Who is Velvet Shadow?

She is an alter ego... that voice in your head that youre trying to ignore.... the one screaming at you to say what youre really thinking... rather than sugar coat it, or just sit there in silence contemplating your secrets.


What were your childhood dreams, what did you want to become?

When I was a child, what I wanted to become changed every week; I think I wanted to be a vet, an actor, a teacher, a computer games programmer... at one point I wanted to do everything at once; I thought it was possible to be in a different job every day of the week, and that it would be fun... but I was never brought up on the idea that you could make a career out of being just a musician.


When did you start with Velvet Shadow, and why did you pick that name?

Ive been involved musicically with various things for about 8 years now, but Velvet Shadow was created officially when I discovered the wonders of the internet profiling sites. What better way of promoting your own music, and allowing the whole world to hear than to upload it online. So when I created my profile in 2006, I had the confidence to unleash my music to a public domain and be prepared to hear the good or bad reviews.

The name is based on two things; firstly my obsession for all things velvet... I have too many velvet items in my wardrobe... shirts, corsets, skirts... I just love the feel of it... and the shadow part is in relation to the context of things that follow you.


What are your goals for Velvet Shadow?

I dont really set myself goals, for me it is more of a creative process and whatever I create happens naturally. I would like to perform live at some point... so who knows what the future may bring...

The first collaboration was with Alex G in the Dream Cypher, how did you meet him and how did it come to this collaboration?

Ah yes, Alex. Well his main band is EvilMoonProject and they are based in Mexico, so unfortunately I didnt bump into him in person. I heard his band online and really liked their sound, and while I was working on a song of my own titled 'My Dying Machine' I heard Alex's voice and then wrote it as a duet, and asked if he would be interested in singing it with me. He was open to the idea, so I sent him the song, and things took off from there.


What makes this collaboration so special and what did you add to the music, what is typically Velvet Shadow, and what is typical Alex?

Well I gave him the music to with me singing both the male and female sections of the song, and I asked him to sing the male sections, and he changed some of the synths from software synths to hardware, and he took it to a whole new level, and it sounded amazing. So it was a merge of both our styles, and his fantastic voice complimenting my vocals, and after that he was open to that one song becoming the first of a whole new project - so Dream Cypher was born.

The second collaboration is Sapphire Solace which you have with Rick Joyce of the band “The Last Dance”, can you give a brief introduction to this side project?

Sapphire Solace is a combination of gothic rock guitars and haunting vocals against a soundscape of electronics. A true merge of our styles, and a merge I believe blends rather well.


How are the songs created for Sapphire Solace, do you send files over the internet or did you actually work together on the music together?

Originally we started the project over the internet, and I wrote the songs, recorded the music and vocals, and sent Rick the files, he would then lay down his guitar track and do his production magic on them. Then I wrote a few more songs, and we decided it would be proactive for us to work in person, so I flew out, and we did some recording at his home studio, and we managed to complete the EP in something like 2 weeks.  Recently we have been exchanging files online again,  and writing some more material for some new songs that we are working on, so to answer your question we do both. :)


Was it hard to blend both your styles into the songs, you have an electronic background while the last dance plays goth rock. How did you do this?

It wasnt really that much of a difficulty because if you listen really carefully to some of The Last Dance's music, a lot of those rock songs also have electronics in the background to compliment the guitars. What I wanted was basically an inversion of that – Ricks guitar sound to compliment the electronics Id already written, so all he needed to do was play whatever he felt fit with the music.

How was it for you (as a newcomer) to work with someone that build a good name in the music scene already?

To work with a producer and a band I admire is really something incredible, nomatter what stage of your music career you are at, so for me it was an incredible opportunity.

How do you work on lyrics and what are they about?

Irritatingly enough I dont really work on lyrics, they seem to just happen. Most of my early lyrics came to me before I wrote any music, so I just wrote down what came into my head first, and it ended up becoming a song. With my more recent material, Ive tended to write the music first, then listened to the tune, and the lyrics fit in with the music, or I edit the lyrics so they blend with the music more.  I write down reflections of what Im thinking, or passing thoughts that could be relevant to nothing, but I like jotting them down and writing about them, because sometimes its someone 10,000 miles away who ends up decifering exactly what their meaning is...


You recently started a new project called Sonic Introversion which seems to focus on the industrial dark floors, why the need to start another side project?

Sonic Introversion is different to my other projects. Its heading in a different direction, and it is a kind of musical experiment. Ive never written aggressive music, so for me this is a kind of evolution to see whether or not this style suits me as an individual. I think all artists evolve, but for me because this is a different genre, it needed to be a different project.


Is Sonic Introversion a real project or just something you do in between, do you have any expectations for it?

Like I said before, its a kind of musical experiment, so if it takes off, then yes I'll keep making more music in that style. Its a kind of therapy for me, expressing things that general get my back up about society and relationships. I dont like to put all my eggs in one basket.


When will you start performing live with one of your bands and is it something you want to do or not?

As soon as I have enough material. There are many songs in the works, its just deciding which ones to focus on at which moment, and where to take them. So as soon as I feel adequately prepared to deliver a live performance worthy of people coming to see, then watch this space.