Velvet Bloom

by the partae
“Velvet Bloom consistently gives me shivers. Her music is enchanting and laidback. It’s always a pleasure finding out what’s in store  with this artist.” - Nkechi Anele (Triple J Roots N All)  - “Your voice is stellar. It's got so much character and soul to it. It's so clear and it just oozes with star power.” - Claire Mooney (Triple J  Unearthed)   Hailing from Melbourne, Velvet Bloom releases a slinky new single ‘7Hundred25’  encompassing the very essence of longing and the prospect of loss.   Oozing with lush vocals and honey dipped stripped back acoustics, ’7Hundred25’ takes  listeners on a journey, subtly introducing elements until you realise that you are in the  midst of an electronic strings section with choir like harmonies, rolling cymbal crashes  and droning bass notes.   The single speaks to the fact that an acoustic style song can be entirely full without a  major drum and bass section.  Velvet Bloom is a neo-soul, alternative-pop and jazz-rock music project with captivating  ballad style vocals. The project is fronted and founded by Maddy Herbert, she performs  solo and with different variations of her live band “The Vito Collective”.  This intricate single will be released as a part of a ‘Cousin Will Records’ compilation  album with artists like ‘The Grogans’, ‘Auntie Leo And The Backstabbers’, ‘Polly And The  Pockets’ and the like.  The band had a huge 2019 with the re-release of Maddy’s debut EP ‘Bitter Sweet’, as well  as the release of singles’ ‘Isobel’s Song – Live At Box Hill’, ‘Teach Ya’ and ‘DM ME’  receiving praise and airplay from Triple J/Triple J Unearthed. Velvet Bloom also won  Listen Up Music Org’s 2019 national ‘Songs That Heal’ competition. In early 2020 saw the  release of ‘Standards’, an up beat alternative-rock, soul- pop track that showcases  Maddy’s raw and powerful vocals.   During COVID-19 Maddy was accepted into the MIME mentoring program through Boxhill  Institute and is currently being mentored by Kylie Auldist.   If that’s not enough the band has also supported many established Australian acts like  Kim Churchill, Josh Cashman, Death By Denim, Dulcie, The Grogans, Great Gable, Ben  Wright-Smith, Zoe Fox And The Rocket Clocks, Teenage Dads to name a few.  https://www.facebook.com/velvetbloom.music/ https://www.instagram.com/velvetbloom.music/ https://velvetbloom.bandcamp.com/ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLsOjd3he7oB58TqtCDNkgg?view_as=subscriber

Where are you currently based?

I live on the Mornington peninsula in Victoria!

The boys are also originally from the area and Yara lives in Kew! It’s so nice being away from chaos of the city at the moment and having some calm!

What’s been happening recently and how has you Covid experience been so far?

It’s been challenging hey.

There have been lots of ups and downs but I feel that we are incredibly privileged to live in this beautiful part of the world and have access to all of the assistance and resources that we do.

I’ve taken this time to centre myself and write lots of new tunes.

Your new single ‘7Hundred25’ is out now, what influenced the sound and songwriting?

The subject matter of 7Hundred25 revolves around realisation and acceptance. We wanted an extremely gradual build and to make the song fee like it was forever growing.

7Hundred25 has this simplistic and raw energy to it and we wanted it to really develop during the recording process!

How did you go about writing the track?

For this track in particular, I created the foundation with a simple two chord progression. The melody had already came to me and I wanted to incorporate numbers into my writing. Once I started jamming it out in my bedroom, I recorded a demo with harmonies – this is when the magic started to happen and the tune really came together!

Where and when did you record and who with?

We recorded with Quin Grunden, partly at Boxhill Institute and partly in his studio.

This track is a part of a compilation album released through Cousin Will Records so we are stoked to be a part of it!

How did you approach the recording process?

I think this song had a really solid structure coming into the studio. We knew which elements that we wanted to incorporate but hadn’t fully refined them yet. 7Hundred25 was recorded over roughly six sessions and we had lots of time between our studio visits to evolve our ideas even further.

What programs/equipment did you use? 

A stand out piece of equipment that we used for recording was the E-Bow. Our guitarist, Alex Marko, made the track shine with its beautiful, meditative, layered drone – it almost sounds like a violin!

Please tell us about the track vocals and instrumentation/harmony layers:

Vocals have always been at the forefront of our music. I resonate most with raw, powerful and emotive voices and lyricism.

We had so much fun adding all of the layers to the track and really adding that dynamic build.

I wanted the vocals / harmonies to become more emotional and prevalent as the song progressed and I feel that we achieved that.

We layered different sounds on Yara’s nord, had about 8 guitar tracks, a grand piano track, 2 bass tracks, a cymbal track, about 8 harmony tracks and the lead vocal track.

You run a charity organisation called Flo Events, please tell us about this:

Flo Creative Events is a not-for-profit events company that I co run with my beautiful artist friend, Shan Primrose. I guess our main focuses are creativity, community and charity.

We create various opportunities for people of various artistic backgrounds and local businesses. Shan and I put on wholesome events and quarterly magazines with each project donating money to important organisations. Flo is such a lovely community and we are super blessed to be a part of it!

What is your role in Fem Jams and what is Fem Jams all about?

Fem Jams is a project that I co run with Yara Alkurd and Pia Nesvara! These queens and I decided to create an empowering and inclusive jam space for all womxan.

Fem Jams occurs once a month at the Night Cat (out of isolation) and we curate an all female house band performance, paired with open jams once the energy is there!

We encourage woman to  network and support one another in this space and in the broader community!

You also book gender equality driven nights at the Night Cat called ‘Sonic Textures’ please tell us more:

I miss Sonic Textures so much.

Tuesday nights (pre Covid) I hosted events at the Night Cat that always had equal female representation for an entire year.

It was such a beautiful space and I can’t wait to get back into the swing of things to discover more incredible emerging artists and showcase their talent!

Who are you listening to at the moment?

Lots of Lianne La Havas, Nasty Mars, Raveena and Lief Vollebekk!

Also heaps of local Aussie acts like Dulcie, Great Gable, Rissa, Benjamin Trillado, Indigo Mckeon and many more – what a great time to soak up all of the music!

What’s planned for the remainder of 2020 going into 2021?

We are planning to record and release an EP over the next 9 months. Unfortunately our national October Tour with Great Gable was postponed but we hope that we can get something going in 2021.

Favourite food and place to hangout?

At the moment I really miss The Night Cat –  being able to work at or watch a stunning performance then head to Shawcross Pizza on Brunswick street to get a late night slice was always such a good time!

https://www.facebook.com/velvetbloom.music/

https://www.instagram.com/velvetbloom.music/

https://velvetbloom.bandcamp.com/

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLsOjd3he7oB58TqtCDNkgg?view_as=subscriber

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