When indie pop band Voxtrot first emerged in the Austin music scene in 2003, they found overnight success, garnering respect and admiration from fans and critics. After the release of their first EP, Raised by Wolves, the band grew exponentially, giving memorable performances across the US and international stages. Although the band disbanded in 2010, they still longed to give their fans more. In 2022, Voxtrot announced two new major releases and a reunion tour. The Daily Texan sat down with Voxtrot’s frontman, Ramesh Srivastava, to discuss the band’s highly anticipated returning album. 

Daily Texan: How was the process of reuniting with all the other members of Voxtrot for this return?

Ramesh Srivastava: The idea of the reunion has actually been brewing for a little bit. Actually, I was usually the person that said no, but this time it seemed absolutely right to me. Once the idea was repurposed, it took a pretty short amount of time for most people to come back on board.

DT: How do you feel about revisiting those old songs?

RS: It’s actually been a pretty pleasurable experience. There was a time when I fought against the idea of playing your early material. We felt like those had already been played out and the world needed something new from us. Once you let your ego settle down, you see that it’s great that you can produce work and have people form a strong relationship with it. Now, I actually really love playing them, (and) I have a lot of gratitude for them. 

DT: Did how quickly Voxtrot took off affect your disposition towards the band? 

RS: Being that young and being signed to a big label like that, having the spotlight on you, (it’s) really hard not to have ego take over. It’s very difficult to not feel an immense amount of pressure and not feel like you need to acclimate. To not create self-consciousness becomes almost impossible. The way to do it is to continually get back to your heart whenever you get too much in your head. It’s just kind of an exercise in maturity, learning how to stay true to yourself artistically. 

DT: How did you feel about the music scene in Austin when Voxtrot first started? 

RS: Voxtrot (was) really born of this pretty magical time in Austin. In the early 2000s, when Voxtrot first got together, Austin was still a very uncrowded, quiet, sleepy but highly artistic place, so it was great for fostering a big diversity of bands. I remember it as being this sweet, carefree time, and I feel like Voxtrot grew very naturally out of that. It was very, very organic. I have a lot of pride in being from Austin, and I still love this city. 

DT: What is next for the future of Voxtrot?

RS: It seems crazy to me to put all this effort into the promotion, the pressing of the records and the rehearsals and never do anything after that. At the same time, I’ve accepted that we just need to follow the energy. When it’s over, we will just know whether or not there’s anything else. I could see it as a setup for a kind of second wave of our career, or it might also just be the final goodbye. At this point, I’ve had to just leave it up to destiny.