Interview completed by:
Maddy Herbert – Writer, Producer & Vocalist
Alex Marko – Guitar, Bass, Additional Percussion & Synths and Mixing Engineer.
Your upcoming debut album combines soul, pop, funk, indie, rock, folk and jazz. How did these genres come together to form Velvet Bloom’s unique sound, and what were some of the key influences for the album?
Alex Marko – It’s pretty hard to say, really! All of us have our unique interests and we all listen to a super diverse range of music so it’s sometimes hard to know who you’re being influenced by when developing ideas or writing songs. I’d say the most common influences would be Alice Phoebe Lou, Lianne La Havas, D’angelo and a whole lot of 60’s soul and funk I suppose.
Your latest single ‘Time’ explores the theme of change and personal growth. What inspired you to write this song, and how do you hope listeners will connect with its message?
My lyricism is usually inspired by personal experience. I see so much value in honest relationships and sometimes we need a bit of a reality check from the people who are closest to us. We have to be engaged and passionate about building a better world. It requires constant self-reflection, compassion, listening, learning and unlearning. We have to continually reevaluate the systems that we put in place because often they don’t serve the people who are more vulnerable in our communities.
You’ve mentioned that ‘Time’ feels like a crowd favourite already. How does performing this track live compare to recording it in the studio, and what kind of energy do you try to bring to your live shows?
Yeah, Time is one of our favourites and has had an awesome response so far! As for playing it live, it has been fun trying to figure out how to keep it sounding full and energetic because the recorded version is super production heavy, we all almost need another pair of hands to pull it off. That is part of the thrill of playing live though, we all focus very hard on doing as much as we can to fill the space and add little details to keep it fun and fresh for the audience. As long as they’re having fun then so are we. (Alex Marko)
The lyrics of ‘Time’ emphasize the idea that change only happens when we actively drive it. How do you see this idea reflected in your journey as a band, from your debut EP to the upcoming album?
Alex Marko – Ooft great question! I would say that our real journey started a long time before the EP, we started playing as a group in around 2017 and have been through so much. We’ve played shows in front of like 2 people, had members come and go and toured around Australia with five of us sleeping in a tiny caravan. It’s been super important for us to keep pushing ahead even when it feels like we’re putting in a lot of work for nothing, and I think our album is a perfect example of that as we decided to record it at home by ourselves, and seeing the response that it’s getting so far is incredibly fulfilling.
The album’s tracklist features a variety of emotional tones, from uplifting anthems like ‘Best In You’ to more introspective moments like ‘She’s Gone’. How do you balance these different emotions within your music?
Alex Marko – Part of trying to keep it balanced is pure luck and the other part of it is intense, scrutinizing thought. I say luck because it’s really hard to write with certain emotions unless you’re feeling those emotions. It’s easy to say, “I think this album needs something happier to balance it out” but trying to write something happy when you’re feeling down is usually an uphill battle. I think we wrote around 25 songs when putting together the album and after recording demos of them, it all became a bit clearer which ones worked well together and which ones weren’t quite right or ready yet, but there were a couple that we wanted on there that didn’t make it for sure.
You’ve signed a distribution deal with Yama-Nui Records, which has shown a lot of support for your authenticity and artistry. How has their partnership helped shape the release of your debut album?
This new partnership feels exciting for Velvet Bloom and Yama-Nui! We were pretty keen on releasing this album through an independent label and were invested in finding one with a team that understood our vision and ethos. After many conversations, the Yama-Nui team started working with us in December. Although we have only been with them for a small amount of time, they have already invested so much in us. We really wanted to press vinyl for the album and Yama-Nui has made it possible. I see so much attention to detail, belief and care for this body of work from our friends at Yama-Nui and feel supported by them.
In the video for ‘Time’, you invited fans into a handcrafted world. What role do visuals and art play in Velvet Bloom’s creative process, and how do you approach bringing your music to life visually?
I love portraying our music through visuals. It’s one of my favourite parts of releasing the music that we make. It’s a place to express deeper concepts for a body of work, song emotions, textures, and deep cuts and really give people who are just being introduced to new music and understanding of the world that you had been in when creating it.
My approach to visuals is usually very community driven.
I love working with other creatives to achieve special collaborations, and we have always been blown away by the detail that others bring to our vision.
Josh Davies and Valentina Moroney worked closely on the concept and visuals with me.
Every part of this set was intentional and represented parts of the music.
This album’s visual concept and the way that different parts of the landscape introduced each single took a long time for us to understand and achieve. The shoot happened in December 2023 and Val was editing up until May.
Your debut EP Glimmer helped you gain national recognition. How did your experience touring across Australia and playing at iconic venues influence the sound and vision of your debut full-length album?
Alex Marko – I think it probably influenced us in the sense that we got so sick of playing our older songs that we NEEDED to write some more hahaha. We love touring and it’s super inspiring to meet new artists and people on the road and to just observe how they do things differently to us. While touring we usually play a few unreleased songs to gauge the audience’s reaction, that way it becomes a lot easier to tell where a song needs work in which areas. I think we have probably done that with half of our album, including Time.
The album closer, ‘I’ll Love You Tomorrow,’ features friends and family singing on the track. How important is community to your music, and what role does your personal support network play in your creative process?
Our friends and community are sooooooo important! They are who we thrive off and with. It’s super important for any artist to build a solid community around them, especially today when most artists are doing a lot of the business side of things themselves which can be super daunting and hard. We and our friends are always showing each other ideas and giving feedback and help on things we are stuck with. ‘I’ll Love You Tomorrow’ is our little homage to our friends and community who have helped us over the years, especially throughout the process of putting this album together. (Alex Marko)
With the album set for release in March 2025, what can fans expect from your live performances in the lead-up to the album launch, and how do you plan to continue building momentum for Velvet Bloom in the year ahead?
Alex Marko & Maddy – I think they can expect to hear a bit of experimentation as we make little adjustments and tweaks to each song to get them up to scratch for the launch.
We’re really excited to get back on the road and touring again, returning to places we have been before and also visiting a lot of places we haven’t been before (thanks to funding from Creative Australia, Creative Victoria and The Push)!
We’re currently in the process of writing again and have got a massive amount of ideas that we’ll need to narrow down. If you’re able to make it to a show this year, of course, you’ll be hearing the album but also, you’ll probably be hearing the early stages of our next releases!
I also wrote and recorded some music with Angus and Julia Stone last year which will be released at some point in 2025, I’m sure.
Velvet Bloom – ‘Time’ out now via Yama-Nui Records
Velvet Bloom Album is out Friday 28 March 2025 via Yama-Nui Records + Bandcamp
