Exclusive Interview with VESSNA SCHEFF

When Scheff started her artistic career in San Francisco, she played a number of open mics there and in Oakland, which led to many of her first performances at neighborhood venues like the Bazaar Cafe, The Fillmore, The Hotel Utah, and The Lost Church. Scheff relocated to the East Coast in 2015, where she met and started working with Philadelphia-based music producer @LeeClarke. Check out the exclusive interview below:

1. Can you tell us a bit about where you come from and how it all got started?

VESSNA SCHEFF: Well, I think it began with Ladysmith Black Mambazo-a South African acapella group- in my room in Pleasanton, CA in the San Francisco Bay Area. My Mom got me a cassette tape of their album Gift of the Tortoise: Tales From South Africa. I remember sitting in my room when I was maybe 5 years old listening to this tape over and over. I was enamored with the sonic landscape they created simply with their voices. It was music for kids but different from most kids music I heard on TV or coming out of kids toys. It was expressive, nuanced, layered, and full bodied versus one pitch at a time. It was exciting to listen to and a fun way to engage with the stories they told through the music!

2. Did you have any formal training or are you self-taught?

VESSNA SCHEFF: I have always sung and been drawn to singing with the artists I listened to growing up. I would try to figure out how artists achieved their sound by emulating them and riffing over songs. I’d then create new versions of songs just from playing around with them, seeing what notes I could sing to make it more interesting or shift the energy. Looking back on it, it was a serious study of technique and exploring my own voice. When I was young, my mom enrolled me in chamber choirs (she likes to sing also), and I took choir throughout high school. I took one gospel choir class in college. Aside from that, I mostly sang outside of school in my room, at friends’ apartments, at bus stops, and at open mics/ shows. It was never an area of study I pursued heavily within school- I wanted to develop my voice and style before being taught how to sing- or at least that was my logic at the time haha. Part of the challenge for me was there were few opportunities for self-expressive music. Choirs were fun but they were often focused on the group performance (makes sense) verse developing your style, sharing your story, and intrapersonal communication. I wrote songs then but didn’t have an outlet for sharing them aside from with family and friends.

3. Do you feel that your music is giving you back just as much fulfillment as the amount of work you are putting into it or are you expecting something more, or different in the future?

VESSNA SCHEFF: These songs have been giving me life. I started writing them while intensively caregiving for a parent who was diagnosed with lymphoma. They are doing much better now, but it was a lot to navigate. These songs and the space they put me in allowed me to feel playful, fun, and move through emotions as opposed to being stuck in them. The embodiment of learning to roller skate was a large part of that also. It was impossible for me to not feel silly strapping wheels to my feet and attempting to do anything, especially when I was first learning haha. This music has been a reminder that that space of joy, freedom and embodiment is always accessible to me, even when things are challenging.

4. What do you feel are the key elements in your music that should resonate with listeners, and how would you personally describe your sound?

VESSNA SCHEFF: I think a lot about the sound of the voice, and the overall feel with my music and in the music I listen to. What does the sound tell you before you comprehend the lyrics? What is the immediate feel of the music? Often, the first few notes can give you a strong sense of the energy of the song. Dropping you into the sensations of a time and place through the production and vocals is what I hope my music does for listeners. I’ve sometimes described it as sound was my first language. Words came second. Harmonies are my jam haha. Love me a swooning harmony moment. This new song has some really good ones! I have been describing this new sound I’m working on as “80’s beats paired with 90’s R&B melodies- aka music you could roller skate to.”

5. Who were your first and strongest musical influences and why the name ‘VESSNA SCHEFF?

VESSNA SCHEFF:

Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Destiny’s Child, Tamia, and MTV generally speaking. Vessna Scheff is my name so that’s me! Haha. I started playing music from a young age and would just use my name to sign up for open mics and on show flyers so it’s become my artist name as well. My sound I think has vulnerability and honesty to it so using my name feels fitting for my artist name. I have contemplated changing my artist name (to something still related to my name) but for now it remains Vessna Scheff.

6. Do you think is it important for fans of your music to understand the real story and message driving each of your songs, or do you think everyone should be free to interpret your songs in their own personal way?

VESSNA SCHEFF:

I think if it moves you, it’s for you. Sometimes that moment isn’t now, but in the future, or during a particular time in your life when you need it. Sometimes that time isn’t with this work. In that way, I think if the listener finds meaning in the music for them that is different than what it does for me or my intentions, that is just as

7. What’s your view on the role and function of music as political, cultural, spiritual, and/or social vehicles – and do you try and affront any of these themes in your work, or are you purely interested in music as an expression of technical artistry, personal narrative, and entertainment?

VESSNA SCHEFF:

I think music, much like the people who make it, are always engaging with the social/cultural/political aspects of creating, whether or not we explicitly acknowledge it. This new music for me was inspired by a quote from a documentary by Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson called Summer of Soul about the Harlem Cultural Festival in 1969. It was a huge, multi-weekend celebration that took place at the same time as Woodstock but is much lesser known, as discussed in the documentary. The festival consisted of predominantly Black artists (not exclusively) or Black artist fronted groups. Also during this time, the U.S. was in the race for the first moon landing which was being broadcasted. A newscaster asked a festival goer what they thought of the moon landing, to which the interviewee responded with something to the effect of, ‘Never mind the moon, what we need is investment here in Harlem’. This quote paired with my learning to skate as an adult and also learning about “Adult Skate Nights”- unofficially known as Black skate nights at rinks throughout the U.S. I began thinking about the disco ball as a metaphor for the moon, but instead of taking you far away from others, the disco ball brings you together. We place hopes and dreams on the moon each night in the same way we place hopes and dreams for our experience each night under a disco ball, on the dance floor or at the roller skating rink. We hope for the electric buzz of connection with someone or many, to explore our bodies and the otherworldly feats they are capable of on the dance floor and the rink, and we hope- this time- we’ll push off the wall and glide smoothly into embodied bliss and freedom. This setting is what inspired the sounds and the story of the new songs I am working on. They all take place in a night at the roller skating rink- the sounds, feels, sentiments of intimate connection in close orbits with others around the rink floor- and the freedom of the moment that comes with it.

8. Could you describe your creative processes? How do usually start, and go about shaping ideas into a completed song? Do you usually start with a tune, a beat, or a narrative in your head? And do you collaborate with others in this process?

VESSNA SCHEFF: Mhm- I love thinking about the beginnings of the creative process haha. There are a few different approaches I’ll have to writing a song! One is, I’ll start with a sound, a vocal melody or a drum beat in Ableton that is interesting to me. I’ll sing that or listen to it over and over until words start to form as a jumping off point for the sentiments of a song. Sometimes, I’ll just riff through a vocal effect processor to play with different sounds which is how BUTTER- my newest single- came to be. Another approach is connecting with my friend and producer Lee Clarke who is an amazing human, musician, sound engineer, and producer. We’ll meet up in his studio and I’ll bring a prompt such as “let’s start with a track with the sounds of us roller skating” or “let’s make something you could dance to.” From there, he’ll throw an appropriate bpm into Ableton and maybe a simple drum track to get us started. As that’s playing, I’ll start riffing vocal melodies. He’ll pick up the guitar or sit in front of a piano/synth to capture the vocal riff as an instrument in the track. Then he’ll start playing with other ideas on the instrument, which will inspire new vocal melodies. We just vibe together in the puddle of the sounds until we begin to understand that track. It’s a magical experience to puddle in creativity like that with someone and I am so grateful for our collaboration. Recording as we go allows for so much creativity because Lee is able to capture our ideas in real time as notes we can come back to, or that we can plug right into the mix and build from in the moment. Working with someone as skilled and talented as Lee in the studio makes this such a fluid process. I used to only write songs acoustically (on the ukulele) it was such a different process. It’s amazing incorporating a DAW into the songwriting process, and to work with someone who can make what you are both doing sit so well into the mix right away. It’s such an exciting workflow for songwriting in my experience!

9. What has been the most difficult thing you’ve had to endure in your life or music career so far?

VESSNA SCHEFF: Caretaking for loved ones navigating challenging circumstances, while caring for myself and managing my wellness has been part of the most challenging times I have faced in my life, while at the same time the most empathetic, understanding, beautiful and important growing periods in my life. There can be such a nuanced understanding of yourself and others that can come from it. I am grateful for how caregiving has taught me to connect with others, ask for support, the importance of laughing and creative expression, and of being understanding and gentle with myself. So so so important.

10. On the contrary, what would you consider a successful, proud or significant point in your life or music career so far?

VESSNA SCHEFF: Releasing this new single! Navigating the feels of doing music and caregiving, and deciding to put something out into the world is a beautiful thing and I am proud of myself for going for it. There can be so many reasons to not put yourself out there, unhelpful self talk, and it can be hard/ scary. But I remind myself, it’s a beautiful thing to create *period* and to be vulnerable enough to share what you create with others, and to keep doing it despite discouragement or setbacks. People have often said to me, “keep doing what you are doing” and as I grow, I have really come to understand what that means. It can be hard to keep making in a society that in many ways systemically discourages creativity, while at the same time praising it when people manage to do it despite that. You are allowed to grow and learn from the process and continue to evolve. This new music has been an evolution into making music that for me embodies joy, and I am very happy about that haha.