Present yourself to the readers
Hi, My name is Yvette Winkler, and I´m the singer/lyricist from the Dutch band Vaselyne. I’m also an art teacher and photographer.
Who composes ?...How does it work in the duo ?
Frank Weyzig, my bandmate does the composing and producing. He makes demo tracks with only guitar or piano to which I write vocals harmonies and lyrics. We record those in Frank’s studio in Amsterdam after which he arranges them further. He then builds the song with different instruments all played by him. He sends me the different demos and I listen to them and give him my ideas/opinions on how the song needs to progress. This goes back and forth until we are both happy with the track. After the song is more or less ready instrumentally, I record my vocals again with added backing vocals.
Who writes the texts ?..What are they talking about ?..How does inspiration come ?
I write most of the lyrics. Our album “The Fire Within”, had lyrics written by me. For the new album we had a different way of doing things. So Frank wrote some of the lyrics with me. He also sings more on the new album. On ‘The Fire Within”, it was just a little piece on ‘Not to Be Mine’, the new album has his vocals on 3 tracks. We also have a couple of guest appearances. Niabi from Searmanas wrote the initial synth track and lyrics, Frank then added all the other instruments and arranged the song further . And John Fryer composed a song for which we send him a vocal track sung to a trigger. He also mixed that track for us. In general my lyrics are just my view of the world. Interactions between people, relationships, the heartache we all go through now and again. What keeps us up at night, what we aim for in life. Inspirations comes from different sources. Sometimes it’s something you read about, conversations you overhear, movies you watch, or just your own thoughts put to paper.
Are you day or night?
Night for sure! I go to bed really late and don’t like getting up early. Most of my work I do late at night when it’s dark outside and quiet. I’m a bit of a vampire.
Why the name VASELYNE ?
That’s just something that happened by accident. I always have a tin of Vaseline in my bag because I have very dry skin. One time I looked at it and thought that would be a cool name if I just replaced the I with an Y. People ask us that a lot. But as Frank once said, why The Beatles? It’s just a name and it fits us.
What's your best live memory ? And why ?
When we did the first show after “The Fire Within”, was released in Amsterdam, all our family and friends were there. Also pretty stressful because when you’re not at your best you’ll be hearing about it for ever!
How was the shooting of the clip WAITING TO EXHALE ? and why this choice ?
We shot the footage in May 2020. This was during Covid of course, so it was just Frank and I and the filmmaker Dorothee Meddens and her assistant. I spend the day going up and down dunes in heels, wearing this long train and dragging it through bushes and sand. The idea behind the video was this woman, who’s trying to break free from what’s holding her back, dragging it behind her like a weight that needs to be lifted. She is transforming in the end, hence the butterfly. Like a transformation. But you don’t know if she walks into the ocean or not, so it’s an open ending.
With Management and booking, how do you work ? And with whom ?
We do all our own management and booking. Our music isn’t like most darkwave/alternative and therefore people don’t always know where to place us. Finding the right booker or management is not that easy. You want to work with people that have your best interest in mind, and I find that at this stage doing it ourselves is what suits us most. This might change in the future if we find the right agent. With social media you have access to almost everyone, so it’s much easier to approach people yourself. It does take a lot of time of course promoting the band yourself.
What are your projects ? (for the duo)
Frank has his own band ‘Born For Bliss, and just started a project with Kelly Cook ( ex Moev), called ‘Tearing The Blackbox’. I do guestvocals. I worked with Black Needle Noise, IAMTHESHADOW, Pieter Nooten, Textbeak, Attrition and Junksista. I also have a couple of more collabs I will be working on this year.
What do you think about the management of covid-19 ?
This is a difficult time for everyone. And with this being a new virus, everything is a first. So we just don’t know what the future will hold. All I know is that we need to have compassion for others and try to keep those that are weaker than us safe. Please wear a masks everyone and keep your distance from others. We need to push through and there is light at the end of the tunnel. If we all just stay at home and get a vaccine when available. We all want to play shows again and resume our social live, so keep your eye on the prize.
Website to remember
www.vaselyne.com
What would you like to say to the readers ?
Thank you all for your support and I hope to see you later this year at a festival or show.
Be kind to others, and stay safe.
Thanks for the upkeep
Hugues B.
