Vox Groovy

Vox Groovy Radio

We are currently working towards the English version of Art Relax—Vox Groovy’s very own radio show! Back in 2018, this program was only available in one language, but now, the search for more calming voices is coming to an end. You can expect to see an announcement regarding the first EN live show in the near future!

For the time being, please enjoy the wide variety of musical genres we play. With indie rock, symphonic metal and progressive rock—RVG is bound to have something to whisk you away for the remainder of the night.

Lastly, if you can understand the Slovak language and have an interest in contemporary art, feel free to tune in to the [.sk] version of Art Relax every other evening at 08:00 PM (GMT+1).

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Cyberpunk Is yet to Reach Its Zenith

The recent influx of cyberpunk works has led a number of people to think that its static vision of hi-tech dystopias must evolve if it means to survive, but this reimagining doesn’t seem like a good idea to fans of the genre. After all, the cautionary tale it offers its audience is only just beginning to be relevant now that a Blade Runner-esque world has become one of mankind’s potential futures. As Eddie Mendoza says, “I think that we are already kind of living in that cyberpunk era.” With this in mind, it might be fair to say that cyberpunk’s unchanging message is yet to reach its zenith—something that’s bound to happen if we ever begin to see its many worlds morphing into ours.

Mendoza is a concept artist from Manila, currently working for Apple in San Francisco. Those of you who frequent ArtStation would have seen his key frames grace the front-page before, and as it turns out, that’s how Vox Groovy first found out about him and his incredible contributions to the cyberpunk genre.

Of all the concept artists that the Internet has offered up, Mendoza quickly became a favourite of ours in this particular niche, and that’s part of the reason why we’re so excited to tell you that our exclusive interview with him will be published next week.

Mendoza’s understanding of world-building is something every aspiring concept artist could learn from. His answers shed light on the thought processes behind the worlds that he creates, highlighting things like: the Five Ws, imagining what it’s like to live in the place you are painting, reference photos, etc. And of course, there’s lots to learn about his artistic past and his many inspirations (Akira and Ghost in the Shell, among others). Here’s hoping that you all get something new out of this one when it’s published!

Illustration: E Mendoza – Neon Soaked Streets

Romain Jouandeau

E3 is one of the biggest events in the games industry, so we’re sure you’ve all seen the Ghost of Tsushima gameplay reveal when it was first shown. It’s a visually striking action-adventure game set in 12th century Japan—putting you in the shoes of one of the few samurai who survived the Mongol Empire’s invasion of the island of Tsushima. The players have to “become the ghost” in order to fight for the freedom of the island’s people.

The art department over at Sucker Punch Productions did a fantastic job, so RVG got in touch with Romain Jouandeau, a French concept artist who’s currently working on key-art for Tsushima. Prior to his move to Seattle, Romain worked on an unannounced project with Warner Bros Games. He then decided that he wants to move over to the US so he reached out to Sucker Punch and got a job there! Those who frequent ArtStation will also remember the high-end environment concepts he produced for Detroit: Become Human (2018).

We know it goes without saying, but given his work history, it’s no surprise that he’s often given the opportunity to work on the key-art for AAA games. Romain has a background in fine-art so there’s no over-reliance on digital tools, it’s all hard-earned technical knowledge.

This is an amazingly talented artist, and if you want to know more about what it’s like to be an up-and-coming concept artist in the games industry, then be sure to check back for when we publish our exclusive interview with him.

Interview