Love Crushed Velvet release new video for Spotlight

Love Crushed Velvet from New York City have released their new video for their song, “Spotlight”. The track was originally released on Love Crushed Velvet’s compelling new EP Delusions in September, mixed by Mark Needham (Blondie, Fleetwood Mac, The Killers). Love Crushed Velvet brings to life their melodic rock track with captivating vocals. Check out the video here:

We had the opportunity to talk with Love Crushed Velvet and are pleased to repost that interview here:

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Music Junkie Press: Thank you so much for taking the time out to talk with us here at Music Junkie Press. First, we have to tell you that we are loving the video for Bye, Bye Baby. That song is really one of my favorites off Delusions, can you tell me a little bit more about that song?

Love Crused Velvet: “Bye Bye, Baby” is about how challenging it can be to process the end of a relationship because things sometimes spiral downwards so quickly. Much of one’s perception about the other person is formed during the “honeymoon” period when everything is going swimmingly. Once the going gets rough and that person who you thought you knew so well starts behaving like a complete stranger, it can be incredibly disorienting and confusing. That’s essentially what the song is about.

Music Junkie Press: The EP Delusions is filled with such passionate and emotionally driven music, is there a song off the album that is much more personal to you or you are more emotionally attached to? If so, which song and why?

Love Crused Velvet: At the moment, I’m feeling very connected to “Spotlight”. It fell off our radar screen a bit until we recently added it to our setlist and then decided to cut a video for it. I’ve subsequently reconnected to it–there’s so much tension within the lyrics and musical arrangement, and am really enjoying playing it live, both with the full band and stripped down to just acoustic guitar.

Music Junkie Press: That is a really good song, I might just have to play it after this. We understand that you are working on another music video, can you share with us which song?

Love Crused Velvet: We’re actually doing two: “Spotlight” and “Lover, Leave the Lights On”. They’ll each have a very different feel, and we’re quite excited about releasing them. We have a tremendous amount of fun making our videos—we use a lot of our friends in the shoots and turn the whole project into a kind of “happening”. It makes it a great collective experience, and everyone walks away feeling like they are a real part of it and that they have made a personal contribution—which they have.

Music Junkie Press: I can’t wait for the videos and they are also much fun to make and watch. Ok, so let’s get out the traditional questions here, tell us about the name Love Crushed Velvet?

Love Crused Velvet: I love it and it is one of those band titles that awakens your senses. It paints a picture for me as well as reminds me of the actual feel of crushed velvet in my hands! How did the title come about? It started out very tongue-in-cheek: Someone was wearing a velvet jacket that looked like a post-canoodling wrinkled mess and I jokingly described it as “love-crushed velvet”. We thought at the time that it would be a fun band name—and it somehow took on a life of its own…

Music Junkie Press: That is so perfectly said. What are your currently working on or what is in store for Love Crushed Velvet his year?

Love Crused Velvet: Wjust finished recording a new, 8-song album that is ready to be mixed. It’ll be a considerable departure from our previous work—it’s very atmospheric and ethereal, yet melodic and rocking. We’re quite excited about it!

Music Junkie Press: We are going to be very excited about the new album and we look forward to what you have in store for us Your music has very heartfelt and passionate lyrics, do you have a particular writing process?

Love Crused Velvet: Every song is a bit different. It usually starts with the music and acore melody, and the lyrics come out in a very stream-of-consciousness kind of way. I’ll then refine them over time until they reflect the intent of the song. Sometimes, that happens quite easily, other times it can be like pulling teeth because there are often particular lines that can be very stubborn and uncooperative…

Music Junkie Press: We at Music Junkie Press are very strong believers about how music can heal, help, inspire and move, do you remember a particular time where music was there to help you the most? Can you share the story with us?

Love Crused Velvet: There’ve been several. “Message in a Bottle”, by the Police, really resonated with me when I was a young teenager and felt isolated and disconnected. Growing up, I moved around a lot and never really felt at home anywhere, and that song really captured my sense of being alone and emotionally stranded. One of the most powerful things about music is that it has an ability to make you feel like you’re not alone. You can be going through a tough time, and a song will come on the radio that just captures everything about how you’re feeling in a way that you can’t put into words yourself.

Music Junkie Press: It is absolutely magical when that happens. Music really is an expression of our emotions through song. I love the fact that your music brings in a variety of styles to it and doesn’t stake it’s claim into one genre and I can pick up a range of influences but who were some of the most influential artists for you?

Love Crused Velvet: The fact that we move around stylistically is probably somewhat a result of the fact that my/our influences are very diverse. We also try to make sure that every album we make is not just a repetition of its predecessor. I was heavily influenced by postpunk bands like U2, The Stranglers and Bauhaus/Peter Murphy, yet also loved classic rock bands like the Stones, not to mention early rockers such as Elvis Presley. My playlist could go from the Stooges to Leonard Cohen to Robert Johnson to Muse, and that range of diverse influences invariably makes its way into our records. It’s a challenge on the one hand because we are probably not an easy band to pigeonhole into a single category, but it hopefully also makes our records a lot more interesting.

Music Junkie Press: Do you have any upcoming shows that we can share with our readers?

Love Crused Velvet:We’re doing a small charity show in NYC on May 9th at a place called Pepela, and are in the process of booking some additional shows for the late spring/early summer right now—stay tuned!

Music Junkie Press: If you could take a song from a completely different genre and turn it into a Love Crushed Velvet style what might that be?

Love Crused Velvet: I always wanted to do a cover of Bob Marley’s “Get Up, Stand Up” and interpret it in a way that blends rock, rap, funk and electronica—kind of like “Papa Was a Rolling Stone” on steroids. It would be a real production challenge to pull it off, but I love the idea. We also got an email recently from a fan saying that Morrissey’s “How Can Anyone Possibly Know How I Feel” sounds like it should be a Love Crushed Velvet song. It was certainly flattering to see someone much more famous being compared to us, rather than vice versa, and the way the song was produced really does suit our musical style. It would be fun to cover because I think we could really kill it.

Music Junkie Press: Those are all great songs to cover!! If we could peek into your Ipod, what artist or song might we be most surprised at finding in there?

Love Crused Velvet: Andres Segovia, the legendary classical guitarist—I was just listening to him last night. The fact that most of his records are rather old gives them an inherently retro feel due to the fact that it was all analog to tape, but the quality of his playing and feel are timeless. It can be either background music or something you focus intensely on, and it’s completely satisfying either way.

Music Junkie Press: Lastly, what would you like to share with your fans and audience?

Love Crused Velvet: Give us a listen, either live or on record. We’ll try our best to not disappoint.

Music Junkie Press: Thank you so much for your time and we will share all your social media links with our audience.

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I hope you get a chance to pick up Delusions. It is an album which really captures a dark melodic rock sound, passionate vocals, and a stylistic edge that is refreshing to hear in today’s music scene. The music brings to life an alternative rock feel yet is sprinkled with glam, punk, and classic rock to create the perfect fit of a modern rock. Check out the video and make sure to share it with your friends. Make sure to visit their social media sites so you can stay up to date on the latest news of Love Crushed Velvet.

~ Marisol

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