Ploy reveals ‘ideals, struggles and hopes’ in upcoming EP
If The XX and The Postal Service birthed a child, and if uncle Discovery jumped in to help raise the child it would be Ploy.
A two-man band formed by Justin Victoria and Gil Wojcik in a Starbucks in midtown Manhattan. This was back in March while Victoria was living and working at fashion shows in Manhattan and Wojcik went to visit him. However, the two originally began playing music back in the summer of 2009. Their creative sound is a pure collaboration between the two. Victoria explained to me, (via group text message), that, “We would share sounds and bounce ideas back and fourth. An Idea (sic) could spark from a random sample or chord.” These random samples and chords turned into their first four song, self titled EP coming out in August.
The first song, “Trill” on the album reveals the bands ideals, struggles and hopes with a deep bass line to back up Wojcik’s honest voice – making it easy to connect with the band on an emotional level, Can’t help but like Wojcik singing, “I never wanted this, I wanted better, she couldn’t give a shit, even if you let her.”
However, gold really starts to pour out once you hit their first single, “Anywhere.”
Wojcik shared with me about their writing process for the song explaining that, “I wrote up the rotary keyboard sound and lyrics on a whim one night and sent it to Justin. He liked it and came up with some percussion bits. Then we met the next morning and over a couple of weeks came up with different textual sounds and synths together and layer it all out and shabam!.”
Wojcik said he came up with the tune and then wrote the lyrics around the feeling of the song.
“Anywhere” starts out very mellow with Wojcik singing, “Oh I know what she wants, but she knows what I can’t give”, and continues with the echoing melody of heartbreak and dissatisfaction.
The song ends with a much needed build up with an explosive crash of beats, breaking from the sedated sound of the song. But please, listen and experience it for yourself.
If you would like to learn more about the members of this band, listen to Wojcik’s solo project, Gil, and if you ever find yourself in Brooklyn on a Friday night, Victoria co-DJs an event called, Get Buck, with Adam Santiago, at Legion Bar in Williamsburg. I attended one of the events and was pleasantly surprised by the sheer volume of people jammed on the small dance floor.
Mian Hickler is an English student who has recently moved back to Tempe, AZ from DC. She enjoys finding new music, making her own clothes, reading Frank O’Hara poetry and drinking cappuccinos.