VÉRITÉ, On Time and Touring

The term “alt-pop” is thrown around pretty casually these days… And I’m not entirely sure anybody knows what it means… I suspect it would imply a popular chanteuse (not...

The term “alt-pop” is thrown around pretty casually these days… And I’m not entirely sure anybody knows what it means… I suspect it would imply a popular chanteuse (not diva) who has integrity and a soul (That would be the alternative part, right?)  Well, “alt-popper” VÉRITÉ, who is indeed a chanteuse of the popular persuasion, who does – I can verify this – have integrity and a soul, would seem to be equal parts ‘90s R&B, 21st century blue-eyed soul, and synth pop revivalist.  Her most recent EP, Living, released last week, would please fans of Shiny Toy Guns and Lorde alike.  VÉRITÉ kicks off a tour this Sunday at the Rock & Roll Hotel in DC and Monday, May 16th, will find her here, at our very own Boot & Saddle.  I recently got a chance to chat with VÉRITÉ, or Kelsey Byrne, about her musical career, which is still relatively new, but not without a number of impressive achievements (Her single “Underdressed” got a million streams on Spotify in two weeks; follow-up single “Constant Crush” debuted on Jimmy Fallon’s Tumblr page; and, according to Twitter, Holychild, MS MR, and Stars are all fans.)

“One of the best shows I played last year was Iceland Airwaves.  I was not expecting anyone to show up — I mean I don’t have a big fan base in Iceland, to my knowledge – and it was at capacity and people were on each other’s shoulders.  Just realizing how far this project has reached was really amazing…  If the music resonates with anyone, that’s always the goal.”

Kelsey tells me that the most important thing for fans to know is that her music is all her; she is the one making all of the decisions: “It’s all me; there’s nothing manufactured here… For me, it’s mostly about trying to portray and transmit a feeling and do that as authentically as possible.”  Although most great art tends to be “authentic” (or Postmodernly intentionally exceptionally “inauthentic”), what Kelsey tells me most inspires her is something I have not heard before:  “Time, having no time to think and then having a week with nothing on the books and too much time to think.  Time is a struggle for me.  Time is a huge influence.”  When I ask her what the future holds for her, after her upcoming tour, she confirms this sentiment in a very charming manner: “I have no confirmed plans, but probably working on the next release — which I don’t know if that will be an LP or another EP – doing more writing and pushing the boundaries sonically.”

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During the day Izzy Cihak teaches transgression, subversion, and revolution at Temple University. At night he haunts Philthy's best venues to cover worthwhile acts for Philthy Mag. Morrissey is everything to him and, in their own heads, all of his friends see themselves as Zooey Deschanel.

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