The American electronic music duo, scarlet veil, provides some important details about their recent single “Repose,” which is a prime example of Ethereal Wave. Also, they reveal what you can expect from their upcoming album, ‘Every Fantasy.’ This interview is a must-read.
1 – First of all, how you both got into electronic music and decided to start scarlet veil as a duo?
Brandi: Electronic music became a huge part of my life after stumbling into Salt Lake City’s rave scene a million years ago. I fell into DJing almost immediately, completely by accident, and was hooked fast. By going to parties and playing shows I found my tribe and fell in love. There weren’t too many women DJs and I would sometimes sing live over sets so I quickly built a reputation as a vocalist. That led to a random guy showing up at my house unexpectedly one day, knocking on my door, and asking me to follow him down the street to some other guy’s house to sing a tune, which I just blindly agreed to! And that is the story of how I wasn’t kidnapped by a stranger and instead recorded vocals at the home of producer, Earl Dixon (Audesi/Underground Bass Masters), and seeded my first electronic music group with now friend and composer, Daigo Kawaii. The track we recorded that night was a lot of fun and the lyrics made no sense at all, but it was my very first tune and I still remember every word. Around that time I had also started experimenting with Reason and Ableton Live but production never really clicked. It wasn’t until Live 8 that it started to make sense and I could casually write. Fast forward to COVID lockdowns and, like so many others, I had extra time for creative projects and started producing and collaborating a lot more online. That’s how Jerrod and I met. Like my first collab partner showing up on my doorstep, here’s someone I didn’t know randomly asking me to sing on a tune because we happened to be in the same creative circle. Our first collaboration went so well that we just never stopped writing together, formed scarlet veil, and have since released two EPs and an album with a few singles peppered in between.
Jerrod: When I was in high school, a friend of mine was in a Cypher and asked if I could produce beats for them because I played guitar and he knew that I loved music. He introduced me to music production software and showed me the basics and I got hooked almost instantly. There was also a big car culture and rave scene at my high school and the two were interconnected which was a large part of my friend circle, so I got really into electronic music, especially because I was learning how to use FL studio at the time. When I wasn’t producing rap beats for my friends, I was producing trance on the weekends and after school. I think my early exposure to music production still shows in the music I produce both in scarlet veil and as WARLOK. scarlet veil happened organically after I had spontaneously reached out to Brandi (who I knew as “Sodie”) for a collaboration on a track I had mostly finished. I had been wanting to work with a vocalist for a year or so but had no luck finding one until I met her. Our collaboration chemistry was so natural and easy that we decided it would be a shame to not work together again and that quickly turned into “we should just write music together!”
2 – In addition to scarlet veil, you both also pursue solo projects. What do you do differently, musically speaking?
Brandi: Progressive Breakbeats and DnB have always been my thing, I love to be pulled along beautiful rolling melodies by tight punchy drums. When it’s just me I usually hang around 174 bpm and write liquid DnB or do features as “Sodie.” I gravitate toward orchestral stringed instruments, piano, and vocals so a lot of what I write ends up sounding too organic compared to modern DnB. I joke that it’s DnB to play while driving your mom around.
Jerrod: My solo material is a lot darker, leaning more into Witch House or Hardwave, and is less vocally driven.
3 – What specific sonic elements do you believe are responsible for creating that cinematic and ethereal vibe in your new single “Repose”?
Brandi: That deep, slightly dissonant bassline paired with bright airy vocals. They play off each other and build toward a final release that I hope helps a listener feel a sense of anticipated and deserved relief.
Jerrod: For me personally, I was influenced a lot at the time by listening to modern electronic ambient artists like endless withdrawal, diedlonely & Øneheart, and wanted to incorporate that atmosphere into one of our songs. I decided to use darker, more washed-out synth sounds accompanied by a felt piano because I wanted to capture the feeling of isolation and solitude. I think the cinematic feel in a lot of our songs comes from the compositions often slowly building into a crescendo, like a symphony, giving the highest emotional payoff at the end. “Repose” does exactly this and ends with the sound of a heavy gust of wind blowing through trees and loose leaves.
4 – What’s the story behind this track? Was there something specific that motivated you to write it?
Brandi: For the vocal melody and lyrics I knew once I heard Jerrod’s initial direction that I wanted it to be more about feel and less about words. It felt heavy yet intimate and in those spaces, fewer words often say more, so I just left room for that deep reese bass to do its thing. At the time, and with what we had written so far, the album probably needed a bit of a break and change-up, so it was a good vibe switch and reset. We were writing so much and so fast that we probably needed a break, too, which may have influenced motivation without either of us being super aware of it.
Jerrod: For “Repose,” my initial inspiration was from what I was listening to a lot at that time, but often I don’t get a vibe from the track until the instrumental is finished and I’m able to step back from the production side of it and listen to it as a finished song. With our material, I like to get initial feedback from Brandi on what feelings, vibes, or imagery each track evokes for her before I share my initial impressions. If we get similar results, that can sometimes shape the concept for a track. For “Repose,” we both had a clear vision for the song.
5 – Complete the phrase: Ethereal Wave is music for those who seek…
Brandi: to get swept up and lost in a feeling.
Jerrod: A soundtrack to the private moments in our lives when we are feeling introspective.
6 – Your upcoming album is called ‘Every Fantasy.’ What inspired that title and concept?
Brandi: We didn’t start writing around the concept of fantasy but as we finished tunes the themes were more and more there. The progression and storytelling in our leading song, “Sunder,” which was also the first song we finished after our EP, probably helped set that direction. I’m often inspired by fantasy and Sci-Fi books so that influences me a lot and shows up in what I write. Considering the songs we have on the album, when the themes weren’t obviously magical or mythic, a lot of the lyrics still tended to anchor on hopes or dreams. So looking at everything in context it was clear that we were talking about fantasy in different senses of the word… ‘Every Fantasy.’
Jerrod: Very early on in the writing and production of the album, there were a few themes that popped up both lyrically and in the motifs of the music which led me to mention to Brandi that it would be cool if we created an overarching theme based around Fantasy. We both thought it could be a cool concept and we both enjoy fantasy-themed media but it was never at the forefront of our writing process. Fast forward to the completion of the album, we’re rinsing the songs to program the track order and discussing what we should title the album and Brandi mentions the Fantasy concept we had discussed months earlier and how even though it was never consciously a part of the writing process, each song on the album pertained to a particular type of fantasy whether literal or metaphorical, encompassing “Every kind of fantasy”, hence how we landed on the title ‘Every Fantasy.’
7 — What exciting surprises can we expect to hear that set it apart from your previous work?
Brandi: I think we continue to evolve and try new things, which is always exciting. There’s a lot we changed technically between ‘Every Fantasy’ and our EP which helped us settle into a consistent sound that we feel is uniquely ours. One big difference for me was a switch to more organic vocal processing and lyrically I think there’s a lot more to feed someone’s imagination while staying open to interpretation. We don’t really follow a typical song structure much of the time so the big hope is that people enjoy the ride and are surprised by where each tune takes them.
Jerrod: I think for me personally, the album as a whole is us finding our sound. The overall quality of the mix and master is the result of the work we put into our EP and refining our process and workflow and what we wanted to improve moving forward into the album. From the beginning scarlet veil was always us writing electronic music that we enjoy but, with Every Fantasy, we didn’t shy away from incorporating other influences from numerous other genres and as a result, I feel it’s given the album a distinctly unique sound.
8 – Where would be the perfect spot to vibe to this album? What kind of atmosphere does it create just by listening to it?
Brandi: I think the perfect place to listen is one where things aren’t competing for attention. We aren’t writing club bangers, so somewhere cozy with great sound you can be fully wrapped up in it.
Jerrod: I’ve been told by people who listen to our music that it’s the music they’d listen to while driving down a dark road at night.
9 — Besides music, what other mediums or art forms inspire you?
Brandi: Books, poetry, and visual art are all really inspiring for me. I love our album artwork, which was drawn by my friend Polarys, and I think her work is super inspiring! I also love watching dancers do their thing, it’s beautiful to see music come to life through their movement.
Jerrod: I really love visual media, especially when paired with music. I often have ideas for music videos whenever we finish a song and I often get strong visual ideas when listening to music.
10 – Is there anything else you’d like to share with your fans as they listen to “Repose” and await the new album?
Brandi: Just a big thank you! We appreciate all the support and every listen and I just hope something in our music moves you.
Jerrod: I would just like to sincerely thank every single person who’s ever given any amount of their time to us. We really are passionate about the music we are writing and there’s no greater reward than for others to enjoy what we’re putting out there. There will always be new music on the horizon!
CONNECT WITH SCARLET VEIL NOW!
Hi, I’m Erick Ycaza — a music blogger with a BA in Advertising & Graphic Design. I created this blog to keep you updated with daily music news. Surprisingly, I’ve been writing about music since 2007. If you’re an artist and would like to be featured, feel free to reach out: info@electrowow.net
