Vee Lourenço
Vee Lourenço is a South African bassist and composer currently based in Brussels. She completed her Bachelor of Music degree from Rhodes University, South Africa in 2013. Vee has over 14 years of experience in various musical contexts as a bassist, composer, performer, and recording artist in South Africa, Zimbabwe, Vietnam and France.
On August 6th, she launched a new bass-driven solo project named ‘vlou’. Incorporating live bass and digital production, and influenced by Khruangbin, Flea, and Marcus Miller, vlou’s sound is rooted in a fusion of modern psychedelia, funk, and jazz.
Musically, vlou intends to develop understanding and appreciation for bass as an instrument through foregrounding it in composition. Socially, vlou aims to add to the visibility and representation of female instrumentalists and queer musicians. With this in mind, it was a conscious decision to work with other women, other PoC and other people from the LGBTQ+ community for this project; her photography and edits are done by Gemma Garman (South Africa), her design is done by Lerusha Reddy (South Africa), and her mastering is done by Queer Ear Mastering (Germany).
Photo by Gemma Garman
Logo Design by Lerusha Reddy
Scenes from a Dream
‘Scenes from a dream’ is the debut single of vlou. It’s a fast-paced stream of strong warm grooves, steady supporting rhythms, and bright atmospheric production. The single - like all music for the project - was written, recorded, mixed and produced by Vee herself in her little home studio. During the lockdown, she revisited her knowledge of sound technology and added to it through online learning.
Vee plans to release a live video of “scenes from a dream” in September, and a follow-up single towards the end of this year, which will be accompanied by a music video. She’s currently hoping to secure a residency in one of the music spaces in Brussels to refine her live/performance set. Vee’s upcoming releases range across a spectrum of moods, drawing in various degrees from her influences, and infused with her own playing and compositional style.
Keep an eye on her social channels for future releases and upcoming work/events!
Inspiration
Music has always been a part of Vee’s life. Her grandfather played the saxophone when he was young and Vee grew up playing the piano with her mother and her mother’s sisters. Vee struggled with some health issues at a young age which caused her to stop playing for a few years. In her mid-teens, she rediscovered music: “I picked up the bass, it was incredibly healing and soul-fulfilling for me - the vibrations I felt in my chest when I played soothed (and continue to soothe) me.” Her first influential role model I had was Flea from the Red Hot Chili Peppers: “I really connected with him musically - his melodic, more complex style of bass playing and their songs were a big part of my foundations as a bassist.”
‘vlou’ is inspired by the low end - the lower frequencies of sound. “My writing process for this project always begins with a bass riff that I then build upon layer by layer, and section by section. The name ‘vlou’ is a blend of my first and last name put together, and the flow of my music. This is also why it is written in all lower case lettering - so that it visually looks more flowy.” The project grew out of Vee’s need to have a creative outlet during the COVID-19 pandemic, a time where it is not always possible to create collaboratively. “I worked on my music as a mostly private project. The more I worked on it, the more it grew into a better-formed project and I could see space for it not only in the online world of listening but also as instrumental music supporting visual material in film or TV.”
Diversity and the music industry
Coming from mainly the academic, alternative music and theatre spaces, Vee experienced the music industry - as well as her instrument - as disproportionately white-het-male-dominated. “In the last couple of years, I have actively sought out spaces that have more diversity, representation and support for women, PoC, and LGBTQIA+ people in the music/creative industries. It has been refreshing to see how much of this exists - communities like Shesaid.so, Femnoise and Women in Music, and platforms/organisations like Match, Pride of Color and of course Queef are a few that have given me a sense of hope, belonging, and made my journey feel less alone.”
Contact
Artist & Co-Manager: Vee Lourenço
vloumusic@gmail.com