We had the opportunity to interview Vesper Wood, which features Christina Wood who is one half of Kaleida. Her solo debut Instar is set do drop March 1. Her powerful vocals are sure to hook you from the jump. Check out what she had to say in our Artist Spotlight Interview!
1. How did you come to pursue music and how long have you been at it?
"I started late – like around 30 – to write music, and I really am an autodidact. I listened to a lot of music – that was kind of my education, because I don’t come from a very musically-oriented family (although both my great grandmothers were pianists) and I didn’t formally study music. I always sang in a church choir and I was always obsessed by music, since a very young age. Just born with music in me somehow, and been at making it for a few years now."
2. Could you walk us through your process of writing music?
"It’s not much of a process – it’s more of a blind groping! I sit down and play around on the computer and the keyboard with various sounds and out of a weird internal fog comes some melodies, progressions etc. At the time I don’t have much of a clue what I’m doing. When I listen back after some space I can see what is good, what to refine, add to, complete etc. It takes a long time for me. It’s all very intuitive. Usually some words are there, some kind of essence of the feeling/meaning I’m singing about, but I have to complete them later, after the arrangement etc. I guess over the years I’ve learned a lot about structure and I follow some of that knowledge now."
3. What artists have inspired you in your career?
"Loretta Lynn, Joanna Newsom, Cat Power, Elizabeth Laprelle, Kate Bush, Bjork, The Knife and Fever Ray, Soap&Skin, Aldous Harding, Polica…
4. Do you have any favorite music gear (guitars, amps, effects pedals, keyboards, etc.) that you love to use? If so, what’s the story on them?
"I’m not much of a gear head, but I love the sound of a rich old resonant analog synth. I’m also really into the flexibility and ease of Ableton Live – I love to draft ideas on it, find weird sounds on plug ins etc. In real life, for this album, I got really into the sound of zithers and the marxophone."
5. Can you describe the vibe at your live shows? Also, what do you enjoy most about a venue when you do a show?
"The vibe – hopefully quite emotional and intense, spiritual, transportative? That’s what I’m aiming for anyway. I guess I’m interested in how different every venue is, and how different the crowds can be. If the venue has a sweet sound system and good acoustics I really enjoy that."
6. What is one thing that you want the public to know about your music?
"That there is more to it than most pop music – that some of the themes have meant a lot to me. For this album there was a lot about women’s health and 4th wave feminism in it."
7. Do you have any upcoming projects you would like fans to know about?
"Another Kaleida album on the way!"