The Wild West, AI, and Camaraderie: Velvet Daydream’s “Smoke & Mirrors”
Interview + Album Review ★ Kenzie Gay ★ @kenzwrites ★ 9 Minutes
“We’re learning a lot about ourselves, and I think you’ll hear that in our music to come” says Ryder King, vocalist and guitarist for up-and-coming rock group Velvet Daydream. Hailing from the Denver area of Colorado, Velvet Daydream is hitting strides like never before - and it surrounds their newest album, Smoke & Mirrors.
Recently, I got the chance to pick the Velvet Daydream guys’ brains about the new record and I even got to dive into it myself before the release. Read below for the extensive interview and the album’s highlights.
Velvet Daydream shot by Madi KingWhat specific artists did you pull influence from for "Smoke & Mirrors"?
All: Quicksilver Messenger Service, Sly and the family stone, Beatles, Aerosmith, Babe Rainbow, The Eagles, Rolling Stones, Dean Martin, and America.
You’ve been touring on and off quite a bit over the last year. In fact, you’re gearing up for your Spring tour right now. What are some things you’ve learned whilst on the road? Do you have any advice for younger musicians who have never toured before?
Jude (bass, vox): Eat healthy to have enough energy to play well. Limit the tour schedule to keep down the day of show driving. Exercise and stretch. America is beautiful
Describe "Smoke & Mirrors" in 3 words
All: Dynamic, Eclectic, Mysterious
What’s your favorite memory from the studio during the recording/production process of "Smoke & Mirrors"?
Kaeden (guitar, vox): Recording R&R Jesus live with a bunch of our friends in the Teller House Ballroom. The Teller House is an old 1870s haunted Victorian hotel in Central City, Colorado. We got permission to take over the hotel for a day, and we recorded the entire song live in that one session. I think the fun we were having bled on to the track
(note from the editor: it indeed does bleed onto the track. read below for more).What inspired the lyrics behind "Next Time"?
Jude: Well I just had seen "Fist Full of Dollars" and I wanted to tell an old west story of three bandits on the run. Nick then did most of the heavy lifting turning that concept into a song. It was something to contrast our more cerebral lyric writing we'd been doing at the time.
Earlier this year, you released “Love” and “Next Time” as the singles off of your upcoming album, Smoke & Mirrors. You have “Easy” coming up, too. Why did you choose these particular songs?
Ryder (guitar, vox): We feel very strongly about the songs on this album, and it proved very difficult to agree on what the singles should be. What we ended up doing was a blind vote of what songs we all felt strongest about as singles. Each member ranked the songs in order of what they for sure wanted as a single, to what they didn’t want as a single, and then we averaged out the ranking of each song on everyone’s list. Love, Next Time, and Easy ended up being the winners.
For a few months, the band has been through a bit of a turmoil due to an AI generated band on Spotify with the same name. What has it been like navigating this and the concept of AI in art at large?
Jude: It’s been back of mind as we’ve navigated this upcoming album release. On one hand we know it’s capable of cornering our market because it lacks the overhead of human musicians, however it’s incapable of recreating the live show feel that we know keeps people coming back.
Kaeden: At first it was very disheartening, it seemed like it would be a much bigger deal than it has turned out to be, and thankfully so. It’s frustrating to see how many AI artists are out there and hopefully they will be filtered out of streaming platforms. Seeing other countries take a stand against AI artwork is very relieving and I hope that we’re not too far behind.
Outside of Velvet Daydream, what have you guys been up to lately? (hobbies, other musical projects, school, etc.)
Ryder: I basically just go to work, and then play music when I’m not there at this point. There’s not a whole lot of time for other things .
Kaeden: I really also just go to work, and when I’m not there I’m at home playing guitar and doom scrolling. It’s not glamorous by any means.
When I interviewed you for the first time in 2024, you explicitly stated that you could “die happy” if Velvet Daydream became a group known for being at the forefront of a musical revolution. Do you still think this? Do you think you’ve achieved it or at least gotten closer to doing so?
Ryder: I think we are getting closer, but I almost feel there is a shift in the way we want to reach that goal. We’re trying to push our sound further, and grow past just being a “rock revival” band. We’re learning a lot about ourselves, and I think you’ll hear that in our music to come.
What is your favorite song off of "Smoke & Mirrors" and why?
Jude: I love the way The Gods Sing For You came out. It best represents the evolution of our sound these last couple years on the album, and I think it’s a symbol for what’s to come.
Ryder: Lyrically I’d say that The Gods Sing For You is my favorite song. It’s a vulnerable dive into my daily life, and I obviously connect a lot with it. In terms of an entire song I think Easy and Poppy Girl are my favorites. I really enjoy the experimentation we did on those tracks, and I think they jump into a sound we hadn’t explored much up to this point.
Kaeden: I think my favorite is tied between Velvet Daydream and The Gods Sing For You. When we finished recording Velvet Daydream, I felt like we just bottled magic. There’s an energy and an element of mystery throughout the song, and I was very pleased with the way it sounds. With The Gods Sing For You, there’s so much power and emotion at the end of the song, every time I listen it gives me chills.
There’s been a lot of development between your debut single, "No Eyes", to now. If you could talk to yourselves from 2023, what advice or warnings would you give?
Kaeden: I’d say the most important thing is taking time to make songs sound the way they should, and appreciate everybody’s input in the process. Sometimes that’s not easy to do, but that’s what I feel like made this album better than our first one.
If you can speak on anything at this time, what can fans look forward to after the release of "Smoke & Mirrors"?
Ryder: We’re closing in on having a collection of songs for another album
Jude: We’ll be hitting the road touring, releasing a small batch of singles before gearing up for the next album sooner than you think!
Kaeden: Probably up to no good.
Now, for an album deep dive from the perspective of an outsider listener (me). In all transparency, the Velvet Daydream guys really nailed it with their descriptions and backstories regarding this album. It really is mysterious, eclectic, dynamic, and it packs a magical punch that their first album didn’t possess in such a heartfelt way. The entire record, made up of 11 tracks, is very cohesive. It’s no skips and I would recommend listening in order - it’s only right. Out of these 11 songs, I’d like to make a point of 5: starting with Easy.
Velvet Daydream shot by Madi KingTrack 3: Easy
As mentioned in our interview, Easy was one of the initial singles released earlier this year. Velvet Daydream is known for their high-intensity, powerful presence as musicians however, long-time listeners may know them for their softer and introspective approaches. Easy nails this by providing a relaxed atmosphere. Upon first listen, I even referred to it as stoner music - and that’s a high compliment, pun intended.
Reminiscent of the Sergeant Peppers era of The Beatles, Easy is a great anthem for those of us with raging anxiety (such as yours truly). The mantra “every now and then I tell myself to just let go. Go with life’s everlasting flow. It is real easy” serves as a reminder that surely most of us need in our current climate: slow down, take it easy, and get a grip.
Track 4: Lemonade
There’s just something about rock bands using citrus as analogies for women. Led Zeppelin coined it with songs such as Tangerine and The Lemon Song and now Velvet Daydream is carrying that forward with Lemonade - though this one isn’t nearly as vulgar as The Lemon Song.
Possessing an air found in older Motown music and groups like The Trammps, Lemonade is really steered by the rhythm section via Jude and Nick (drums, vox) for its grit and commanding nature. It brings you back to the groovy, revolutionary times of the 1960s but with a more experimental twist that electrifies the whole number due to King’s vocals. Traditionally, King has usually taken role as the lead vocalist with a Jim Morrison sort of dominance to his style but in this piece, I think it’s more comparable to the bright vocals of Phil Collins (Genesis). The unity of this serves Lemonade and the album as a whole quite well.
Track 6: The Gods Sing For You
The Gods Sing For You, clearly, was one of the band’s all-time favorites off of Smoke & Mirrors and after listening? Yeah, it makes perfect sense. Several of the songs on the album, as you’ll come to find, are very rooted in feelings of admiration and affection though this track is much more direct about its position as a love song.
I’m beginning to sound like a broken record here but again, King resonates as a Morrison reincarnate, which gives the song a heavy Morrison Hotel / Waiting for the Sun vibe. In this case, though, it’s pierced with elements that lean more into soulful, romantic attitudes that The Doors rarely explored. The Gods Sing For You is extremely intimate. So much so, that it almost feels like you’re intruding on something while listening. This makes it haunting but in a way that sticks with you long after the 3 minutes and 52 seconds.
I mean, damn, I’m getting chills just writing about it!
Track 8: Velvet Daydream
Obviously, I had to go into depth with this one. A self titled song is hard to come by in comparison to self titled albums so it piqued my interest from the get go and it certainly did not disappoint. Another softer, lackadaisical tune like Easy, Velvet Daydream is a very peace inducing song that yet again, could totally be of use to anyone with anxiety (it helped me, anyway).
With godly harmonies born from the band’s vocal chemistry (which I often compare to Eagles’ due to how beautiful it is), the song is very coming of age and it proves to be a fantastic representative of the group and their sonic evolution thus far. In particular, it reminded me of The Beach Boys and George Harrison’s debut solo album All Things Must Pass (AKA the album I have tattooed on my body) for its soothing essence. It really nails not just what Velvet Daydream is but what it stands for, too.
Track 11: Rock N’ Roll Jesus
Rock N’ Roll Jesus closes out Smoke & Mirrors. It’s not just the last single but it quite literally feels like the last page of a book, the last scene of a movie, the end of another mighty story. Right off the bat, it lulls listeners in by setting a scene you’d find within a speakeasy or a saloon. It’s welcoming, homey, loud, and truly a slice of musicians just having a good ol’ time - it lacks any poshness, overproduction, or performative stances that many other bands tend to have in a recording setting.
The authenticity in this, coincidentally, feels like Velvet Daydream’s own pushback at the recent AI complexities they’ve been forced into. Sure, Spotify can use AI to try and mimic the group’s energy but it will never come close to replicating the kindred, genuine soul that Rock N’ Roll Jesus radiates. It’s human in the best way possible, showcasing the beauty of life and its artforms.
After this release, listeners can find Velvet Daydream playing cities such as Oklahoma City, Fort Worth, Moab, Austin, and more. If you’re unable to catch a show, you can keep up with the band on social media and you can listen to the group’s ever-growing discography.
Smoke & Mirrors, the second studio album by Velvet Daydream, is available now wherever you find music.
