We spoke to the band for our showcase at The Great Escape ahead of the release of their debut EP this July.
Photos: Elinor Haskew | Words: Lloyd Bolton
Velvetine's music is defined by a forcefulness of feeling, gothic and twisted, delineated by cathartic bursts of noisy riffs contrasted against moments of fragility. Inspired as much by cinematic influences like David Lynch and the French New Wave as the intensity of Nick Cave and my bloody valentine, they have been steadily winning fans and sharpening their sound in London and beyond over the past few years. Next month, they release their debut EP 'Wisteria' and we are excited to hear this first full collection of their work, which follows on from a string of tantalising singles dating back to 2023's 'Curtainsong'. We spoke to the band on Brighton Beach last month ahead of their set at our Great Escape showcase getting an introduction to the bands' influences and the ideas around the coming EP.
So first up, how did the band meet?
Mia [Vocalist]: "It was like a long process… basically I moved into a house where Ross [guitarist] lived… I got an offer to play a show and I needed to bring those songs to life, so I asked Ross and we just kind of stayed together. Then Josh [drummer] joined and that was the moment where the band kind of became what it was. Then Nate [bassist] joined like a year after…"
Did the music need a certain sound or did that develop naturally around those songs?
Mia: We kind of just agreed on what we wanted to do, I guess.
Ross: It's taken quite a natural evolution, there's never been many arguments, really.
Mia: We nerd out on similar stuff, like films and music… I feel like we've also been developing our own [collective] taste…
So is there an expanded cinematic universe that pairs with your music, then?
Josh: There is a bit, yeah.
Nate: Jean-Luc Godard…
Mia: Jim Jarmusch too…. [and] we obviously love David Lynch, I don't think that's news…
How does your work channel Lynch specifically?
Mia: It's funny, I guess he plays an important part for all of us with our influences. On the day he died we were recording in January, we were talking about him too and then that was when we found out.
Ross: We made the bookends to the EP thinking about the soundscapes he creates in his movies. We recorded the bulk of one of them in the last morning in the studio before we left and then we were talking with the producer about him, mainly about Blue Velvet. Then we got the train back, we were going to an event, and literally on the train back we saw the news.
If you were based anywhere else, where would it be?
Mia: I guess maybe somewhere by the sea, like Scotland. Or Paris or New York. If it was easy to get to somewhere like in the middle of Scotland that would be ideal.
Nate: I think we talked about this quite a bit like oh maybe we should move to a little seaside town, swim in the morning and stuff.
Josh: I'm a city boy so Paris or New York.
Ross: I'd be quite happy here to be honest, I've always loved Brighton
Lot of goths on the seaside, right?
Ross: There's more and more every time I come, don't know what that's about.
Which character from Mario would you most want in your band?
Josh: Gotta be Dry Bones.
Oh yeah? What would he play?
Josh: He plays ribs! Like a glockenspiel, you know?
Nate: I can see Waluigi playing a synthesiser, like, he's big and tall, kinda gothic, kinda looks like Nosferatu.
What is the first record you ever bought?
Nate: The first record I ever bought was an Elvis record from Safeway, with pocket money my grandma gave me.
Ooh which one??
Nate: It was a compilation called 'Elvis Rock', and the first song was 'Heartbreak Hotel'.
Josh: Mine was either 'Progress' by Take That, or it was Queen's 'Absolute Greatest Hits'.
Mia: That's a dark past … it would be Shakira… and probably like Aerosmith. I was little!
Ross: Mine was 'My Prerogative' by Britney Spears. No shame whatsoever.
What's your favourite song to play live?
Josh: We just wrote this new one… has it got a name yet?
Mia: … maybe 'Never Motion'.
Josh: It's either that one or 'Underneath' which is on our upcoming EP.
Nate: Yeah this new one kind of bangs… we've been kind of accidentally playing it…
Accidentally?
Nate: Like in between stuff or as like an intro. When we were recording we kinda just ended up playing this thing and Jack Gilbert – legend – he was just recording us while we were practicing it and we were like, "Oh right! We made something out of this!"
Ross – Mine's probably this newest one… or 'Ecstasy'.
What's your favourite thing that one other member of the band does during the set?
Ross: I love how Josh jumps out of his seat when he plays drums… it's really primal.
Nate: I've never watched a drummer before where they put so much effort in… it's kind of like frontman energy.
Josh: I like when Mia does the [gestures] hand stuff … the Donald Trump hand movements…
Mia: Yeah that's the reference…
The songs are all quite dynamic, so I really like when we all go quiet, pause, and then come back and explode together – it feels like we're just kind of connecting…
Tell us a bit more about the new EP, is there a story connecting it?
Mia: There is a kind of concept to it, they kind of merge into each other. The order is quite specific. Also the time we wrote them and how they've been evolving… it's not a story but it definitely touches on [certain] concepts.
Nate: It's kind of like one start to finish thing… the songs are not necessarily related to each other, but we chose them so it goes from the beginning to the end.
Does come more from the lyrics or the music?
Nate: Just more like, movement.
Ross: It's quite bookended with introduction and ending. It feels like the kind of thing that you could loop back around when it ends.
Are there any surprises on there compared to the live versions?
Ross: We went in there and tracked everything live, we wanted to get that…
Nate: … they're all single takes.
Ross: We tried to keep the overdubbing quite specific because we didn't want it to sound too dissimilar to the live set… I had fun layering the guitars when I saw fit but I didn't want it too blown out.
Mia: But it's definitely worth listening to on good headphones…
To wrap up, which condiment is most likely to get a first at uni?
Josh: I think brown source. That's like a Russell group condiment
Ross: You can't have brown source with everything though…
Josh: [but] you know it's getting a first… HP all the way… Branston Pickle, that is not passing.
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