We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful VNIX. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with VNIX below.
Alright, VNIX thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?
The most meaningful project of mine to date will be my forthcoming autobiographical album, “Chrysalis”. This album deeply explores my experiences growing up as a scapegoated child subjected to narcissistic family abuse. Other themes on this album that I reflect upon are identity, existential crises, morality, sexuality, mental health, poverty, disabilities, and the state of the world.
After relocating from Philly to Texas in 2019, my life wasn’t working well so I began therapy. It helped me process and better understand the more intense experiences I had endured and this tremendous clarity reignited my passion for songwriting and led me back to my ballad roots; inspiring me to create a body of work that authentically reflected what my story was (a story I had been avoiding writing about for so long). Another reason I’m excited to release this album is because these themes are connective with a wide variety of people out there in the world. For an artist like myself, this allows me to create a significant bond with people, and to potentially make an actual impact on someone’s life, is a dream come true.
Lastly, scapegoats of the world need to hear, see, and feel the message that their lives CAN work; whether that be reflected in the accomplishments of people overcoming their own obstacles and limitations or through the examples of other scapegoated adults turning their lives around! When I was doing a lot of research on narcissistic family abuse trying to understand my own experience, heal, and get answers, I read a lot of material, attended groups, and scoured the internet for any resources available on the topic. However, there wasn’t much, not as much as on relationship narcissism. When I did find a few good resources, I remember someone on the topic saying, “The scapegoat’s life is not supposed to work” and that really hit me hard, because man, do I know how true that is and what that means. This is part of why healing from this type of abuse is so challenging—adults are expected to be independent and manage their own lives, yet there is a great deal of financial, mental, and physical infantilization that intercepts that maturational development. What that line suggested about their quality of life made me realize how important it was for any surviving scapegoat to use their voice, resources, and spirit of resiliency to inspire and lead other scapegoats who are struggling.
So, that’s what this project is about; it’s a reminder that your life CAN work, the voice in your head CAN be your own, and the inner child rescued.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
VNIX, an independent artist from Philadelphia, discovered his passion for music and art as a means of escape and expression from a young age. Amidst feeling out of place and bullied at school, he found solace in empty churches with pianos, teaching himself to write, sing, and perform. His childhood creativity extended to designing costumes, crafting stage props, filming and editing videos and photography, conceiving invention ideas, sketching logos, writing arrangements, songs, poetry, and philosophies, playing keyboards and synths, and even creating horror movie scripts, drawing monsters, and envisioning creature lores.
His journey evolved when he received a keyboard as a gift, sparking his transition from poetry to songwriting and performing at open mics. Though initially pursuing acting with a scholarship, his love for music led him to Berklee College of Music before financial constraints redirected him back home. Determined to pursue his musical dream independently, VNIX worked multiple jobs to fund his music, writing prolifically despite setbacks and enhancing his creative skills. For a period of time he adopted the alias V The Phoenix until finally combining his last name Viozzi with the word Phoenix to become VNIX. He sought to integrate his music with elaborate stage designs and costumes, inspired by comic-books and the phoenix mythology, to put on a multi-media experience of profoundness. VNIX has performed at notable venues like Philadelphia’s Love Park, Goodbye Blue Monday, KungFu NeckTie, and NYC’s Underground Lounge. He was also invited to perform at the Beta Hi-Fi Emerging Music Festival hosted at World Cafe Live. His releases include the pop EP “500”, singles like “Sexual Telepathy”, “Bad For You”, and “Love Through The Pain”, culminating in the album “SEXISTENTIAL” in 2023.
Currently, VNIX is focused on recording his debut album “Chrysalis”, exploring themes of generational trauma, existential crisis, morality, poverty, and personal metamorphosis. Future projects include albums like “Apotheosis”, “Zenith Chasm”, a Christmas album, and creative ventures spanning from a self-help book titled “The Powerful You” to a painting series titled “Damaged Gods”. With every key he presses and each note composed, VNIX pours his heart and soul into his music, inviting anyone who will listen into a world where pain is transformed into art and growth is eternal. His story, filled with resilience, passion, and unwavering determination, speaks volumes to all who dare to dream.
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
My spirit itself is a creature of resiliency and I a creature of rebirth, because despite past experiences, mistakes, risks, investments, every opportunity taken or passed up on, and all of my disabilities, I have never been able to just quit on this pursuit. In addition, I also make sure that other people’s perceptions and narratives do not negatively impact me or define the totality of how I understand myself, which is especially challenging for a scapegoated child to do.
For those unfamiliar, I have been diagnosed with several severe disabilities. Everything I’ve ever learned about each one has taught me how debilitating they can be to manage on their own with medicine (let alone without). It’s tough to navigate such a complicated mind with all these severe conditions active and still remain regulated by neurotypical standards through the trials and tribulations of childhood and adulthood. The conclusion was apparent to me: no one will ever understand my mind as well as I do, and if nobody will have my user manual, then I will need to figure out how to hack my own brain. I found that self-understanding is crucial for grafting the maps of your neurological geography and for building the tools subsequent with what that mental landscape requires.
I’ve been studying and exploring this power of my own mind since I was a child, because I refuse to let this reality lead me to surrender my brain to mind control technologies masquerading as “convenient”, “helpful”, and “cool” such as Elon Musk’s Neuralink. These technologies are a perfect example of the saying, “the road to hell is paved with good intentions”. Why? Because this is transhuman technology and raises a myriad of ethical concerns. The good that can come from this technology may not be equivalent to the overall hypothetical bad that could come from it if it falls into the wrong hands. When we play God, we force evolution beyond what it may be ready for, we force ourselves to adapt beyond what we are even capable of, and there can be dire consequences, even unexpected ones.
The human consciousness and ego has ways to go in development; yet the lives, the fates, and the futures of billions are impacted everyday by elite individuals with “good intentions” experimenting with their “ideas”, and any negative consequences to that experimenting, affects us all. We cannot give consent to things we do not truly understand and we cannot give power to individuals and corporations unwilling to take accountability for what they do and what happens as a result of their doing. Despite technological advances like this that showcase the level of intelligence we have to work with, humanity still struggles with issues like homelessness, disease, poverty, and hunger, and that makes me question whether intelligent minds could be better utilized in areas of actual need (unless there’s some other agenda for keeping these issues life-long world problems). Makes you want to look deeper, doesn’t it?
That brings me to another area of resilience to highlight; to design your own path despite obstacle. When you start researching into what’s really happening in the world – how corporations operate, what our governments permit, what’s happening behind industry veils, the laws that sneak by while we’re distracted with theatrics and headlines, and how we’re manipulated, deceived, and pitted against each other – it opens the eye. You begin to see who truly runs things: the banks, certain influential families, and elites whose actions speak louder than their words. When you start connecting the dots between past events, current situations, and future foreshadowing and predictions, you get smacked in the face with an existential disillusionment that’s so extremely difficult to combat and is usually followed by thoughts of “what do I do? what can I do? What can any of us do? What now?” and a sense of dread, learned helplessness, and powerlessness.
Despite these enraging truths about a rigged system and how the music industry which I devote myself to is part of it, I could have understandably given up and buried my dreams. But the dreamer in me sees the world’s potential, even after learning about those who control that potential with little regard to it, especially for unity, love, or collaboration fueling the reigns. I choose to continue expressing myself and leaving behind whatever legacy I am able to. To keep fighting to lead with hope, to bring light what hides in the dark, inspire others, and live authentically in the face of constant resistance, setbacks, and financial barriers—that’s a testament to resilience and perseverance.
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
Being creative is like an intelligence that we cultivate with our imagination. I experience my imagination like an abyss of creation where I can workshop ideas before brining them into realities. Being an artist is like accepting your creativity as a holy bestowment to communicate and engage with the species of a particular dimension – this is when our art takes on a larger message or mission. Every time I paint or build something, write a poem, song, philosophy, every time I sing, act, draw or create something, I am participating in these God-given gifts and it is up to me to remember just how powerful these gifts are and to use them wisely.
For example, I was writing a lot of music about sex, love, and heartbreak. Because these themes are authentic human experiences, they deserve to be sung about just like any other; however, I wasn’t balancing this with everything else including what I was learning about the human mind, energy, the body, frequencies and sound and how most of this knowledge is used against us via mind/body control research. Songs can seem to cast spells upon us due to their repetitive nature, because when you sing them, whether in your mind or out loud, there’s no buffer to help your subconscious distinguish between the song itself and the impact of a repeating phrase or theme becoming internalized out of context, which can get unintentionally associated with your sense of self or worldview.
I cannot control how others will be affected by my music, but I can do my best to write empowering messages and keep my music topically balanced. Especially during a period in time when people seem to be losing their hope in humanity and faith in each other, messages in music and entertainment need to be uplifting, engaging, thought-provoking, action-provoking, encouraging, empowering, nurturing, healing, and electrifying. With this upcoming album of mine “Chrysalis”, I tried to keep this concept in mind when telling these painful stories so I could layer them with positive lessons, advice, philosophies, or affirmations of strength, hope, love, and power.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.vnixmusic.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vnixmusic/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vnixmusic/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/vnixmusic/
- Soundcloud: https://www.soundcloud.com/vnixmusic/
- Other: https://music.apple.com/us/artist/vnix/1465395301
https://www.paypal.com/donate/?cmd=_donations&[email protected]&item_name=VNIX¤cy_code=USD
Image Credits
Vnix Viozzi