mates would rework the song. After that I would work on my lyrics/melodies with Rio and we’d then take the song into the studio to be produced. But these days, it’s started out with myself and my guitarist getting together and bouncing ideas off of one another and then passing it around to the other guys until we reach the final product.
- You’re from Upstate New York – How do your roots inform the music you craft?
I grew up listening to a lot of pop and rock music growing up so I definitely feel like it reflects in a lot of the material I put out. I’ve been told that some of my music sounds like NSYNC which I grew up listening to as well as Backstreet Boys. So I definitely feel like a lot of what I grew up on translates into my music.
- You’ve been blessed with some brilliant collaborations with other artists such as Jonny Craig and Saxl Rose. How have these creatives illuminated your own path, musically speaking?
Jonny Craig has been quite a major influence on my vocal style for quite a handful of years and I think it shows a bit in the way I sing certain things. I’ve always been a huge fan of saxophone and I connected with Saxl Rose very early on and it only made sense for him to lay it down on Acceptance. I think every collaboration I’ve done so far has been for a significant reason.
- You’ve got an EP forthcoming which is entitled Finding Comfort in Strange Places. What can you tell fans about this eagerly anticipated release?
It is my best and my cohesive group of material that I’ve created thus far and I’m extremely proud of every song on it. I truly hope each and every listener enjoys these songs and can connect in some way.
- Which comes first for you: The lyrics or the music?
Usually, the music.
- Musically, who does Vertigo Child count as influences?
Elvis Presley, Justin Timberlake, Craig David, Broadside, The Dangerous Summer, Shawn Mendes, Chris Brown – to name a few.
- With COVID hopefully becoming endemic, can fans look forward to catching you on tour any time soon?
Touring, probably not for a while. But I will be playing shows in my local circuit starting in June.
- Looking ahead, where do you see Vertigo Child two years from now?
I’m hoping by then I will be actively touring the US, possibly have a full length record out by then. Doing music a lot more and releasing a lot more content. I hope to have collaborated and worked with a variety of different creatives by then as well. It’s hard to say since it’s only the beginning. Only time will tell where things are two years from now.
Artist/Band
https://www.facebook.com/VRTGOCHLD
https://www.instagram.com/vrtgochld/
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIU9_3hbUti-fAW1ca87tnw
https://vertigochild.bandcamp.com/