We’re pleased to welcome Velvet Penny to our pages for the very first time. The artist has just released a dreamy and evocative split single in collaboration with Sol Societe, titled “Hot Air Balloon // Sambido.“ In this interview, we explore the origins of the project, the creative vision behind the new release, and what the future holds.
Let’s start from the beginning. How and when did the Velvet Penny project come to life?
Velvet Penny first began when I was a teenager growing up in the arts district of Pomona, CA. During that time I was being exposed to different forms of free, live music during the town’s art walks and at the arts district galleries. My friend Manny Sifuentes, who also hosted backyard shows under the name, Depression Chamber, would host different noise and acoustic artists to come together and play outside of the train tracks that were right in his backyard. I really admired the musicians I was able to watch and connect with at these live shows.
I stopped playing music under this moniker around the time I was 19 and went on to sing for a neo-soul group called Shinobi Ghost for a couple years. However, there were still songs that I felt in my body needed to be expressed through the channel that was Velvet Penny. In 2021 I returned to this moniker, resurrecting songs that were tucked away for years. At this point I was finally able to give them the life I had imagined for them as a teenager with the help of the folks in my life and a new determination.
After the collection of these songs came out as ‘All the Flowers’ is when Velvet Penny became a band performing in varying arrangements ranging from 7 people to an power trio.
What inspired the name Velvet Penny? Is there a particular meaning or story behind it?
The inception of the name came from superstition and giving your all to the unknown.
However, now I like to think of the name and names in general, as being connected to the Akashic record. In a nutshell, the Akashic record is a record of universal consciousness, and I think that that holds a lot of magic to it of what this name holds as it continues to live its own life. A sentiment I have been thinking a lot of recently is our own names and how we give them meaning, and how they’re given meaning each time someone says our name or thinks of us— think back on all of those times, even to the time your parents first thought of your name. All this to say, there is still meaning unfolding from the name and a seeking of it.
You’ve just released “Hot Air Balloon // Sambido,” a split single with Sol Societe. How did this collaboration come about?
Victor and I met from being involved in the local music scene in Pomona, CA. We were both fans of each other’s music and were sharing unreleased music with each other to potentially write together. Simultaneously, I had just met Aaron from Psylk Rd. at a show we had played at Non Plus Ultra. At the time he was working with Sundog Sound and was interested in pressing a record for us through Sundog. I took some time to learn more about Sundog, and found that Victor had also been working on releasing a vinyl with them.
It ended up working out that Aaron branched off from Sundog and embarked on starting Psylk Rd. offering to press for both Victor and I. I knew that ‘Hot Air Balloon’ had to be released during the summer because of its high energy and when working with Victor to find which songs of his he wanted to include, ‘Wakin Days,’ ‘A Mon Amour’ and ‘Sambido’ were all contestants. We ended up landing on Sambido, which in my opinion makes for the type of record you want to flip over again and again.
Can you walk us through the creative process behind “Hot Air Balloon”? Where did the initial idea come from, and how did the song evolve during writing and production?
I must have begun writing this song around the summer of 2023 or even a little bit before, probably right after releasing my first record ‘All the Flowers’ in March of 2023. It was a difficult process for me, working on ‘All the Flowers’. I think that I needed to learn a lot about communication and collaboration through that production, which is worth mentioning because it’s the preface of ‘Hot Air Balloon’ and what it means to begin to take flight. In a lot of ways, ‘All the Flowers’ was a heavy release for me, and upon releasing it, it felt like I was finally able to make sails out of anchors.
‘Hot Air Balloon’ began on a nylon string guitar. I picked up somewhere along the way that a good song can be stripped of everything but an acoustic. I took my time writing the licks, and once all of the parts were done I brought it to the 7 person group I had been performing with to bring ‘All the Flowers’ to live audiences. It was with them that the song was filled with life and whimsy and fun!
Capturing a live sound was really important to me when beginning to look into recording, but I wasn’t sure how to accomplish that sound and I didn’t know who to work with to make the sound I was looking for happen. But I knew that I wanted to connect with more women in the music industry and was lucky to find Elana over at Top Coat Studios through Christina Aposto, one of the badass members from the rock duo, Good Juice. Elana was super empowering to work with and embraced all of the ideas that we had for this recording. The production ended up sounding bigger than I think any of us had imagined it would. When working in the box, it becomes easier and easier to add overdubs here and there as the creative juices flow. Alec, on keys, had also suggested adding in the live crowd sample which worked perfectly with the embellishments of ad libs we had done through tracking.
This single has a very retrò and dreamy feel. What were the key influences – musical or otherwise – that shaped the atmosphere and sound of the track?
Influences for tracking and mixing were Frank Zappa, The Beatles, Pink Flyod, and Cream. Before going into track, Victor (drums) Beauman (bass) and I got together and put together this short playlist of references to use as our guiding star.
Was there any concept or image you wanted to evoke when creating “Hot Air Balloon”?
When first writing ‘Hot Air Balloon’ I wasn’t intentionally trying to evoke being at a carnival or even the image of a hot air balloon, but as we began to play around with it as a group, we really leaned into that silliness of creating characters for the song. I think that idea became cemented when we debuted the song at Fleece Kawasaki’s birthday show at Genghis Cohen in West Hollywood and Annie and Lorali dressed up as mimes for the performance. That was a really great show.
How would you describe the chemistry and exchange with Sol Societe in this shared release?
I think that Sol Societe and I have a mutual respect for each other’s artistry and sound great together on vinyl. I can’t wait to share the stage together at our official release show June 27th at Lopez Urban Farm in Pomona! It’s going to be a really special summer night where we get to celebrate the culmination of our sounds and creative endeavors.
The production is clean yet emotionally rich. Who worked on the recording, mixing, and mastering of the track?
Elana Caroll from Top Coat Studios! She was both our recording engineer and mixing engineer.
Do you consider this split single a standalone release, or is it part of a larger creative journey or concept you’re developing?
‘Hot Air Balloon’ is a lot different from the work that I’ve previously released and I would say is quite different from the music I have in the queue, which is much more akin to the shadowy world of ‘All the Flowers’ except with more grit.
Are you currently working on new material? Should we expect a second album in the near future?
Yes, we are working on a full length album that is mostly tracked. There are a few songs that I had originally wanted to include as stripped back acoustic songs, but as we go deeper into the mix production, the sonic field that we’re creating is becoming clearer to me and that inspires me to build out these stripped back songs more.
What are your plans for live activity – any shows or festivals coming up where fans can experience Velvet Penny live?
We’ve just begun a two week tour out to Austin, TX with Swing Auditorium with a new date added 6/20 in Denton, TX at Rubber Gloves thanks to Claire Morales! Below is the flyer created by my pal Nacho, Warforknowledge.
We’ve been slowly exploring new circuits throughout the US, having done the East Coast, the Pacific Northwest and now the Southwest. My aim is to connect them all together for a nationwide tour; It is a lot of work, doing all the promotion and booking independently–so much of it is looking for the people we connect with and can build with. It’s a long road but we are making progress and I am thankful for the team that has grown into being my closest friends and chosen family.
To close, is there a message you would like to share with our readers and with those discovering Velvet Penny through this release?
Follow your heart and be unafraid of your shadows, the pursuit of love is a powerful type of alchemy to be reckoned with.
We sincerely thank Velvet Penny for the time and for sharing insights into her creative world.
Thank you! I appreciate your time, attention and work for the music community!
Purchase the new single “Hot Air Balloon” on Bandcamp: https://velvet-penny.bandcamp.com/album/hot-air-balloon-sambido-split-single