After moving out to the US from the far away city of Budapest, Hungary, Renato Gresz isolated himself from most things he was used being exposed to. This new way of living was the reason that he was able to teach himself music production in his bedroom and allowed him to experiment with different genres and styles of playing, writing and recording music. The invested time and indulging efforts resulted into an outcome we will all be appreciative of.. he project called Ventures (FKA Sea Ventures). Instead of bedroom pop his so called “bathtub melancholic” style of singing and occasional madness, creates an atmosphere that welcomes emotions in the strangest forms. Making noise into beauty that you fear to explore, but desire to experience, his song “Pink Flowers” has this dainty conviction of songwriting and emotional substance. “Pink Flowers” is highly comprehensive, unusual from your typical norm of pop music, the all-inclusive approach was memorable for me. “Pink Flowers” has numerous of elements jam packed within one transcendental record. The meaning behind “Pink Flowers” seemed to have been locked and up to us to decode and analyze the intellectual tune. The vocals alongside the cool aesthetic beat made to be my favorite elements of the song. The fused sound by both created a sensational environment for me. However, my personal favorite section in “ Pink Flowers” is the 3 different major transitions in the beat. It takes the song into multiple different directions rather than sticking within one lane. It was one of the few elements that caused me to become a fan of Renato, besides of course his poetic lyricism. The nomadic aura of “ Pink Flowers” suits perfectly for those of you who are fan of artists such as “FKA twigs”.
Listen to Ventures new song "Pink Flowers".
Hi there, care to introduce yourself to our readers?
Hi! My name is Renato. Im 6’1” and I weigh 154 pounds. I’m a blonde Caucasian male and the color of my eyes are blue with a slight tint of green. My nationality is Hungarian and I wear glasses that are shaped like the one your grandfather probably wears.
How did you form the name “Ventures” ? any meaning or inspiration behind it?
Honestly it just sounded cool so I kind of went with Sea Ventures when I released my first EP, but it felt like a band name and currently I’m working alone so I decided to take the Sea out if it. There’s not really much behind it.
What inspired you to write your single “ Pink Flowers”?
It was actual pink flowers. I was at a thrift store in Florida and I saw these pictures of different plants and flowers and it kinda caught my attention so I kept being focused on that imagery and visual in my head.
You have a unique style, if you could categorize your music in any genre what would you categorize it as and why?
When people ask me about my music I usually tell them that I make sad noises, but if I had to put it into a genre I would say it’s experimental pop bestrewed with elements of eastern folk and electronic pulses.
Do you have any musical influences? If so who and why?
When I was making this song I actually felt bad when I heard similarity in my sound to something I listen to, because taking inspiration from other artists felt like I’m not being creative and copying someone else so it took me some time and courage to realize that inspiration is the path to creativity. You can’t really make something from nothing therefore you need a source that nudges you in a direction. Bon Iver’s 22, A Million was a major influence on this and I’d say mostly, because of the way those songs break out from the norm and have these cracks and very pleasant sound and samples which give it this unexplained flow that immediately catches one’s attention. Another big one was Trevor Powers’ album called Mulberry Violence. His way of using noise that wouldn’t be expected to be made into music, fit in perfectly with the dissonant piano chords, loud industrial beats and discontinuous scenes that leave you feeling like the blood freezes for those moments in your body. And if I had to say one more It would be Young Fathers’ Cocoa Sugar album. All three of these artists are kind of doing the same thing by making a unique sound that you couldn’t imagine hearing before so you are really surprised when you hear something so unexpected. I really look up to people who are able to create that.
What’s the impact you hope for your music to have on your listeners?
I don’t really want to have an impact with my music. I sure hope for it to inspire people to have a better understanding of themselves not, because I wan’t to change something in them or show them something of myself, but to help make them vulnerable towards themselves and gain more understanding of what’s going on.
What was your initial vision for “ Pink Flowers” ? Do you think you executed your vision as planned?
When you look at a flower you see something beautiful and captivating, but that flower also dies one day and then it looks ugly. There’s this sort of fear that takes a hold of you as you see the reality of this around you. I really wanted to focus on different things that represent the aforementioned image. “pink flowers blooming in our hearts, wild cherries rotting in our minds” I wanted to build the song around these objects and personify them as if I was talking to them, but since these also represent almost everything in life, I’m also talking to myself and everyone around me. A lot of my relationships with people and my relationship with myself are represented in this song. There’s this circle of emotions within everyone towards everyone that makes them want to say different things and change their minds about it a minute later. Like when you were a teenager and you’d tell your parents you loved them, but five minutes later when you got into some stupid fight with them you’d tell them you hate them, but an hour later you felt differently again. “so come here and rest yourself......still, I would love to make you cry”.
Have you performed live yet? If so, how do you get rid of your nerves? If you haven’t performed live yet, how are you planning on overcoming any nerves you may feel?
I haven’t performed with this new project yet, but when the time comes I hope I’ll figure out how to deal with it. The other bands I performed with, I didn’t feel nervous so much, because I wasn’t alone, since there were five other people performing and a concert is like a construction where you’re not the only pillar so the weight isn’t only on your shoulder and the responsibility splits up therefore you know the focus isn’t only on you. Also if I still felt anxious I just drank a few beers before the gig and hoped for the best.
What’s your 3 month, 6 month, and 1 year career goal?
In 3 months: Have my first gig. In 6 months: Either release an EP or be working on album in 1 year: I wanna buy a farm in Missouri and raise up families of opossums and armadillos while I have my own fountain that has root beer flowing out of if.
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