Hervé “RV” Salters, the mastermind behind left-field soul project General Elektriks, never thought he would be more than a keyboardist and songwriter while living in his native Paris. All that changed when he made it to the States in 1999 and soon after began recording solo material (vocals included) under the GE alias on the renowned Quannum Projects. But while catching up with the humble Salters in Austin during the festival week, he recalls that the first time he grabbed the microphone to sing, it wasn’t pretty. “Brutal” are his exact words.
“It was terrible—it was really violent actually,” he recalls before letting out a good laugh. “I don’t know if you can imagine, but I’m a pretty discrete person. I don’t really see myself as someone who likes to have the spotlight on him or anything like that and so I really was forcing myself to become somebody I didn’t exactly want to be.”
Thankfully for his future audience, Salters got over the stage fright with experience and now has two General Elektriks albums (Cliquety Kliqk and Good City for Dreamers) and countless shows under his belt. “I figured out a way to just be myself and still be down with that character that I was on stage, which is basically another part of you.”
Even not having ever thought of being a frontman, with “Little Lady” and other songs from his sophomore album, Salters ably lets his soul glow via melodic vocals that sound more subtle than strained. He sings like a pop vocalist with personality, unconcerned with following what’s hot.
After an unfulfilling experience being signed to a major label in France with a previous band, Salters’ craving to create without such specific expectations is actually what sparked the General Elektriks project. In coming to America he thought to himself, “’I have to start actively doing something where I can be financially independent just doing exactly what I want artistically and not have to answer to anyone else about what I want to do aesthetically.’ And also, just get everything I need to get out of my system out of there.”
Given this situation, the music of GE is quirky soul that is based in the vintage keyboard sound of the clavinet or Fender Rhodes run through effects pedals, but adds varying percussive elements to tap into hip-hop, funk, and even free jazz-esque vibes as well. For Salters, GE is an all-encompassing experience.
As he explains, “I definitely am into pop music, something that you can whistle in your shower so the idea is take all these elements that I dig and put them in every song.”
Interview by Max Herman, Photos by Dustin Downing
