The artist duo comprised of Alana Rolfe and Timo Massa formed in Fort Collins, Colorado. 2020 saw the release of "The Warped Glimmer", the pair's debut full length album, charting #89 on College Radio Charts. VIVIAN explores hip hop beats, psychedelic textures, sultry vocals and glitchy details to create the esthetic some have referred to as "mushroom-pop". Their EP, "Snapsounds vol 1: March in the Marigny" released September 2021 preludes the release of their 2nd full length album, "Pressure Makes Diamonds" upcoming in 2022.
“In order to maintain the commitment of Fighting for Art, Fighting for Culture, and Fighting for Community, OpenStage is partnering with the local Fort Collins band, VIVIAN to create sound effects and feature their song, “Break” in their production of Natural Shocks by Lauren Gunderson.”
NPR Live Sessions featuring acoustic versions of “Break” and “Float” from The Warped Glimmer.
“Vivian has released the song “The Warped Glimmer” from the album of the same title. The only genre that could possibly describe it is experimental. There are elements of pop, rock, hip hop, and dance, but it can not be fully described as any one of those genres. It is truly something unlike what listeners have likely heard before, and in a good way.”
“Spacy in all the right ways and saturated in the tell tale signs of art-rock gone pop, The Warped Glimmer is VIVIAN turning on cruise control and putting the seat back for you. It’s a warm envelope to rest in but exciting enough not to put you to sleep.”
WTCC 90.7 Radio Charts
Summer Chart 6/4/2020 #18
Top 40 6/4/2020 #26
Top 40 5/25/2020 #26
Top 40 5/18/2020 #9 (ads)
“The music is in the style of dream-pop (which I love) but also with an interesting twist. The ambiance here is mellow and almost haunting at first, and then the beat kicks in and you can feel the deep energy of this song, which could power a force field. Alana Rolfe has a teriffic voice, a much better singer than one typically finds in this genre. The backing music is dynamic, darkly futuristic and full of surprises. The Warped Glimmer makes creative use of every moment of its 4:31 runtime. I honestly love this band.”
VIIVAN Featured on the Indie 102.3 Local 303 - June 2020
“VIVIAN’s Debut Single “Tick Tock Talk” is a Windswept Dream Pop Goodbye to a Mindset Limited by the Mundane”
“Everything went very quickly for the American duo Vivian: a desire to make music together after several years playing in the same group, nascent feelings that give substance to their first creations, a confined recording... for a first album where their synthetic pop with eighties vibrations also makes sparks, including a tick Tock Talk particularly haunting ....”
Election Titre de l'année Ziklibrenbib 2021 (Bande-Annonce) - YouTube
2020 Song Contest Video
“The Warped Glimmer” is such a unique song. On it, Rolfe sings about once having everything she wanted and watching it disappear in front of her eyes. This is not only a feeling that we can all relate to but it is also a feeling that inevitably touches all aspects of life (Especially love). True to the genre ‘dream pop,’ “The Warped Glimmer” has pop elements but with an electric/alternative twist.”
"Sitting somewhere between dream-pop and the more beat orientated end of ambient dance, it laces classical piano motifs, deftly picked guitar and futuristic synth resonance through the simple yet stunningly effective melodies and all of which acts as a perfect frame and a vehicle for the gorgeous, graceful and dynamic vocals of Alana Rolfe."
DANCING ABOUT ARCHITECTURE (review by Dave Franklin)
“Though difficult to peg this union of musical souls in terms of genre, their first album, The Warped Glimmer, released in May of 2020, lends itself to dream-pop, trip-hop, and electronic, with an ever-changing course that will be interesting to follow into their next release. Where their seasoned foundation will lead is hard to say, but whatever transpires, it will be unique and their own.”
“Vivian’s new single and title track to their latest album The Warped Glimmer totes an irresistible groove that infuses both acoustic and electronic instrumentation into its sonic landscape. The Warped Glimmer’s hazy aesthetic adds a taste of timelessness to the overall composition that takes us to another world and acts as a podium Alana Rolfe’s vocal charms. The Warped Glimmer by Vivian is experimental, innovative, but most assuredly wrapped in the emotional fervor of love.”
Sometimes, songs are true stories translated to the abstract medium of sound. To listen to the Warped Glimmer, the inaugural full length album by Colorado dream-pop duo Vivian, is to witness its members, Alana Rolfe and Tim Massa, falling in love.
Massa’s life underwent a complete metamorphosis: first, a breakup; then, a new living situation, and finally, leaving a job. From that transformative space, Massa sketched out the electronic background of the sonic landscape that would become Vivian. Rolfe heard the songs on Soundcloud and offered to add her lyrics and vocals to the mix. The two were used to working together--in the virtuosic gypsy rock band Stella Luce, and in their music industry day jobs--but for once, they volleyed ideas back and forth virtually, adding their own layers to each song. This project was a grand departure from Stella Luce. Their former band’s fiery rock romanticism, earthy and primitive and often staccatoed with exotic stringed instruments, was replaced with ethereal electronic chill: dreamy washes of synths, full body bass vibrations, and echoing electric guitar. Whereas Stella Luce was proudly egalitarian and rooted in the vibing between members at their frenetic live shows, this new project focused on illuminating the vibrant star power of Rolfe’s vocals. With that new focus, more freedom to edit and carve out their exact vision. Just as Warped Glimmer’s sparkle began to materialize, the two musicians fell in love. Vivian was born. Rolfe, slated to move to Wyoming and quit music, left her former relationship to stay making music with Massa. They moved in together and began their most prolific creative project to date shortly before the COVID-19 pandemic hit. In quarantine, their new love and creative collaboration only heated up. “The songs are just tumbling out of us,” says Rolfe.
Occasionally, a sonic element will creep through the Warped Glimmer to reveal the minds behind Stella Luce--like a stringed instrument playing in a minor chord, or Eastern European-tinged feverishness (think the titular song on the Warped Glimmer). Still, others like “Tick Tock Talk” or “Break” sound like they could be the sensual, bass-heavy comingling of FKA Twigs, Portishead and even Dirty Projectors. With lyrics that are edgy and sensitive, begging and pleading: “Don’t break me now,” it’s easy to imagine the Warped Glimmer as the creative lovechild of two people falling in love. Massa even jokes that they make “music to fuck to.” Still, the duo doesn’t want to be pigeonholed. Their goal in creating a dream pop album of this atmospheric ascension is to let each listener experience, and dream, as they see fit.