Formula Indie Sessions _ Interview Velvet Kove
What is your earliest memory connected to music?
My memory isn’t always the most reliable, especially when it comes to early childhood, but I remember feeling a real connection to “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” from The Wizard of Oz. I think it was one of the first times I realized I could sing. After that, it kind of became my party trick at family gatherings—I’d sing it when I was about four or five, and everyone would stop and listen.
How did your passion for creating music begin?
I don’t know if it’s a passion or an obsession—honestly, is there even a difference? That might be a much longer conversation. I do know that I could live without being a musician. I could live without almost anything, really. But I choose not to. Creating music is something I keep choosing, over and over, not because I have to, but because I don’t want a life where it isn’t part of it.
What’s the story behind your current music project?
I think all of my stories are about recreating, from a voyeuristic stance, what it feels like to run the gamut of uncompressed feelings. It’s less about a single narrative and more about letting the emotions exist fully without trying to sanitize or simplify them.
How would you describe your sound to someone who has never heard your music before?
I don’t think I’d try because what’s the point? Music is meant to be listened to. I could, however, offer excerpts of lyrics, because for me that’s where the real grit is. Everything else is the rope and stanchion; the lyrics are the headliner.
What is one thing you’ve learned that completely changed the way you make music?
Don’t be original—be classic. Clichés exist for a reason. If you’re always trying to be different, you’re missing the point: most listeners want to see themselves in your song.
What tools, instruments, or software are essential in your creative process?
A lady never tells her secrets—but I’ll flirt a little and tell you: Ableton, and Baby Audio’s Humanoid plugin.
Which indie artist or song are you loving right now?
Slenderbodies’ song “Anemone” is my current go-to.
How have your personal experiences influenced your music and artistic vision?
After becoming a psychotherapist and working with children in acute psychiatric facilities and within the foster care system, my perspective shifted. I believe the arts can help, but I don’t think they save the world. What actually changes things is effort, community, and
a willingness to do the boring work—grassroots organizing, policy change at the state level, and sustained advocacy.
The arts help color the world, and knowing that has made me take myself less seriously as an artist. At the end of the day, I care less about what people think of me as an artist and more about being someone deeply invested in advocating for people to exercise their free will as fully as possible and to reach their potential.
What emotions or messages do you hope listeners take from your work?
I hope they take away what they need to. I don’t really have a hope for a specific message—my job is to craft the work, not to consume it. But if I had to name something, I’d hope it encourages people to have fun, to be direct with their language, and to stop using other people as an excuse for not squeezing every drop of life out of their own.
What’s the most important lesson music has taught you so far?
The most important lesson music has taught me is that the creative process is a discipline—and that money makes the world go round.
What is a dream venue or festival you would love to perform at?
The Sphere in Las Vegas. I’d love to get my hands on people’s senses, and I think that’s really the space that does the best job at fully immersing people in an experience.
If you could collaborate with any artist, past or present, who would it be and why?
Max Martin. Almost every song I’ve ever heard that’s been a smash hit—probably for obvious reasons—has his hand in it. There’s something beautiful in the complexity of simplicity he produces, and I want him to witness that process.
Where can our listeners follow and support your music? (Website,Spotify, IG, links) https://www.instagram.com/velvetkove/
https://open.spotify.com/artist/2yrAECO9SUTxBR5w2OSoFS?si=Qd2r0wcuSP6bvK_dk9FO mA
Looking toward the future, what’s your dream for the next chapter of your musical journey?
To have the motivation and the means to keep finding joy in honing my craft, while exploring new technologies and methods to keep creating.
What do you hope listeners will discover about you along the way?
I hope they discover that I’ll keep advocating for you to stop being afraid of life—and instead be afraid of looking back and realizing you didn’t try to find its joy or its glory. And if you’re looking for magic, look at animals. Be kind to them. You don’t know what powers they possess.
