We got our first introduction to Danish producer Vera late last year when he released his Sketches For Trommer EP. In the time since then, Vera has been working to evolve his personal sound, and today he's back with brand new music. The latest single from the producer is a feel-good collaboration titled "Falling" with a boucy rhythm.
Vera recruits Norewegian singer Okay Kaya for the lead vocals on this fun single. "Falling" feels comforting as the production builds up and shimmery elements dance around the groove of the bassline. Kaya's sweet vocals seem float just perfectly over the rhythm. The end result of "Falling" is a collaboration that can start any day on a good note, or work to make a long day feel complete.
Listen to "Falling" and learn more about Vera below.
Your sound has really evolved within the last year, what influenced this new direction?
The songs began after I had watched some Danish tv-series from the late 90s and early 00s and I was really intrigued by the culture in Copenhagen at that time. They had these classy french inspired bistro cafés where the posh people were hanging out drinking cold rose and cappuccinos. I had just returned from a tour with Liss and I had a lot of beats from the tour bus so I went to the studio and suddenly I had this picture from the cafés in my mind. I kept imagining that it was the music that these posh people were listening to when they were sitting on the cafés in their white shirts and with their sunglasses on top of their heads. This picture has been the leading pen for all the Vera tracks I’ve done since.
Check out this little short film from 1996, it shows this bistro cafe vibe really well. I features Mads Mikkelsen and also his older brother Lars Mikkelsen. Also check out these intros from the series Taxa and Rejseholdet—the pictures and the music is amazing.
What was the inspiration for the mood of "Falling”?
This track was the first I did after "In and Out Of Love." While the latter was cold and electronic this is the opposite. It’s warm and acoustic. I’ve listened a lot to the albums my parents listened to when I was a little kid. Buena Vista Social Club and the Swedish singer Lisa Ekdahl have been a huge influence. You can see it as my interpretation of the music my parents and their friends danced to when I was a kid.
How did you connect with Okay Kaya?
I’ve loved her music for a long time and then one day I heard her track Druer where she’s singing in Norwegian. It instantly moved me and it reminded me of some the earliest Lisa Ekdahl. I sent her the instrumental of Falling and then she did a full top line on the track. You only hear one verse on the final version, but I use the rest when I’m playing live. The danish singer songwriter Lars H.U.G. did a bossa nova duet with Lisa Ekdahl which is one of my all time favorite songs. It was like a scandinavian power duet. I imagine Falling being our modern version of a scandi bossa duet. Check out the Lars H.U.G. and Lisa Ekdahl duet here.
Can you explain what your usual creative process is like?
It’s different from song to song but every time it involves one of my best friends, who is such a lovely person and luckily a gifted songwriter and brilliant classical guitarist.
What do you want people to take from your new music?
Uh that’s always a hard one to answer. Quite few things I guess - but in the studio I’m thinking a lot about adult music. Well balanced, precise and delicate music. Like Leonard Cohen’s Ten New Songs.
What plans do you have for the rest of 2017?
To release a lot of new music. A few more singles and a kind of collection of songs before 2018. I’ll be touring a bit also. One show in London in September and a few in Denmark in October. But first and foremost I’ll be writing—I’m so excited about evolving my style.
