Formula Indie Sessions _ Interview with Velatine
Hi, Velatine is a Darkwave / Gothic inspired duo from Melbourne, Australia with myself, Loki Lockwood and the last 6 months Holly Purnell on vocals. I started releasing material in 2020. There’s a lot of instrumentals from the first 2 years but by 2022. I started working with various vocalists just to get my songs out. As the popularity has grown a lot during 2025. I needed someone that loved the music and wanted to be part of this. I have now found a fabulous vocalist in Holly and we’ve been working hard to take the project not only onto the stage but to Europe as well. Our first live show is in a matter of weeks and we’re so excited about playing live.
What is your earliest memory connected to music?
I can’t really say there’s an earliest memory because it’s just that I’ve always felt connected. I always hear melodies in my head, whether it’s things I’m making up or other people‘s songs but I constantly feel like I’m making up melodies of my own and that’s just non-stop.
How did your passion for creating music begin?
The passion for creating, I think, came when I started to teach myself guitar. Of course I was playing other people‘s music but I got bored of that and just started making up my own things and then I started writing words. It was my early teenage years when this happened.
What’s the story behind your current music project?
The idea of Velatine has been around for a long time. I played in a lot of bands but bands are notorious for falling apart when things don’t happen fast enough for them. I always loved electronic music. I remember the Halloween soundtrack having a huge impact. Just the freedom that you can create almost anything using synthesis or sampling enables a freedom that you never really have playing in a band. So doing a project by myself with a vocalist has been present for a long time but it took a long time to act on it. I was busy helping other people make their music. I had had a few attempts but it wasn’t till recently that I really felt the need to do this project and up until now it’s been an incredible ride.
How would you describe your sound to someone who has never heard your music before?
Velatine’s Sound is predominantly a Dark Wave / Gothic sound but I draw from so many different influences because I just love a broad range of music. I think because there’s a lot of hooks in what I do it’s almost dark ideas, especially lyrically, wrapped in some weird pop music structure. There’s abrasiveness but there’s light in it as well.. I find it quite amusing. The thought of people singing along to catchy chorus only to discover the dark meaning behind it, but also an optimism in there somewhere as well.
What is one thing you’ve learned that completely changed the way you make music?
I studied music when I was young where they teach you about proficiency. What I’ve learned from people that I’ve admired along the way is that emotion is a far more potent thing than being a great virtueoso.
What tools, instruments, or software are essential in your creative process?
I work with the program Ableton and. It was actually when I first discovered this program. That all of a sudden Velatine became a possibility. I’m a guitar player as well and so that’s sort of all I need because you can use virtual instruments in Ableton. Owning a 1 million different pieces of the latest gear isn’t what writes a song
Which indie artist or song are you loving right now?
My Spotify account says Dead End Dreams by Diary of Dreams. These are difficult questions so we’ll leave it at that.
How have your personal experiences influenced your music and artistic vision?
Personal experiences are the essence of making music and creating your vision. You take fragments from all life experiences, then you deconstruct, reassemble them and make it your own
What emotions or messages do you hope listeners take from your work?
I’ve been told by quite a few people that I’m a storyteller I mentioned earlier there’s a darkness but there’s also optimism, topics can be about art, relationships, self improvement and I hope that the message inside many of the songs might lift someone out of a dark place to somewhere better
What’s the most important lesson music has taught you so far?
To have self belief in what I create and to be proud of it regardless who’s listening?
And that’s quite a tough thing to learn, but I feel very comfortable with what I present nowadays musically
What is a dream venue or festival you would love to perform at?
I’d love to play one of those festivals in a castle anywhere in Europe. I’m not fussy and Wave-Gotik-Treffen would be another one. That would be amazing
If you could collaborate with any artist, past or present, who would it be and why?
I’ve often thought Nina Hagan would be awesome to work with. I think her voice is wild.
and I think we have a great time working together.
Where can our listeners follow and support your music?
Everything is available here – https://beacons.ai/velatine
Looking toward the future, what’s your dream for the next chapter of your musical journey?
Holly and my dream is to play Europe a lot in 2026 so we will be heading there as soon as we can, so any festival who might be interested please get in touch. We’ve been putting our live show together to be ready for this for some months now and it’s sounding and looking amazing, we’ve put a lot of work into it as it has a big visual component and will be very immersive.
What do you hope listeners will discover about you along the way?
Well I sort of know that listeners, when they engage with our Music they’ll often tell us that they love the lyrics, the production, the arrangements or the complexity so I just hope people listen because I think there’s something there if you if your’re passionate about music Even if it’s not entirely your thing it’s somewhat easy to appreciate what I’m doing.
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Our Most Recent Single
