Music
LIST: 10 quick ones with VAZ
"We were playing guitar and jamming with Kanye West and a random hobo"
Everyone loves lists, okay. It´s a proven fact that a headline including “10” and ”list” get clicks, okay. It´s also quite fun to take those lists. So we thought we would come up with a list that the multi-talented VAZ sisters could answer. Sort of a win-win situation - right? To make the whole thing even more exciting - yes it IS possible, we asked them to answer the questions separately. Almost like these silly wedding games, except with two brilliant and artistic sisters. Hey ho, let’s go (gabba gabba and so forth).
Cecilia Vaz; GO!
1) Three influences: My mother, my father and their unbelievable life story.
2) Number one happening in your musical life so far: My number one is tough! But a mentionable memory is playing guitar and jamming with my sister, Kanye West and a random hobo on a freezing winter night in Old Town, Stockholm. That was fun. Surreal. But fun!
3) First music memory: I was about 4 years old, on the beach in Cape Verde. Mom and dad played Michael Jackson and I remember being totally convinced I was going marry him. The others were not too convinced and I got really frustrated and mad. We never got married but my obsessive love for him never ended.
4) The best live performer of all time: Easy. The king of Pop!
5) A guilty pleasure tune: Return of the Mack with Mark Morrison always does it for me.
Fashion people turning their heads, wondering who the hell these weirdos were
6) Most epic verse ever written: That verse in ”For You” with Tracy Chapman. There is no way of describing unconditional love in such a simple and beautiful way. Her voice, those words and that one guitar. That’s just epic to me. I saw her live in Oslo a few years ago. Never cried so much at a concert in my life. "For You" is my absolute favorite love song and you should listen to it now if you haven’t, or if you have!
7) Best thing with your sister: Her bright and beautiful intellect! She can do everything and anything. It’s true. She needs about 10 seconds to observe something and then she knows it inside and out. It’s like a superpower. It’s very practical when you work with computers as we do, or any kind of machinery for that matter. Plus she is the nicest, coolest and funniest human being on the planet!
8) The least good thing with your sister: When she looks at make-up tutorials in between mixing. Nothing could bore me more!
9) What does it feel like to be you: Hard question! Well... I love my work and I’m very excited about the future. My head is full of music. I have amazing people around me, which make me feel very strong. I’m a workaholic so I should probably take a day off or two, but I’m too restless. I love calendars, notes and making lists. Last night I dreamt that Marina Abramovic released tensions from my shoulders just by talking to me. The Swedish winter affects my mood a lot but I have a big hair that keeps my head warm. Since my dad died five years ago, I realized how short and unpredictable life can be so I try to live for the day, be grateful and not waste time on negativity.
10) If you had to start a new band, what would the name be and who would be in it: My band would be called Couple, it would be me and my man and our first record would be called Cornucopia. Acoustic love songs, sweet harmonies and hippie outfits. It's funny ‘cause the truth is I actually started a new band yesterday. I can’t tell you who’s in it (it includes at least one Swedish music legend) and I can’t tell you the name of the band but I can tell you that it’s going be EPIC!
Okay folks, let’s hand over the mic to Jenny Vaz.
1) Three influences: That’s a hard one. Music genre: Batuque (the traditional folk music style from Cape Verde), Artists: Amadou & Mariam, Stromae and Bob Marley.
2) Number one happening in your musical life so far: The first time we played a show with VAZ and I saw someone singing along, knowing all the lyrics, dancing like crazy. That was epic. Or... Me and Cecilia screaming and going mental, front row in NYC at a Balmain/H&M show, hearing our song playing as the theme for the runway show. Fashion people turning their heads, wondering who the hell these weirdos were. But we really didn't care. That was amazing.
3) First music memory: I remember when I got my first synthesizer. A tiny Casio SA-1, with a demo of the Wham! Song ”Wake me up before you go-go” on it. I pretended that I was the one playing. Feeling like a boss.
4) The best live performer of all time: Michael Jackson, hands down all categories. Whenever I watch YouTube clips from his old tours, I want to cry, laugh, dance, scream, stop making music, start making new music…well you name it.
5) A guilty pleasure tune: Sean Paul - Temperature. No further explanation needed.
she makes people fall of their bicycles.. walk into street poles and stuff
6) Most epic verse ever written: Bob Marley ”Pimper’s Paradise”. Both first and second. It’s beautiful, sad, moving, complex…everything…just brilliant.
7) Best thing with your sister: She’s such a force of nature. I know it might sound silly but I get star struck almost every day when we meet up for coffee before heading to the studio. She’s like a Nubian queen. You know it’s like a human sized bird of paradise emerging from the subway, walking the grey dull streets of Stockholm, she makes people fall of their bicycles.. walk into street poles and stuff. She’s the most intelligent, strong and interesting person I know.
8) The least best thing with your sister: Oh.. Sometimes she doesn't want to taste strange, delicious, interesting food that I’m offering her. You know I’m a real foodie. I’m like. Please try this it’s delicious. She’s like. Nope. My head explodes every time that happens.
9) What does it feel like to be you: Confusing. Fun. Stressful. Amazing. Always a million thoughts in my head at once. I love to solve problems. I’m obsessed. Everything is like a big jigsaw puzzle to me. Music, art, technology, nature. When I’m producing, I sometimes feel like a machine, zooming in on tiny stuff, creating small pieces, scramble them and putting them together in a whole new way.
10) If you had to start a new band, what would the name be and who would be in it: All my friends would be in it. The name: Bumford & Sons, Bill Smith, Backstreet Toys, Smize Girls, Sailor Swift. I don’t know really.. There’s no end to the possibilities.
So from what we can tell, the King of Pop is a common favorite for the VAZ sisters – or should we call them the future lead singers of Cornucopia and Bumford & Sons?
Okay, before going ahead of ourselves, we should all put a placeholder for the Red Bull Sound Select concert on March 9th, when VAZ will bless us with a performance at Kägelbanan in Stockholm. So is also Nadia Tehran and power headline Beatrice Eli. RSVP HERE.
See you there - no excuses.
Red Bull Sound Select is an international music platform that aims to find interesting local artists and help them break on a global scale - more info HERE.