VÆV
How would you describe the "human" behind the artist/project VÆV and how did you get into music?
I’m a French-Algerian man who grew up near Paris. There’s always been music at home (1980’s pop, traditional Algerian music, Motown, heavy metal, etc.), and I started taking piano lessons at the age of 7. But the turning point was someday when I was around 10-11: my older brother came home from school, put his headphones on my ears, and played “Eye Of The Beholder” from Metallica off his Walkman.
From that day I developed a burning passion for music. My first band was called Breaklose, which has released an album and an EP before going into cryogenic sleep since 2008. After I moved to Berlin 15 years ago, I went solo under the moniker VÆV and have self-released a few EPs and albums in various genres, from folk to electronic pop to ambient.
"Malcontent" sounds extraordinary and is an impressive piece of alternative rock, what or who was your inspiration and what's the story behind?
Thank you! I’ve been working on an album that sounds very different from “Malcontent” for the past 5 years, with a lot of layers, instruments, textures, arrangements. The process has been excruciatingly slow because of various things, but mostly because I got a lot of talented friends involved, so I’ve been very dependent on everybody else’s schedule.
Between last Christmas and New Year’s Eve, I found myself alone in town with a lot of time, so I decided to produce a whole EP completely on my own, make it as straight forward as possible, and finish it as fast as I could, in order to remember what it felt like to actually complete a record. I wrote the song “Malcontent” about 15 years ago, the lyrics being about my hometown in France.
The music is an attempt at mixing the roughness and immediacy of pre-”Nevermind” Nirvana, with the solemnity of mid to late 1990’s gothic metal bands such as Paradise Lost, Anathema, Type-O-Negative or Sentenced - as if Nirvana had taken themselves more seriously and were depressed rather than quirky.
Concerning your songwriting process, how do you start working on a song in general?
I usually fiddle with an acoustic guitar, a piano or a drum beat until I find something I like, then build a full structure around it. After that comes the most difficult part for me, which is figuring out the vocal melody.
This can take weeks, sometimes years - I have tons of songs demoed on a hard drive for which I just couldn’t figure out a vocal melody yet. By the time the vocal melody is finally sorted, I already know what the song should be about, so I start working on the lyrics, which usually goes quite fast.
What's the hardest part, being a one man project?
I do invite a few friends to play on my songs every now and then so I’m not 100 % alone on this, but I do enjoy being the solo full time member of this project really. As much as I would love to be part of a band again, play somebody’s songs, and be told what to do, there’s a certain luxury in being able to decide things on your own. The thing is, there’s only ever been one person with whom I really enjoyed creating music together, and I’ve never felt this kind of musical connection again with anyone. I also have a pretty clear idea of what my music should sound like and I must admit I tend to not be very open to advice - which is a bit of a shame I guess.
What are your Top 3 songs, right now, in this second?
My three favourite songs right now are
“Baby Jane” by Rod Stewart,
“Tinseltown In The Rain” by The Blue Nile, and
“You Belong To The City” by Glenn Frey.
I have been listening to a lot of 1980’s pop the past couple of years. I’ve only found out about The Blue Nile’s first album and it has made a solid impression on me!
...and, what are your plans for 2023?
I have just launched my own micro-label called Eye Of The Beholder (you can guess where the name came from). The plan is to finally release this album I’ve been working on for so long, as well as some hidden or forgotten gems.
