Supervoid Choral Ensemble Sends Cosmic Riffs and Intricate Polyrhythms on “Live From the Downwhen Terminus” (Interview)

Can you have a supergroup with only two members? The Supervoid Choral Ensemble provides a strong argument that it is possible.

Ben Sharp made a name for himself as a solo musician behind it Cloudkickeran instrumental prog metal project that has been one of the longest-running acts on Bandcamp since the platform’s inception in 2008, while Vinny Roseboom is a legend in his own right as a drummer Gospelone of Brooklyn’s best – and most unique – hardcore bands. Together they are the Supervoid Choral Ensemble and their most recent debut album Live from Downwhen Terminus proves that they are still at the top of their respective games. With Roseboom’s dynamic percussion serving as both the foundation and trampoline for Sharp’s incredibly catchy fretboard acrobatics, one might wonder if prog was ever this much fun.

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Cloudkicker wasn’t just the first metal band I discovered in the early days of Bandcamp; Ben Sharp was one of the first artists (aside from bigger acts like Radiohead and Nine Inch Nails) that I released music using the “Name Your Price” model. When I first interviewed him on my college radio show in 2010, we both expressed our love for the Brooklyn punk band Gospel and their only album at the time. I don’t think any of us could have predicted that one day we would be in a band with their insanely talented and tasteful drummer.

The foundation for the Supervoid Choral Ensemble was laid over a decade ago, relatively early in Sharp’s musical career. “I first heard gospel in 2008 when my buddy Justin played ‘Golden Dawn,’” recalls Sharp, “and I was an instant fan.” I found drumming so interesting and different. No joke, I made a mental note and told myself that if this crazy drummer I’m listening to was somehow available to jam one day, I would quit my job and say yes.”

This day became a reality in 2022 after Gospel resumed their tour to promote their long-awaited second album The loser. Sharp explained how the stars aligned for him and Roseboom: “I posted the song ‘SRO’ on the Cloudkicker Instagram and Vinny hit me up like, ‘Woah, I didn’t know you liked my music.'” I said, ” Woah, I didn’t know you liked MY music,” so I suggested we grab a bite to eat one of the nights I was in NYC. That was in April 2022, I think we started jamming a few weeks later.”

Roseboom, on the other hand, never thought he would play in Cloudkicker, partly because he initially didn’t know that this band he discovered online was actually a single person. When he first heard Sharp’s music, he envisioned a full line-up, but that wouldn’t become a reality until Cloudkicker teamed up with fellow prog metal band Intronaut for a tour in 2014 – literally splitting members. “I’ve been a huge fan of his ever since beacon. At the time I thought Cloudkicker was a whole band. When I found out it was just one guy, it completely blew my mind. It’s so strange to think that one day I would be playing with someone I absolutely admire musically, and even better that I can call him my brother and good friend.”

As Sharp and Roseboom realized the potential of this newly formed partnership, the question inevitably arose: How can one begin writing seriously when Sharp lives in Columbus, Ohio, and Roseboom lives in Brooklyn, New York? Luckily, Sharp’s job took him to the Big Apple regularly, which allowed the two to work together in person rather than online. “We write everything together in the same room. No internet required except every now and then I send Vin a loop of a riff I made up so he can groove to it as homework or whatever. I actually work in NYC and fly planes out of LGA and JFK, so I came to work the day before, hopped on a train to Vinny’s house (he lives a block from the station) and we jammed for a few hours. We really have to concentrate because time is precious but it’s a lot of fun. Thanks to the pressure cooker element, we don’t really have time to think. I never know how our sessions will go, but we always end up writing cool stuff.”

Power duos are a relative rarity in metal, and early on there were talks of adding a third member to round out the line-up. However, based on the above exercise plan, this was an unrealistic prospect. “We auditioned some really good guys to play bass in the band, but we realized very quickly that any additional person would make it logistically a nightmare. I live in Ohio anyway and there are only about two to three days a month where we can actually be in the same place at the same time. So we both just said, screw it, let’s get into this two-part thing.”

The results – last year’s self-titled EP and the recently released Live from Downwhen Terminus– Emphasize each member’s individual strengths through organic give and take. Roseboom appreciated Sharp’s precision as a writer and player, which helped him structure some of his wilder ideas. “I can’t play straight away and I don’t understand the theory at all,” he admitted, “but I feel comfortable… and I think that’s what motivates me and Ben.” His way, straight to the point coming has a huge impact on my playing…makes me play less distracted and more focused, or at least as focused as my drunk ass can be!”

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Sharp, who recorded primarily as a solo artist for most of his career, found that he and Roseboom could immediately benefit from each other’s energy. “Vin likes to get all worked up when I say things like that, but he and I fit together really well musically and he picks up on my ideas very quickly. He also has really good songwriting skills, much better than me when it comes to structuring things like real songs […] His ideas and skills are top-notch, and his sense of professionalism in his playing and work as a band has inspired me to improve my skills in practice and ensure I am on top of all the little details of our performance.”

Live from Downwhen Terminus was recorded at the world famous God City in Salem, Massachusetts. For Roseboom, this was a familiar experience as she had previously worked with Kurt Ballou on Gospel’s previous albums: “This was my third time recording in God City and to be completely honest, this time it was the most relaxed time I’ve ever had have recorded. Of course, you always think about the time when booking a session, but aside from Kurt always being friendly and funny in his work, Ben made it even more relaxed. We both knew what we wanted and what needed to be done with the album, so the process was pretty smooth and a lot of fun at the same time.”

However, Sharp was initially put off by the prospect of recording in someone else’s studio: “The recording process there was completely foreign to me, I felt like a complete amateur. As a cloud kicker, I’m used to having all the time in the world, no one looking over my shoulder, lots of experiments and really no significant pressure. Going to God City was basically the exact opposite of that.”

Still, Sharp was able to adapt quickly to this new process and environment, and he remains incredibly grateful for the experience. “This whole Supervoid thing was a way out of a lot of things where I felt like my writing process was starting to calcify after 15 years at Cloudkicker. I wanted to do George Costanza’s “I’ll Do the Opposite.” All in all, it was very special for me to have the opportunity to go into that studio for a few days and see how a really high caliber professional engineer works, and this album will always remind me how fun, strange and different the two years were. It took five days to write and record it.”

Like most of Sharp’s previous works Live from Downwhen Terminus is available on Bandcamp as a “Name Your Price” download. Despite this common thread, he often feels that the tone has changed over the last decade and a half: “I think when I started, we were still in the utopian phase of the Internet. Bandcamp was still run like a human company, and there was a real sense of community among the few hardcore music fans who used the site. Pay what you want was still a new concept, Spotify didn’t exist in the US, Instagram didn’t exist, Facebook was for status updates and stalking old high school friends. Some of the cool ideas from back then are still around – I don’t think it’s ever been easier to record decent sounding music yourself – but I sense a kind of mass and growing cynicism about the internet in general, as well as a lot of the potential was commercialized or wasted. It feels like we’re back in the 90s and have a handful of entrepreneurial trendsetters again.”

Still, Sharp and Roseboom remain optimistic, at least in the short term. They have their first album in the bag and have two live shows coming up: October 18th in Columbus and October 19th in Greensburg, Pennsylvania. Sharp will continue to focus on Cloudkicker and The Supervoid Choral Ensemble, while Roseboom has added a few more bands to his resume since Gospel’s return to the scene. “’I’ve been lucky enough to have a number of friends over the last few years who are not only very close but also great musicians. A friend is Michael Delorenzo, who I really respect alongside Ben. He plays [with me] in both Medicinal and Death Certificate and is a typewriter of hardcore punk…which I never really played until I met him, so it’s a learning experience and a blessing at the same time.”

–Alex Chan

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Live from Downwhen Terminus is available digitally on Bandcamp and as an LP on Vitriol Records.