Feature

Meet vlou: who’s making instrumental mood music for your Sunday afternoon and “scenes from a dream” is the start

Vee Lourenço, South African bred, Belgium-hailing bassist and composer has struck out on her own tangent with her brand new solo project, vlou

With a background in composition, and a Bachelor of Music from Rhodes University under her belt, vlou’s sound is decidedly calculated, carefully wrought, and wholly infectious. Having performed, recorded and composed in various contexts across South Africa, Zimbabwe, Vietnam and France over the last 14 years, she’s turning inward on a solo endeavour – largely thanks to the collaborative limitations of the last 18 months. 

The project serves as a creative outlet as much as a way to shed some light on female, queer instrumentalists and creatives – and she does so by enlisting a host of teammates from across the LGBTQ+ community in lieu of the release.

What she’s creating is dreamy instrumentalism inspired by the low end, and “scenes from a dream” kicks things off. Bass is really the operative word here – and the operative instrument too. And with the emphasis on foregrounding an instrument which has pretty much always operated in the background, vlou shines. 

A head bassline drives the entire track, underpinned by snicking percussion and keyboard synth melody. It builds and strips back like an undulating tide. As simple as it is delightful. As much a soundtrack to your Sunday afternoon as it could be for a cheeky heist film. 

And there’s more to come – from a live accompanying video for “scenes from a dream” dropping next month, to artist residencies across Belgium, vlou is here to push her own envelope.