How're things in Denmark?
Oh you know the same old, same old, a bit grey and rainy haha. A the moment things are very chill in Denmark. We are actually in the midst of practising and getting the last details of our new songs ready for the studio, which we are visiting in about a week (end of March) so that's very exciting! In general, we’re not playing that many gigs in Denmark because we've mainly been focusing on playing festivals and concerts abroad and getting our music out to a wider audience.
You are three are sisters, which really creates something extra for audiences to attach to when watching the band, because family bands are always so interesting. How do you guys find spending so much time together? Do you find that the family connection allows for better music to be made in anyway?
I feel like we always end up giving a fluffy answer when we get that question because it's quite hard not to generalize. For us three, being in a band as sisters is the only thing we've ever known, so it's a bit hard for us to answer the question from a broader perspective. But I (Nataja) will try and explain it from my personal experience. I had a music class in High School, so I have played a bit with my fellow classmates, u know playing funk drums and some cowbell (No hate) and one time we were placed in small groups and where we were set to write a song, which for me was extremely excruciating and awkward haha. One of the reasons was that It's so hard to explain your visions of a song when you're not completely comfortable. Making music is very personal and you have to be in a safe environment to do so (not to be cheesy). It is also very hard to state your honest opinion because you constantly have to worry about hurting the other parts feelings, not because me and my sisters are totally awful when we talk to each other, or maybe a bit, haha, but we are able to take it a bit more lightly and our arguments will be forgotten several minutes after, and in worst cases a few hours. I do though have to remind myself that my classmates weren't people who I had been playing with for a long time and knew In and out. We were told to write a song on the spot, nothing great ever comes out of that, I mean we didn't even share the same music taste. As sisters, we have lived together our whole lives so of course, we are comfortable around each other, sometimes to the extent that we are maybe around each other too much and we're a bit too honest, we often get sick of one another but that is just inevitable when your hobby, family and work are in the same category. But I guess that from our perspective we have some benefits of being sisters as well as cons, but none of us can really tell before we've tried being in a band as 'non-siblings'.
Growing up together, what were the musical influences in your life like. Do you all share tastes or is it eclectic?
We did grow up in a very music-loving environment which we're ever grateful for. So we were constantly surrounded by music, all kinds of music. Our parents didn't really play an instrument and we didn't have teachers who gave us new impressions (I mean except for Noa who played Spanish guitar in a class for about a month) so the different genres of music playing from our CD player was our primary source of influence. When it comes to music taste we do have a lot in common which I think is inevitable when we write music together. But I do believe that we each have some individual preferences that we don't mutually share (like my (Nataja) brief moment as a Belieber, which was a great shame to admit in front of my sisters) and probably other preferences that we haven't shared with each other. I think it would be weird if we had a complete identical music taste, it's like your personality. When it comes to musical inspiration when writing songs it rarely happens that we disagree with the direction the song is going in, we're able to relate and see the idea behind the musical reference that is mentioned.
‘Honey,’ is a rager of a track. It has some really considered rock sensibilities. I personally found my mind wandering to the sounds of Alison Mosshart and the dead whether with this track. Do you have any artists that you find consciously or unconsciously influencing your sound?
Haha sure, we can totally see that! Well, it’s actually quite an old song. We wrote it back in 2013 when we were 16- and 14 years old, so I think we were unconsciously inspired by everything back then when things were more new and unexplored! - Explicit and loud artists like The Runaways, Kim Wilde and Iggy Pop etc. artists who really represented that specific teenage/coming of age vibe!
What does the next year hold for Velvet Volume?
We just re-released our debut album Look Look Look internationally, so we'll be playing outside of Denmark to promote the release, both our own headliner concerts as well as festivals. At the same time, we will prepare and record a pile of new songs for our next album which we're very excited to share with our listeners.
What is it that inspires you guys to create music and follow it as a lifestyle?
Well, we’ve been creating music for so long now, and it’s now such an integrated part of our lives, that I seriously can’t imagine life without it! It’s the most important and lifesaving thing for us. This space where you can express your feelings through the most beautiful, personal, honest and relatable medium! Even if it can be ugly and brutal. So, the thing that inspires us to follow and create music in the way we do, must be life itself? Even though it sounds super romantic and naive, it really is.
Forever summer or Forever Winter?
Nataja: I will actually go around that question and say spring. I'm a bit geeky when it comes to nature, so it makes me incredibly happy when I see the flowers blossoming and when it's starting to get lighter earlier in the morning after the long and dark winter. Although I do appreciate the Christmas spirit and hot chocolate in December lol, but ONLY in December!! It makes me so annoyed when people start to Christmas-decorate in like October, it totally ruins the moment, I mean C'mon we haven't even had Halloween yet. Noa: DEFINITELY SUMMER! Everything is just more magical and beautiful! Nature is more beautiful, the sky’s more surreal, everything tastes and smells better, the ocean is more alive! And people are just happier, almost like if everybody’s in love!