Interview: Vince Cuneo Channels His Inner Buccaneer for New Solo Project, Portraits of Pirates

Ahoy, mateys! Vince Cuneo inaugurates his latest creative identity, Portraits of Pirates, with ‘Floating Gold,’ quite possibly the most soothing pirate-inspired music you’ve ever come across.

Stream: ‘Floating Gold’ – Portraits of Pirates

When you listen to pirate-themed music (Hans Zimmer’s theme for Pirates of the Caribbean, e.g.), the general idea is to get in the mood to hit the Seven Seas, clash some swords, steal some gold, swig down some rum, and other crucial elements of a pirate’s day-in, day-out lifestyle.

But what if, alternatively, playing music inspired by pirates put you in the mood for meditation, of all things?

Floating Gold - Portraits of Pirates — ‘Floating Gold’ is Vince Cuneo’s debut album as Portraits of Pirates

That is the concept which Venice Beach guitarist Vince Cuneo is exploring in his latest creative endeavor, “Portraits of Pirates.” One half of psych rock duo “Movie Club” with writer/drummer Jessamyn Violet, Cuneo is now experimenting once again and rebranding his act as a one-man affair.

His new music draws upon some elements of his past work while also infusing it with some homages to pirates, not something he’s commonly done before. But given his favorite baseball team (he’s from Pittsburgh) and his favorite ride at Disneyland as a kid, it sort of make sense that he’d pay tribute to pirates at some point or other as a musician.

Independently released November 9^th, Floating Gold features 10 chill pirate-influenced songs that Cuneo first performed at various meditation events and cannabis yoga clubs around his current hometown of Los Angeles, then formally mixed and mastered in the studio.

Each psychedelic track is infused with various sounds of the ocean and comes with a visualizer (this one of “Blackbeard,” for instance) that reinforces the thematic concept of the album.

Cuneo speaks of his gentle and delicate approach to conquering the Seven Seas in a conversation with Atwood Magazine.

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:: stream/purchase Floating Gold here ::

:: connect with Portraits of Pirates here ::

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“Blackbeard” – Portraits of Pirates

A CONVERSATION WITH VINCE CUNEO

Atwood Magazine: A lot of us were fascinated by pirates as kids. What additional perspective do you think you get on them by still being a fan of theirs as an adult musician?

Vince Cuneo: I first became obsessed with pirates through Peter Pan and the Treasure Island stories. The idea of being on the open sea hunting for treasure was a magical idea to me as a kid. This same theme has been a part of my journey as an artist. I’m always trying to explore new sounds and am not always sure where the adventure will take me.

You set out to make this music for the purposes of meditation. How do you think that influenced the sounds of the project?

Vince Cuneo: This guitar music is a step back from shredding, it’s more about letting the instrument and tones breathe. The sounds are very healing for me and it allows me to check in with my emotions and inspiration at that moment.

Whereas you also have a duo with Jessamyn Violet called Movie Club, you are now launching a new side project-- what is similar or different about this current experience?

Vince Cuneo: Movie Club is always busy gigging, writing, and releasing new material, so this is just a different way to stay constantly creative. Since I began exploring ambient psychedelic sounds, we incorporated aspects of this style into our last record, Great White. Both projects influence each other.

Meet Movie Club, a Venice Beach Duo Chomping Down Hard with New LP ‘Great White’

:: INTERVIEW ::

How did the production of this album go? What made you decide the 10-track package you ended up with was what you'd been aiming for?

Vince Cuneo: Floating Gold was the first album I produced, recorded, mixed, and mastered on my own. It just felt finished at 10 tracks. There was a lot of trial and error in the beginning, but then I decided to track most of the album live. The album is meant to be listened to as one complete piece because each track bleeds into each other with sampled sounds of the ocean.

How did you develop the idea for the video for “Blackbeard”? Does the mixture of pirate and rock 'n roll imagery represent something?

Vince Cuneo: The root idea behind this video was a pirate trying to find buried treasure. I wanted to show that there is no clear path to find the treasure and no way to know what will be inside the chest. In this case, the treasure chest was a portal for a modern-day pirate discovering their guitar which visually represents where this project is today.

Are you still in the process of shooting visualizers for each of the tracks? What's it been like to be active as both a musician and a filmmaker as part of this project?

Vince Cuneo: I completed the visualizers for all ten tracks in southern California as well as an aquarium that had pirate-themed props in the tanks. Filming these visualizers helped me name the different tracks as well. Combining music and visuals has always been one of the joys of the creative process. This part came very naturally and I’m hoping it is just another way for people to enjoy the album.

What are your hopes for Floating Gold? How do you hope audiences will connect with it?

Vince Cuneo: My hope is that people take 30 minutes of their day to vibe out to the entire album. As with any of the art I create, I hope it brings joy and inspiration to someone’s day.

Is “floating gold” different from other types of gold? What does the title here represent?

Vince Cuneo: Since pirate’s treasure is usually buried, and gold sinks to the bottom of the ocean, I like the idea of floating gold and the experimental sound of this record represents that theme.

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