Somewhere between the rolling grooves of UK house, the sun-drenched streets of Lisbon, and a seemingly endless fascination with clouds, you’ll find Velvet Velour. A producer whose music has always carried a certain lightness, not in the sense of lacking depth, but in its ability to make things feel effortlessly good. Playful basslines, warm melodies, irresistible rhythms, and just the right amount of cheekiness have become the hallmarks of a sound that doesn’t need to take itself too seriously to leave a lasting impression.
But behind those feel-good grooves is someone who has been quietly building his own little universe. Originally from the UK and now based in Lisbon, Liam’s journey into electronic music didn’t follow the usual teenage bedroom-DJ narrative. It was a move to the Canadian mountains, countless Boiler Room sessions, and a particularly memorable Jamie Jones sunrise set on a Mexican beach that eventually set things in motion. A Traktor controller purchased on the way home from the airport did the rest.
Fast-forward a few years, and Velvet Velour has become a familiar name among those who appreciate the more colourful corners of underground house music. Through his own imprints, Silky Beats and cloudbeats, he’s created a home for the kind of music he loves: bouncy, groove-driven, sometimes a little wonky, and always full of character. Along the way, he’s built friendships and musical connections with some of the scene’s most interesting characters, including the people behind Magic Carpet, Dr Banana, and Alec Falconer‘s Ba Dum Tish.
And it’s that last connection that brings us to Head In The Clouds. What started with an unexpected phone call from Alec on Boxing Day 2023 eventually became Liam’s debut album and the very first full-length release on Ba Dum Tish. Rather than simply putting together a collection of club tracks, he decided to take things somewhere a little different. Drawing on his love of downtempo music, groove-led house, and the ever-changing beauty of the sky, he set out to create something that could capture the feeling of having your head quite literally in the clouds.
The result is a wonderfully personal record that moves between hazy, laid-back moments and the kind of infectious house grooves we’ve come to love him for. It’s an album designed to be experienced from beginning to end, gradually shifting in energy without ever losing its warmth. And while the finished record might sound wonderfully effortless, the journey behind it was anything but. From a month spent shut away writing music to endless mixdown headaches, unexpected vocal collaborations, and the occasional creative crisis, making Head In The Clouds turned out to be quite the adventure.
And perhaps that’s what makes Head In The Clouds so charming: it feels like a genuine reflection of the person behind it. There’s a genuine enthusiasm for the little things, whether that’s a perfectly bouncing bassline, a beautiful cloud formation, an old record, or a weekend spent somewhere in the Portuguese countryside. And there’s also a refreshing honesty about the less glamorous side of making music: the self-doubt, the obsessive tweaking, and the realization that sometimes even the most joyful-sounding records can be an absolute nightmare to finish.
We caught up with Velvet Velour for an extensive conversation about the people, places, and happy accidents that shaped his musical journey. From his early days discovering electronic music in Canada to building his own labels in Lisbon, the creative freedom of working with Alec Falconer, and the making of his first album, we talked about pretty much everything that happens when you follow your instincts, trust the right people, and occasionally disappear into your own little world.
Heads in the clouds, feet firmly on the dancefloor...
Torture the Artist: Hey Liam, tell us something about your day. Where are you answering us from right now — studio, record shop, beach, café, or somewhere overlooking Lisbon?
Velvet Velour: I’m answering from my garden in Lisbon. It’s been boiling this past week, so I’m making the most of the little windows of cool air in the morning.
Torture the Artist: Before we dive into the album, let’s start with the person behind Velvet Velour. For those discovering your music for the first time, who is Liam and how did electronic music first enter your life?
Velvet Velour: I was very late to the game compared to most! Whilst most people cut their teeth during their education, I didn’t start getting into electronic music until after university. I moved to Canmore, Alberta, straight after uni and my friend introduced me to Boiler Room sets when we got there. We’d always listen to them when getting ready to go out.
I got obsessed with electronic music pretty quickly from those sets, and would head out to BPM Festival in Mexico every year while I was there, as well as dragging my friends into Calgary (the nearest city) anytime a good DJ came through.
In particular, it was watching Jamie Jones play a sunrise set on a beach in Mexico that tipped me over the edge. It just looked so fun, and I felt so good on the dancefloor in that setting that I decided in that moment I wanted to try to do that as well. I bought a Traktor controller on the way home from the airport and the rest is history! <laughs>
Torture the Artist: You originally come from the UK but have been based in Lisbon for a while now. What drew you there in the first place, and what made you stay?
Velvet Velour: My ex-girlfriend suggested it. After a COVID lockdown stint we were dying to change things up, and Lisbon sounded perfect. She’d already been and said it was amazing. Around the same time I happened to be in comms with Apple B and Hazr, who run the party/label Magic Carpet out here, and Sam (Apple B) suggested I play his small friends-of-friends festival the same weekend that we arrived in Lisbon. That was the perfect way to land, and the friends I made at that festival have been my close friends here now for the past four years!
Torture the Artist: Has Lisbon changed the way you approach music, DJing, or even everyday life?
Velvet Velour: I think it’s changed the way I approach everyday life massively compared to being in the UK, as I spend a lot more time outdoors than I used to. It’s a beautiful city with incredible coastlines and woodlands nearby, which is great for my busy brain. I spend lots of time outside purposefully not listening to music, purely because my head gets a bit too overwhelmed with ideas sometimes when I’m constantly listening to music. So being in silence sometimes helps me to work through ideas and come to conclusions better. Not just in terms of music, but for general life stuff as well.
Torture the Artist: You’re not only producing and DJing but also running Silky Beats and its sister imprint cloudbeats. Looking back, what motivated you to start your own labels?
Velvet Velour: I think there was just a moment when I realised I wasn’t hearing exactly what I wanted to hear from other labels, and I had friendships/connections who were making lots of this music, but not always finding the right homes for it.
I’ve always leant more into fun/bouncy tunes, and it felt like everything at the time was slowly getting moodier. So I impulsively made the decision to reach out to some of my favourite producers who I’d made friends with over the years. I like to do things on impulse sometimes if it feels exciting and feels right. When there’s other people’s music involved, it forces you to get your head down and make it work as quickly as possible without obsessing over the small details that can sometimes leave you stagnant.
The same thing happened with cloudbeats. Silky Beats had become pretty tech/deep house focused, and I wanted to keep it that way, so I impulsively started cloudbeats to be a home for my stuff and more garage-y stuff. I was initially going to keep it strictly for my music, but I kept receiving so many incredible demos that it made sense to open it up to other artists so that I could have two imprints working side by side and be less stuck when there are pressing plant delays.
I’ve always been obsessed with clouds and blue skies. For me, they are one of the most beautiful things to look at.
Torture the Artist: Silky Beats has developed a very distinctive identity over the years. Was that vision clear from the beginning, or did it evolve naturally through the releases?
Velvet Velour: In terms of sound and visuals, it was there from the start for sure. I’ve always been obsessed with clouds and blue skies. For me, they are one of the most beautiful things to look at. So building the visual identity around that and pairing it with light/floaty grooves was always the vision.
Torture the Artist: Before we get to Head In The Clouds, you recently released music on Magic Carpet. What drew you to that label and how did that project come together?
Velvet Velour: I touched on my friendship with the guys earlier, but in terms of releasing music together, this was actually the reason we were initially in touch.
They reached out a few years ago with the idea of starting a 10-inch UKG sublabel and asked me to do the 001 release. And whilst this didn’t come to fruition in the end, we always said we’d pull together a Magic Carpet EP when the time was right.
When their 20th release started getting closer, they asked me to mark the occasion, and we knew it was the perfect time to finally make it happen!
It’s really easy to get disheartened in those early days.
Torture the Artist: Let’s talk about the big one. Head In The Clouds isn’t just your first album — it’s also the first full-length album on the newly established Ba Dum Tish label. How does it feel knowing you’ll forever be part of that chapter in the label’s history?
Velvet Velour: It feels amazing! Alec and Ba Dum Tish were the first people to ever give my music the time of day, so BDT feels like the most perfect home for my first LP. Alec put out my first-ever track on Scratch Discs 001, and then my first-ever full EP on Scratch Discs 002, so it’s a dream come true to have my first album with him on Ba Dum Tish.
I remember when I was finally starting to make some interesting-sounding stuff, Alec and Sandy (Dr Banana) were the only people listening properly and giving me feedback. It’s really easy to get disheartened in those early days, so having two artists I looked up to massively getting behind my music gave me the confidence boost I needed to keep going in that direction.
The only other time he’d [Alec Falconer] called me was about playing for Ba Dum Tish, so I thought there might be some crazy last-minute Boxing Day party going on or something.
Torture the Artist: Alec Falconer apparently called you on Boxing Day in 2023 with the idea of doing an album. Do you remember that conversation? What was your first reaction when he suggested it?
Velvet Velour: <laughs> Yes, I remember it clear as day! I was expecting it to be a family member calling or something, then I remember seeing Alec’s name and being very intrigued. The only other time he’d called me was about playing for Ba Dum Tish, so I thought there might be some crazy last-minute Boxing Day party going on or something. But instead he told me about the vision of Ba Dum Tish moving on from being a distributor to becoming a label, and suggested that I make the first album for him! My first reaction was: ‘This isn’t quite when or how I imagined doing my first album, but I’m 1000% doing this’ hahah.
Torture the Artist: You then took an entire month to focus on writing the album. Did you approach those sessions differently from how you would normally write an EP?
Velvet Velour: Yes, for sure. when I write an EP I’m usually just making one or two tunes a week over the course of a few months and just trying to write bangers pretty much. Then I’ll choose the best few that work well together.
For my first LP, I knew I wanted everything to build up from downtempo to house music (my two first musical inspirations), and I wanted everything to be made within the same few weeks, so that it was all as cohesive as possible and made while I was in one frame of mind.
Torture the Artist: Many producers spend years thinking about their first album. Did you have a concept in mind immediately, or did the vision gradually reveal itself while making the music?
Velvet Velour:Â When Alec explained to me that a good album always has a concept, it was obviously always going to be clouds <laughs> which pairs perfectly with how I wanted it to sound anyway. Something light, bright and breezy.
One thing the UK is great for is clouds.
Torture the Artist: The title Head In The Clouds feels almost autobiographical. Where does your fascination with clouds and blue skies come from?
Velvet Velour: It all started when I moved back to Bristol from Canada. I’d been living in this beautiful mountain valley for three years and the daily views were insane. It looked like a National Geographic cover photo everywhere you looked. So moving back to a grey city and then going into lockdown, naturally I wasn’t very stimulated.
But during the summer lockdown, we got blessed with some amazing weather, and one thing the UK is great for is clouds. You get sick cloud formations because of the climate. We’d go and watch the sunset every night and the beautiful skies replaced the mountain views which helped keep me somewhat sane. Mountains had been the only thing I posted pictures of on Instagram, but then it became clouds. Right around that time, I’d taken up a radio residency on SWU.FM. I had to send in monthly pictures for the artwork templates, and I’d just send in pictures of clouds. So it accidentally / immediately became part of my brand and I just kept with it hahah.
Torture the Artist: You described the album as an attempt to make clouds audible. That’s a beautiful concept. How do you translate something as visual and intangible as a cloud into music?
Velvet Velour: I think my sound palette pairs naturally quite well with this concept, as I generally reach for ‘lighter’ frequencies anyway. But to really hone in on the concept I drafted in some help with the vocals, and I made an ambient track to close out the A-side (which is all downtempo) which I made whilst thinking ‘what would the inside of a cloud sound like to me’. Lots of air and noise and wind, but also peacefulness, and of course some sparkly melodies.
Torture the Artist: Throughout the album, small vocal passages introduce listeners to different aspects of cloud formation and weather. Where did that idea come from?
Velvet Velour: I think it just felt like a nice way to really tie the tracks together and lean into the concept fully.
Alec had pushed me to go a step further in sprinkling some seeing as it was a special project, so I spent a long time listening to podcasts and interviews with cloud scientists, etc., looking for vocals and voices I might want in the tracks.
I was really struggling to find anything I liked, so I started searching for ‘nice soft-spoken accents’, found this YouTuber I liked, and reached out about the concept. She was amazing to work with, and because she loved the idea of featuring on an album so much, she sent me a load of usable voice notes literally within a few hours.
Torture the Artist: Were there particular albums, films, books, places, or experiences that inspired the overall atmosphere of Head In The Clouds?
Velvet Velour: Not really, to be honest, I force myself to avoid references for my music. I purposefully taught myself certain techniques over the years so that I can write every element of a track and be able to go with the flow without reaching for inspiration.
I’ll only ever reach for inspo if I’ve been screwing over a bassline for hours and absolutely can’t come up with anything, but this is super rare. Sometimes just hearing a good rhythm on an old record can be enough to come up with an idea, but for this project I wanted it to be purely based on ideas in my own head.
My initial dream was always to go and rent a cabin for a month and make music, but I couldn’t afford that, so I just shacked up at home and turned my phone off for the month so that I didn’t get any distractions or external inspiration.
The artwork on a record is so important to me, I often notice that in a lot of my favourite old records the quality of the art and fonts match the quality of the sound.
Torture the Artist: Alec gave you an unusual amount of creative freedom, from choosing the artwork and graphic designer to selecting the mastering engineer. How important was that level of trust for a project as personal as this?
Velvet Velour: Honestly, it’s the best first album experience I could have ever asked for. I’m forever indebted to Alec for his trust and giving me this freedom. This album wouldn’t exist without him.
The artwork on a record is so important to me, I often notice that in a lot of my favourite old records the quality of the art and fonts match the quality of the sound.
Usually when releasing music with someone else, it’s their vision and style that gets pressed onto the vinyl and you pretty much just approve that everything is spelt correctly. For my first LP, it was always a dream of mine that I’d get to have a say in the artwork.
That being said, getting to choose the artist and work with them directly was a dream come true!
I knew immediately it was going to be Dan Ellwood to execute my vision when I decided I wanted a cloud kind of smearing/blending into the sky and creating a gradient. He literally nailed my vision on the first attempt!
In terms of mastering, it’s another equally important area for me. I’ve had multiple scenarios where an engineer has added distortion to my track and they couldn’t even hear the issue they’ve created, so you pretty much just come to a stalemate and have to decide whether to remaster with someone else or suck it up. It’s a horrible feeling when someone adds an undesirable frequency to your music and then you just have to lump it.
So I love working with Jorge Caiado for my mastering these days (also my boss / co-worker / friend here in Lisbon, we run Carpet & Snares Records together). He’s great at executing feedback, is very patient and flexible, and I can even bolt over to his place and have a listen / tweak myself. Perfeito!
Torture the Artist: Looking at the album as a whole, it almost feels like two different journeys. The A-side invites listeners into a more reflective, downtempo world, while the B-side gradually shifts towards the dancefloor. Was that contrast intentional from the beginning?
Velvet Velour: I essentially wanted to build up in tempo through my favourite styles, whilst keeping the same mood and lightness running throughout. Something that can start you off from nothing, and build you up in energy. It was always our intent to be one disc. Not only because it’s a terrible time for selling 2×12’’ (unless it’s full of peak time bangers), but because it’s lovely to only have to flip a record once when you’re listening to an album.
So it made the most sense to kind of ‘close out’ the first side of the record with an ambient moment, after four downtempo tracks which have slowly built in speed and energy, then when you get up to flip the record, bam! House music on the other side. And hopefully by that point you’re ready to level up from swaying your hips in the kitchen / living room to raising a knee!
It was quite the mathematical equation at times, because we wanted to capitalise on every available second, so that the record could still be loud and playable on a sound system (if you break a certain time frame on the record, then the tracks have to be compressed more, and the trade off is loss of volume/punchiness) My two favourite albums are K-Lone – Cape Cira and Huerta – Junipero, and whilst it’s my dream to create an immersive ambient / rhythmic universe on this level one day, my first album always had to be an homage to where I’ve come from, which is music built around drum grooves.
Torture the Artist: Let’s go through some of the tracks. “Welcome Track” immediately sets the tone for the album. Why did it feel right as the opening chapter?
Velvet Velour: I created it to be the opener! Everything from the name to the ‘welcome’ vocal sample, which loops throughout, is intended to set the tone and ease you in.
Torture the Artist: “Chocolate Funk” introduces dub and reggae influences into the album’s universe. Those influences don’t always appear explicitly in your productions. Where did that track come from?
Velvet Velour: If it does convey that type of influence, it would have been unintentional; as I have no knowledge or personal history with those genres (surprising, coming from Bristol, I know!). Perhaps it’s the bassline, which is the one and only time I’ve used this kind of rubbery but also subby bass preset from Native Instruments FM8.
Torture the Artist: “Water Chestnut” and “Take One” feel particularly intimate. What were you trying to express during those moments of the record?
Velvet Velour: I wish I could pretend that I was trying to express something in particular, but my music is generally always an accident tbh. There isn’t much thought that goes into it other than opening up Ableton, going with the flow and trying to finish a track with whatever direction my gut ends up following. These two were just made with the album’s universe in mind, and got selected because they were my favourite of the larger bunch of tunes I made.
Torture the Artist: The A-side closes with “Formations” — a title that immediately sparks curiosity. What’s the story behind that track?
Velvet Velour: ‘Formations’ was actually made a little more consciously because I knew I had 2 minutes to play with on the record, and I wanted to close out the A-side with something especially cloudy. This was the perfect opportunity to throw in some of the podcast/cloud education samples I found along the way, and execute my vision of making some sounds that could reflect what a cloud would ‘sound like’ in my brain. Anyone who reads this without context is going to think ‘what is all of this nonsense’ <laughs>. But Alec and I were really trying to go as deep as possible on the concept and creating this ‘universe’.
Torture the Artist: Moving to the B-side, the energy gradually shifts. “Remember Me”, “Head In The Clouds”, and “Late Night Sauce” feel much more rooted in club culture while still fitting the wider narrative. Was finding that balance between listening album and dancefloor album difficult?
Velvet Velour: Yes, this was definitely the area of the record where there were the most tracks which didn’t make the cut. I reckon there were about 10 house tracks that didn’t quite convey what I wanted to. Either they would sound too contemporary or too clubby. I wanted them to be an homage to the sound people have bought my music for over the years, but also a nod in the direction of where I’m going (Remember You and Late Night Sauce Pot both lean in a little more of a timeless direction with the chord choices, which is where I’d like to be heading). I wanted them to be listenable at home, playable in the club but also not too heavy. So it was a lot to get right, and who knows if I even did, because it’s of course all subjective!
Torture the Artist: The title track feels like the emotional centrepiece of the record. Did it always occupy that role, or did it reveal itself later in the process?
Velvet Velour: Yes, I definitely put the most love into this one with the vocal samples, and trying to create a title track built around the ‘Head In The Clouds’ samples, which I’d been saving for the right moment. Working with Alison and Sarah on those vocals was a really lovely experience. They both believed in the project right off the bat and both have such a lovely energy. They nailed it on take one, to the point where it was laughable! Alison’s vocal recording especially, was a pinch-me moment. We first connected because she produced one of my favourite records back in mid-2000s, so I found her on Facebook to try and buy a copy as there weren’t any on Discogs. She dug one out of her basement for me and we got chatting. I was super intrigued about her vocals, and she was kind enough to explain how she made the track and that the vocals were her own. I instantly got excited and asked her to contribute some vocals for my album, and we’ve been long-distance friends ever since! We’re going to get some more music on the go ASAP as we have some wicked ideas for some club tracks. She sent me a voice note from Mexico while she was looking at the clouds at that very moment. And the organic ‘ooof, just… Unbelievable clouds, so I guess I’m in that cloud state of mind right now’ blew me away. I put it straight in the track and sent it over to her! Alec encouraged me to invite some collaborations and I’m so glad I did. I hadn’t thought about it at first, but it’s really given another dynamic to the record and it’s been amazing to make some friendships along the way. For my next album I’m going to do way more of them (whenever that may be).
Torture the Artist: Then, after the club-oriented section, you close everything with “One More Tune”. Every DJ understands what those words mean. Why was that the right way to end the journey?
Velvet Velour: I think it’s maybe low-key my favourite track on the LP and it felt like a perfect closer to me. For me it has this feeling of winding down but also wanting more. I made it pretty early on during that month of writing, and I instantly knew I wanted it as the closer. The name instantly clicked as well as that chant at the end of the night always cracks me up. It felt fitting to use it in this scenario (so chuffed with myself, as if it’s not the most obvious last track name choice ever hahah).
Torture the Artist: Was there one track on the album that took significantly longer to finish than the others?
Velvet Velour: Oh my God, yes – Chocolate Funk. I wrote the track in one day, but the mixdown – Jesus Christ! I’m a big fan of layering a mid-bass on my sub-bass, but I really shot myself in the foot with this one. The kind of raspy mid-bass preset that comes in at times was a real b*stard. When the track came back from mastering, I noticed that it had this really horrible distorted tone, kind of grinding on the ear. I couldn’t figure out for ages whether it was the mastering or the preset though! So we had a nightmare trying to get to the bottom of it. And then I had just as much of a nightmare trying to get rid of it. I think that track was sent back to Jorge four or five times with amendments on my end. On my beaten-up laptop as well so the CPU was through the roof and the track was crackling and freezing up constantly as I was trying to figure stuff out, and taking 5–10 minutes to open the project every time. It was paaaainful!
Torture the Artist: Which track changed the most between its first sketch and the final version?
Velvet Velour:Â Take One! The track was initially called 105 To 115, because I wanted to use it as a bridge track to get to a higher tempo. So I was playing with the speed throughout, and having it randomly gain speed and slow down again, whilst slowly increasing the overall speed by the end of the track. It sounded cool but it just sounded way better staying put at 105 BPM, so in the end I renamed it and ditched the idea.
The writing phase is a blast. But then comes the self-doubt, obsession, procrastination, more obsession…
Torture the Artist: What did making a full-length album teach you that making EPs never could?
Velvet Velour: So much! Patience… Lots of patience. But also not… One half of you wants it out there and wants the process over with, and the other half forces you to dial back because you want it to be perfect, and you can’t part ways with it until then. And that generally it’s not for the faint-hearted! I thought it was going to be a breeze, but it’s the longest and most frustrating thing I’ve ever done. <laughs> I made these tunes in January 2024 and it’s only coming out now. That in itself says a lot. The writing phase is a blast. But then comes the self-doubt, obsession, procrastination, more obsession, then you take time away from the project and love the tracks all of a sudden when you come back, then obsess over the mixes for months and have to listen on various speakers, then you hate the tracks again. It was a massive headfuck. And then with so many moving parts, everyone else is working at their own speeds too, so it just takes ages.
Torture the Artist: Did you discover anything new about yourself creatively while working on this project?
Velvet Velour: Good question! It’s a tough one, but I think the main thing I discovered is how gratifying it can be to collaborate with the right people. I used to think that collaborations only had to be sitting down with someone and making a track together, which I find challenging at times. I have to really know someone and connect with them to want to do that. But it can be so much easier than that, and when I do another album I’ll go the extra mile to source more artists who do things that I can’t.
Torture the Artist: You’ve built a reputation through House, Deep House, Tech-House and groove-led club music, but Head In The Clouds feels broader than that. Did making an album allow you to explore parts of your musical personality that usually stay hidden?
Velvet Velour: If I’m truly honest, it didn’t. But that’s purely because of the framework I set. I wanted to showcase my own take on the drum/groove-based genres that got me here, and looking back, that didn’t end up pushing me as much as I would have liked. But that’s okay, I always knew that I wanted my first album to be that way. A homage, a nod, a thank you. Whereas there will definitely be an album down the line where I will force myself to forget everything I know about drums and explore something fresh. K-Lone’s album for example, really blows my mind. The way he used percussion both rhythmically and musically really makes for a special and unique listening experience. I’d like to try to challenge myself to explore deeper next time.
Torture the Artist: Your music often feels warm, playful, and optimistic. Is that a conscious reflection of your personality, or does it simply happen naturally?
Velvet Velour: Those are some of the exact words I’ve heard people use to describe me as a person, and I am lucky that channelling this into my music came naturally from day one. I always knew what chords I was looking for, the bouncy notes I wanted for my bassline, and I just fully leant into my internal key when it came to writing music. It’s taken me a while to be able to channel that into proper dancefloor music though. I’ve always been making this kind of middle ground of warm-up and peak time, not out of choice, but that’s just where I always seemed to end up. Whereas now I’ve finally been able to start making tunes that I can play in my own peak-time sets, and I can watch the response with a huge smile on my face, because they literally turn the dancefloor fun and everyone starts bouncing. I can see the smiles immediately, and that’s a beautiful thing because it’s why I got into this in the first place!
Torture the Artist: As a label owner yourself, did the experience of being guided by Alec and Ba Dum Tish change how you think about supporting artists on Silky Beats?
Velvet Velour: I’ve actually always tried to follow this approach as much as I can. The reason being, when I worked with Joe Delon (Welt Discos) on my second EP, he was incredible with how flexible he was with the tunes. He kind of selects artists where he knows he likes a broad range of their music, and then allows them to have a say in the final tracklist and the approval of the artwork. This was easily my favourite experience working with a label, outside of working with Alec. So this set me up pretty well in terms of how I wanted to do things. I design my own artwork for my labels, so I’ll happily redesign an entire new centre label if the artist isn’t quite gelling with it. And I try to take a similar approach with the music. For example, Henry Hodson, O’Malley, Oliver.r (forthcoming) and Angelito (forthcoming), all sent me so much incredible stuff that I was like, well damn you may as well just choose what you want on there or what order you want the tracks because I like all of the options you’ve sent hahah.
Torture the Artist: When you’re not making music, where do you find inspiration these days?
Velvet Velour:Â Out in the trees! My favourite place to be in my off-time. As much as possible, me and my girlfriend like to find waterfalls / natural springs / lakes in the woodlands of Portugal and camp for the weekend. Lying down for hours on end in places like this is what truly resets my brain and gets rid of the noise (excessive noise in my case!). Then I can come back to the real world with a fresh outlook.
Torture the Artist: If somebody listens to Head In The Clouds from beginning to end on a sunny afternoon, what do you hope stays with them once the final notes of “One More Tune” fade away?
Velvet Velour: A good mood. That is all!
Torture the Artist: Finally, if you could describe Head In The Clouds in just three words, what would they be?
Velvet Velour: Light, bouncy and uplifting.
Thank you, mate! Pleasure chatting with you.
Head in the Clouds is out on Ba Dum Tish.
Words by Holger Breuer
Cover picture and first picture by Luisa Bravo
Picture two and three by VV Press
