V.V Brown Interview

WATCH AN EXCLUSIVE MTV LIVE SESSION FROM VV BROWN HERE

MTV: Hi VV, How long have you been writing music for?

Ive been writing songs since I was 5. Though when I was 5 they werent as professional!

When did you write the album?

The album was written in a week before I got signed when I was living in Walthamstow. I had just got back from LA where I was chasing the dream! I realised that the dream is actually about being true to myself. LA was not me really- I missed London and the English weather and didnt fit into any group in LA.

Is the album London influenced?

I wouldnt say they were influenced by London but by me being brokenhearted and things that are true to me. I could translate that into my music.

Were you ever in bands?

When I was 15 I was in a funk band and we toured Japan. When I was 11 I was in a rock band with my brothers.

Which instrument did you pick up first?

I first used the piano and started classical training. Then I played organ, drums and trumpet at church. I do play a lot of instruments but the piano is where I could have a fight with Mozart just joking.

Where does the retro sound come from?

I love Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday and I was in jazz bands so I was exposed to jazz standards. I was raised in gospel church so got into that too. I thought had that in order to get into the industry I had to suppress the love of jazz but when I got back to London I thought screw this!

Were you into pop music too?

I had a few years listening to pop music which has been put together (with the Jazz) to make the tracks on the record. I was really into the B52s, The Specials too. I used to listen to a lot of ska. Abba are genius pop writers. I really love the innovations of David Bowie and Grace Jones. I like things that challenge as a musician.

What do you want people to gain from the album?

My honest answer is I want them to get me and get what I felt at that moment in time. I want to open up a window into my life when I wrote this album. If you listen to a lot of first albums- they are very autobiographical. Maybe on my second album Ill be writing about other issues.

What is your new single Leave! about?

I was dating someone who wasnt very nice. Its a war between my heart and my mind. The song is all about that.

Does the man the song is about know about it?

He lived in LA and one day actually walked in on a gig that we did in Camden as we played the song. It was really weird!

WATCH AN EXCLUSIVE MTV LIVE SESSION FROM VV BROWN HERE

Leave! is out now.