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For the past 10 years, I have
felt that new guitar music is either too noisy or just plain boring.
To avoid sounding like a cross between my Dad and an 18-year old, I
turned my back on Rock and Indie, immersing myself in the world of
not-so-throwaway pop. Someone who shares my belief that music should
be fun, describing the colour of her music as “red, yellow and orange
as opposed to grey, brown and beige” is V V Brown. It was her debut
single Crying Blood that made me love music again.
Trying to
avoid lazy journalistic cliches, this tale of a relationship gone
wrong sounds like a phenomenal soul talent singing on a Fatboy Slim
remix of the Monster Mash. V V assures me that while “there is a
similarity, I’d never heard of the Monster Mash until people mentioned
it. While the structure is very 50s other artists such as Duffy and
Amy Winehouse have nods to little known songs from the 60s and 70s.
Even if those structures were used deliberately they’re less likely to
be recognised.”
Hailing from Northampton, V V, the daughter of
two schoolteachers, was something of a child prodigy - learning the
organ at her gospel church and classical piano and the trumpet at
school. Completing and gaining 4 As, at A Level, a year early, she
took a year off to concentrate on her music with the intention to
study law at university later on.
Relocating to London, she
embarked on session work. Singing backing vocals for Westlife and
Madonna, before being offered a deal with Polydor, under her real name
Vanessa Brown. A name she “hasn’t been called for a long time.”
The 18-months with the label saw her move to L.A and begin writing
songs for her debut album Into The Music. Featuring musicians who’d
worked with Earth, Wind and Fire, Whitney Houston and Joni Mitchell,
the album never saw the light of day. Although a single called Whipped
was released and promoted on Top of the Pops, a show “I used to watch
religiously”.
Reviews at the time said that she had “a truly
fantastic voice - rather like a more mature Joss Stone with greater
range and power.” While the song itself was a “funked up kind of soul
that's hard to forget.” Despite the positive noises V V felt she was
being compromised, hating the sound. “The production took my songs
somewhere I had never envisioned, the more strings they added, the
more the music lost its honesty and innocence.” She wasn’t keen on the
way she looked either, with her record label dictating the way they
thought she should be. “In my case it was a UK soul diva – which I’m
not at all.”
With her dreams shattered, she found herself “in
a confusing lost place”. Unsure what she wanted to do, V V killed time
writing and performing backing vocals for Pussycat Dolls. A return to
London coincided with her ending a romance with a booking agent. “He
was a real arsehole, I loved him, but I knew he was no good.” Skint
and heartbroken she brought a guitar from a charity shop. She stripped
it down to a single string, marking the notes out in nail varnish, and
set about writing new material.
She wrote Denial for the
Sugababes and taking the pain and confusion of the last few years
wrote Crying Blood and found a new deal with Island. After the track
entered the national radar, V V began performing live. In October she
supported the Sugababes at The Forum, Kentish Town as part of the Q
Awards: The Gigs season. While November saw her first headline gig at
the Soho Review Bar and as support to Ida Maria of “I Like You So Much
Better When You’re Naked” fame, she embarked on her first tour of the
UK.
Blur’s Damon Albarn is such a fan that he invited her to
join his Africa Express collective on a tour of Lagos. And for someone
who feels “there aren’t enough TV shows promoting the performance of
music” a slot on Later with Jools Holland must have been the icing on
the cake?
“I felt like an invader. There were all these
people like Metallica up there. It was like a dream come true.” During
her appearance, she played two tracks, Crying Blood (obviously) and
Bottles, the Chopsticks borrowing track from her forthcoming album
Travelling Like the Light. Released in June 2009, the album features
more examples of V V’s diverse music tastes, including follow-up
single Leave.
“My range of styles are so different, I’m into
everything, I love the B52s,” which is evident to anyone who has heard
the track Quick Fix. “And I love Ruth Brown, who didn’t have the
recognition she deserved. She was fun, she always had a tambourine and
her clothes were so cool.”
For someone who has an individual
style that makes a statement, it’s no surprise that V V is also
influenced by Grace Jones. But who is she loving at the moment?
“I think the
Kings Of Leon are really good and I'm really loving Vampire
Weekend. They are really interesting. Their album has an amazing
fusion of musical styles. It’s time for music to be fun and exciting
again.”
For someone who refuses to compromise V V
has no worries about missing out on awards. “Fame is delusional, it’s
not real. I just want to make good music, be able to pay my rent and
eat. I’m the kind of person who’ll tour forever. People will know my
music from experiencing it, not record company hype.”
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