Carrots for the unwell

It was 20 years ago; I had been living near/in London for the past 6 months and was close to leave for France for a similar length. Music-wise, I had done a lot of things, but one was missing: visiting the offices of 4AD and v23.

Thanks to the likes of Dead Can Dance, Cocteau Twins, Lush, Belly, His name is alive, Red House Painters, Throwing Muses, Pixies and so forth, I had grown my musical tastes in the past 10 years to be very 4AD-influenced. But apart from the music, one thing always got my attention first: the sleeve art. Meticulously crafted by v23, the sleeve art was worth the price of the album itself. 

So. one day I took the tube and walked for miles until I reached 17-19 Alma Road. There it was: 4AD. I could see shelves and shelves of albums in the back and I had no idea what to do or say... it's not like there was a band there waiting for me to show up, right? So I approached the receptionist and asked about v23. Unfortunately, they had moved to their own space in a different part of town, but she was kind enough to give me their phone number and address.

What to do, what to do?

The day after, I called that number, not having thought what I was going to say. Someone answered the phone.

"Hi... Can I speak with Vaughan Oliver?"

"Speaking..."

My voice broke. I really was not prepared for Vaughan himself to answer the phone and here we were, talking. I more or less explained that I was a huge fan of his work with little time left in town and would love to go to his studio for no more than 15-20 minutes just to say hello in person.

Vaughan agreed for me to visit v23's studio the following Tuesday at 2pm.

At 1:59pm, I was knocking on their door, probably sweaty from the walk from the nearest tube station and the excitement.

Dominic Davies opened the door for me and led me upstairs, where not only Vaughan Oliver was waiting for me, but also Chris Bigg. I was not ready for this. Completely starstruck. Vaughan apologized for being a bit under the weather while he munched on a bag of carrots that were his medicine.

So, I sat down with them, explained I was a huge fan from Costa Rica, loved their work, suggested he should do some artwork for Absolut vodka, blah blah blah. Vaughan then asked me, "Have you seen all our works?". I responded that I probably hadn't and he kindly asked Chris to open all the drawers where their work was stored and show it to me.

I was in awe, completely speechless, looking not only at finished work like the very limited edition of This Rimy River but also at the models used for different albums. I had a camera with me but was not allowed to take pictures. I saw everything they had produced until then and by then I already had extended my visit to probably an hour. Vaughan and Chris took me for a late lunch at a nearby pizza restaurant, we talked some more about all things related to their work and lives, went back to v23, asked both of them to sign my copy of This Rimy River and left, still in awe. My 20 minute visit extended to 2 and a half hours.

Shortly less than 20 years after this visit, Vaughan died. I was really saddened by the news and I'm sure I'm not the only one already missing him.

PS: All of Vaughan's music-related work can be seen here.