So, this tremendous triple header rapidly approaches. It’s headliners No Joy’s first tour this side of the pond in eight years. All here at Even Butterflies Make A Sound HQ are giddy with excitement.
To get yourself up to speed about all the goings on, why not check out Andy Mckay’s glow(worm)ing review of No Joy’s beguiling new LP Bugland? Or Mr Mckay’s review of the night’s opening act The Trial (editor’s note to readers, Andy isn’t the only guest reviewer for this blog, you know? Also, if you want to submit a review or article, etc., pitch me!) I digress.
My radio chat with Jasamine from No Joy is also yours to enjoy. Click the link below, the interview starts about 12 minutes in.
Why not watch my interview with the utterly lovely Al and Oz from Masal? Al has kindly stepped in to provide DJ duties for the night.
And, so they don’t feel left out, I asked Velveteen a few questions. Extremely grateful for their time. You can read their answers below.
I’m sure it’s going to be a memorable night of music and is on track to sell out. Head over to DICE to secure your ticket.
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No Joy live at the Hot Box
Velveteen Q&A
Velveteen is also the title of an album by a famous UK band. Are your band members big fans of Transvision Vamp?
No relation here! I think the word just came up in a book one day and it seemed to fit quite well with the kind of music we were making.
Please give us the background to the band’s intriguing Bandcamp entry: “Starting out as a side project in a top-floor London flat, Velveteen quickly grew into something much more.”
I guess we weren’t really sure how serious Velveteen would become, as we were all involved in other projects at the same time. Patrick (bass) was in Australia working with a punk band and Drew (guitar/vocals) and James (drums/vocals) both had their own stuff going on. After we put our first tape together and then subsequently our Bluest Sunshine EP, we started to take it more seriously and it became more of our main focus.
Bluest Sunshine EP re-release
Indeed, the band recently re-released your Bluest Sunshine EP. It must be so pleasing that you have built up so much support to be able to re-release?
Yeah, that EP was pretty well-received so we had interest to reissue it. The original was only on CD and digital, so it was great to get a vinyl press done and the guys at Reeplay Records did a great job of that. We managed to include a studio off-cut called “Change Your Mind” on the reissue as well, so it’s also kind of a slightly different identity from the original EP.
All of Velveteen’s music is credited to the whole band. Please describe the writing process.
Usually, the basis of an idea will come from Drew who also writes the lyrics and then we work up the song using a collaborative approach, with James, Patrick and Dave all involved. In terms of an initial concept, that can come from many things and, perhaps strangely, music is never really top of that list. Literature is a pretty big inspiration and a lot of the songs are inspired by novels and sometimes film.
Thinking about not procrastinating
You said your debut LP, Empty Crush, “[was] the culmination of a passion well-lived, notwithstanding a sizeable amount of procrastination”. I like to think you were ‘thinking things through’! Joking aside, do you think experience has honed the record-making process for the band?
Ha! No, that was honesty! As I said before, we were all doing different things, so it took much longer than it should have to get that LP together, even taking into account the disruptions with covid.
There’s bittersweet emotion about that album, for the band, despite us being proud of it. Drew got very ill with covid/vaccine complications right before it was released and so we couldn’t promote it properly or tour with it. The label, Shelflife, showed a remarkable amount of patience with us during that time and the manager, Ed, was fantastic.
We like to think we are much more focused now, especially since we’ve got back to gigging and everyone is well again. We’ve certainly learned more about the best way we work and develop ideas. The procrastination mentioned is hopefully now much less of a factor…
Upcoming releases
Plans for new releases?
Yes. We have a new EP coming out, which should be released before the year is done. Then we will have a new full-length album next year, which James and I are currently working on.
Have you played in Essex before? Looking forward to it?
We’ve never played Essex as Velveteen before, but did play in Essex in other bands. Hot Box looks like a really decent venue and they’ve had some great and varied acts on. I noticed Rosalie Cunningham played recently who is someone I’ve followed since her days in Ipso Facto. So far, everyone we’ve dealt with at the venue has been great with us, so we’re looking forward to the show. Will be good to share the stage with No Joy and The Trial.
Memories of No Joy
Please share your memories of No Joy.
I remember catching them in London a few years ago, but had been listening to their stuff since they released Ghost Blonde. Pretty sure I saw them at a venue called The Macbeth, but those were hazy days! I loved their sound straight away and have Wait To Pleasure on record. I’m really enjoying the new LP and very happy to see them back on the scene. Will be glad to catch them live this side of the ocean again.
Head over to Velveteen’s Bandcamp page and check out their fantastic back catalogue.
No Joy’s upcoming dates:
15 October – Manchester – Yes Basement
17 – London – MOTH Club
18 – Chelmsford – Hot Box
19 – Coventry – Just Dropped In
20 – Glasgow – Glad Cafe
21 – Leeds – Headrow House
23 October – Rotterdam – Left Of The Dial Festival
24 – Rotterdam – Left Of The Dial Festival
25 – Paris – Supersonic
28 – Berlin – 8mm Bar
29 – Warsaw – Chmury
31 – Krakow – Klub RE
1 November – Prague – MeetFactory
