All set to release the first single ‘Keep On Thinking’ to be taken from his debut EP ‘Summernight’ which due out the 19th of May. Venice Heath talked to Backseat Mafia about the creation of Venice Heath and what the future holds for the project.
Give us a potted history of the band
I started Venice Heath in 2020, while I was spending the lockdown in a houseshare in North London. Like many other musicians, I took the lockdown as an opportunity to review my approach to writing and producing music. That resulted in a u-turn; from playing as a session musician, to solely focusing on writing new music. After a couple of years, I’m now finally releasing music and taking the stage with a four-piece band.
Who inspired you to start making music
My dad loves music so much, but has never been a musician. He’s the one that gave me a bass guitar one Christmas, and encouraged me to play music. He has great taste, so I grew up listening to the bands and artists that now influence my writing so much; from the Beatles to The Police, Talking Heads and more.
And the one or maybe two records that inspired you artistically
The most inspiring record for me would be ‘Currents’ by Tame Impala. There are many songs I love from that album, like ‘Eventually’ and ‘Let it Happen’, and it’s always been an inspiration, a point of reference for the production and sounds of guitars, vocals and synthesizers.
If you’re trying to explain who you sound like to someone that’s never heard you, what do you say
Explaining how I sound is always kind of hard for me, but I try with examples; maybe a mix between Foals, Tame Impala and Jungle. In terms of genre, I would put Venice Heath within the indie pop/rock bracket, with some alternative and psychedelic influence. Also, I recorded my debut EP in the same studio where Foals recorded ‘Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost’, and I tried to get close to their sounds. Hopefully I managed to get at least close enough.
Tell us about your new single
‘Keep On Thinking’ is the first single from the debut EP, ‘Summernight’ (out 19th May). I can’t put into words how much I care about this song; I just kept going back to make it perfect. It transports me back to my teenage years and to a stage of careless bliss, when I was surrounded by people close to my heart and the nights were simply not long enough. The song was produced together with Brett Shaw (Foals, Florence & The Machine) at his studio. We used a lot of analog gear; an old Roland Juno and a Korg MS20 for synths, and lots of tape everywhere.
Where can we get hold of it
Everywhere! ‘Keep On Thinking’ will be available on the 24th of February on all streaming platforms and music media.
Tell us how you write
I usually work on every song treating them as instrumental tracks at first, and I add the vocals melody and lyrics at a later stage. I work alone for most of the production phase, but I receive a great deal of help from my collaborators and dear friends, Simone Langiu with drums, and Andrea Azzini with vocals.
Tell us about your live show What would be your dream gig
I took the stage with a four-piece band, showcasing Venice Heath for the first time only last year. It is a very sonically-powerful set, yet we like to see people dancing and vibing. We played the Colours Hoxton last December and it was packed! It’s so cool to see people dancing to the tracks I wrote during lockdown, because they were written thinking about live shows when live shows could not take place. We have our next headline show booked for the 18th of May at The Victoria Dalston, (Tickets available here) and we are pretty thrilled to celebrate the release of the new upcoming tracks. In the future, and I’m just daydreaming here, I would love to play the Electric Ballroom in Camden Town.
What can we expect from you in the near future
I promised myself to release much more music in 2023, and that’s why I’m putting out my first EP on 19th May, which contains five tracks. But while we wait for the full EP, I’ll release the singles, starting with ‘Keep On Thinking’.
Tell us your favourite records that’s rocking your headphones/tour bus / stereo
The Police’s ‘Reggatta De Blanc’ is like coffee in the morning for me. I’ve been listening to that album since I was a kid, and then through my teenage years. It’s always there. It gives me a lot of energy.
Find out more via Venice Heath’s Facebook
Pre save the EP here
Tickets for the the bands next show are available here
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