Velvet Two Stripes

The trio explains: “The driving guitar and bass take youonawildride,whilethevoicetakesyoudeeper into the dream but not from the dreamer’s perspectivebutfromthenightmare’sperspective.It is a song about desires and conflicts. It is about lettinggooffearinsteadofholdingontoit.”

The exceptional soundscapes on the album were achieved thanks to the collaboration of the trio alongwithtwoprominentfiguresintherockmusic industry - Vance Powell (who worked with The White Stripes, Buddy Guy) and Pete Lyman (who masteredmusicforactslikeTomWaits,Weezer).

We caught up with Franca, Sara and Sophie for a fewquickfirequestions.

Wow, you guys have been rocking it together as Velvet Two Stripes for 15 years! What does your musicaljourneylooklikeovertime?

Sophie: I think because we just kept on going and havingfunandpassionforwhatwedoithasbeena constant progress in performance and songwriting. If you listen to Cloud Seven and compare it to The Oneyoucandefinitelyhearadifference.

Franca:it’slikegrowingafamilyandVTSisourbaby and with every step we take we learn something new that will help us get better in the future, it’s a continuousprocessofprogress.Doingthethingyou love with the people you love and this for all over thistime,that’sthebest.

Sara: Considering that we started our musical journey with a drum computer, I think our development over the last fifteen years has been immense. Not only did every one of us improve on their particular instrument but we did also grow together as a group and learned to listen to each other. You could almost say that we formed some sortofcollectivemindwhenitcomestosongwriting and yet everyone brings their own individual touch toasong.

What was the greatest learning curve when it cametowritingthesingle"TheOne"andthenew album"NoSpellForMovingWater"?

Sophie: Before “The One” I haven’t written down a song idea for quite some time. Taking such a personal experience like a sleep paralysis, recording ashabbysketchonmyphoneandhavingitbecome thesongitisnowfeelsgreat!

Franca: How good it felt to make decisions during the recording process and not constantly overthink everything.

This brings a freshness and coolness to our music thatyoucanhearineverysongonthenewalbum.

Sara: For me it was to keep things simple. I think a lotofthesongstructuresaresimplerthanonformer albums,stillorratherbecauseofthatthesongsfeel more powerful, they have more space to speak for themselveswithoutseemingoverloaded.

How was it working with Vance Powell and Pete Lyman?

Sophie: We were very involved in Vance’s mixing process. He did two songs per day, and we had one hour each time to decide if we liked the mix or not. Itwasaveryintenseweek.Nottomentionthetime difference between Zurich, Switzerland and Nashville.

Franca: It was fantastic! During the mixing of the album, we were in intense contact with Vance and gave him direct feedback on the mixes every day, but we also talked about other things and joked around. It was a very relaxed and friendly atmosphere and a great experience to be involved like that in the mixing process while working with suchlegends.

Sara: I felt a bit intimidated in the beginning, working with such legends. But after the first meeting you kind of realize that everyone is just a human being after all. Otherwise I agree with FrancaandSophie,itwasreallyintensebutalsoalot offuntobethisinvolvedinthemixingprocess.