WL//WH Premiere+Interview Velvet Sunset
French DIY indie rockers Velvet Sunset, made of Eleonore on vocals and Max on guitar, since 2016 have developed and tweaked a mesmerizing and entrancing blend of fuzzy Noise Rock, hazy Shoegaze, sludgy Grunge, and reflective Dream-Pop speckled with trippy Psychedelia, joining the dots between the ’70s and the ’90s. WL//WH is very pleased to premiere Velvet Sunset‘s new single, “Go Kid”, as a perfect way to sizzle and spark with easy-going invigorating loud vibes to start your summer, not before having a nice chat in order to better know Eleonore and Max.
Let’s trace back to the band’s roots, your earliest inspirations, passions and influences that drove you to start your project.
{Max}: From a young age I was a fan of the bands RHCP, Nirvana and Smashing Pumpkins. After listening to these bands I decided I wanted to learn and play the guitar. It became a passion and I started composing songs and in 2016 I was looking for a singer/songwriter to start a band.
{Eleonore}: My dad is a drum player and a guitar player. From a young age, I was (and still is) listening to the bands he loves like Led Zeppelin, The Police, and Jimi Hendrix. From a young age, I started singing and writing lyrics. I have a passion for music and in my teen years was listening to a lot of Shoegaze-Grunge and Alt-Rock.
How do you describe your sound?
{Max}: Heavy, bold, and melodic.
{Eleonore}: Poetic and grunge. A mix of Shoegaze and Garage sounds.
How do you approach the creative process? Tell us about the process of recording the songs and writing the lyrics.
{Eleonore}: We usually compose together live and when something feels right, we record it in our studio. We are lucky to have our own home studio. I write the lyrics with the feeling of the moment, the season, and how I feel or perceive things.
{Max}: I love to play guitar for a while, and not think about anything until I found a sound I like.
How has your sound evolved with time, and which songs are you most proud of?
{Eleonore}: We started in 2016 and released 2 albums, 1 EP and 6 singles. My favorite songs are “Summer Night” and “Love Affair”. Both have a California, kind of feel-free vibe and melodic lyrics that I love. Plus I love singing both of them.
{Max}: The more we create together the more easy it was to evolve and create new songs. It was kind of a natural and go-with-the-flow process. When I got my acoustic guitar we recorded an almost entire acoustic-grungy album. It was still us but different. My proudest song is “Summer Night” because it is a mix of heavy-melodic that I found very cool.
Which bands would you love to make a cover version of?
{Eleonore}: “Dream a little Dream of Me” by the Mamas & the Papas (I know this already a cover)
{Max}: “Cherub Rock” by The Smashing Pumpkins
Were there any pivotal records or live concerts that changed indelibly your perception of music?
{Max}: When I saw the White Stripes playing in Paris in 2005. I knew I wanted to be a musician and have a band.
{Eleonore}: From the age of 7 I started to write poetry and lyrics and my dad was always playing concert VHS of The Police, Jimi Hendrix … and I was amazed by the vibe and energy. I just wanted to be part of something like that. To give people emotions.
Which new bands do you recommend?
{Max}: DZ Deathrays
{Eleonore}: New Candys, they did the first part for the Dandy Warhols last year!
Give us some hints about the new single…
This song is about being young, free and careless and wanting this feeling to last forever. It is about embracing who you are and your differences and finding your tribe, supporting each other. It is when you think you’ll be young forever.
Your last words and plans for the future.…
{Eleonore}: We separated from our record label to create at will so any support is greatly appreciated. Soon to be set, a date to play at the Supersonic in Paris and 2 new singles this summer. Thank you Fabrizio for the endless support!
{Max}: Thank you Fabrizio for the interview. We continue to compose songs that we love.
“Go Kid” stirs nostalgic and staggering daydreams on life, love, and music, bursting up in thunderous buzzing fuzzed-out guitar riffs cut through by screeching, wailing and resonant strains, underpinned by lilting groovy bass lines and steady skipping drum beats, to sway and smolder in heavy reflective sunburnt rays around magnetic atmospheric vocals, shifting raw crystalline angst with drawn out dreamy blurs, to invoke the feeling of drifting off helplessly into a hazy summer sunset.
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