The art of genre-merging may be common place in the modern industry, but few artists do it with as much character and refinement as trailblazing singer-songwriter venbee.

The 22-year-old has had a breakout year this year, with heavy-hitting viral singles like “Lowdown” and “Messy In Heaven” transforming her from promising newcomer to industry mainstay. Combining cinematic and full-bodied drum’n’bass sonics with poignant, honest lyricism, there is a fierce authenticity to venbee’s sound, divulging her musical influences and personal mind state in a raw and compelling manner. All of venbee’s nuance has been showcased in its most coherent form to date thanks to the unveiling of her debut mixtape, “Zero Experience”, on Friday 20th October.

With her freshly released body of work set to soar venbee to newfound heights, we connected with the artist, delving into her sound, her standout career moments, and the process and thought behind the impressive mixtape.

Listen to “Zero Experience”…

Read the full interview…

What inspires you?
So many things inspire me from my own experiences, to other artists to day to day sounds. I used to listen to a lot of Carol King and then growing up and when my interest in dance music started to become apparent, it was artists like Becky Hill, RAYE and Lola Young who I started to love and listen to. I guess a lot of my main influences have been women in the industry.  I also loved Rudimental’s first album ‘We the Generation,’and that introduced me to Shy FX and I think it was really here that ignited my interest in dance music and as a result drum and bass. 

Take us back to your musical origins – how did you develop an interest?
When I was a lot younger, I loved Eminem and Justin Bieber. When I was twelve, Bieber’s was the first album I ever bought. The range of music I listened to continued to grow and I got into N-Dubz and a lot of rappers but also Dolly Parton. I remember I had got a CD from the newspaper of hers which I adored. Some of my earliest memories in music come from my Grandad. He played the piano in Church and I used to sit on his lap whilst he would play. I got my ukulele when I was eight, then a guitar when I was ten and I also played the saxophone for a bit. Songwriting was my favourite thing to do and I think I always knew it was what I would end up doing. Music was spread across my life from as early as I can remember so there never felt to be a clear cut moment of deciding to pursue it, I have always done music. 

You sound is really refined despite being quite a new artist, what do you put this down to?
Into my teens I began loving dance music and each artist I listened to opened up a door to finding more. This then branched into discovering nearby genres such as drum and bass, this definitely played into how my sound came to be. Initially, I was releasing music under another name and an early track of mine ‘Weekend’ was the best received. Picking up on its sound, it became clear it was dance music which I was best at and it seemed to make sense for me to continue making music down that path. So before I was signed or had any marketing behind me, I had established what I wanted my sound to be and with that, the songs followed suit. 

How would you describe your essence as an artist?
As venbee, I want my sound to bring comfort to people struggling or going through tough situations. I pair honest, real songwriting with often upbeat dance music, so I guess I want people to know they can turn their harder experiences into something fun. The lyrics and songwriting are really important to me and I think ultimately are what shapes my essence as an artist.

Your lyrical vulnerability merged with dance-inducing sonics is an interesting approach, where did that idea stem from?
I think being an honest songwriter is really important to me as an artist.  I’ve always wanted my lyrics to matter. I wanted to keep my integrity whilst keeping my lyrics relevant and discussing topics and situations I care about. So, when I started pursuing dance music, this didn’t change. I’m super determined to keep my writing honest and raw even if I’m merging it with dance-induced sonics.

What’s been the standout career moment for you to date?
I have got two! Being nominated for an Ivor Novello award was crazy, but also performing at Glastonbury this summer!! The Ivors nomination was so important because it was a recognition of my songwriting, which is what I care most about. Throughout school I really struggled with reading and writing, so being recognised for my words & songwriting was really monumental for me. Also, the Ivors are so well regarded within the industry and such established artists that I admire have won previously, it was just amazing. Glastonbury was also a pinch me moment. It’s so ICONIC. I always watched it growing up on the telly with my family, everyone does, so having the opportunity to perform there in front of thousands of people was a real moment. 

Last year’s “messy in heaven” saw your popularity fly – what do you think it was about the track that listeners love / connected with?
Messy in Heaven was written in about twenty minutes with my friends Dan and Tao in a small studio in Tottenham. When it was written we handed it over to Goddard and he just transformed the track. I think people initially were shocked by the lyrical concept but I think when people got the metaphor, that the greatest people are having hard times too, the song resonated and stuck. I would have never guessed it was going to blow as it did; but when it snowballed on the third week of its release and its listeners doubled overnight, that was when I knew we had made something special.

Talk us through the thinking behind the array of remixes that you’ve released for your more recent tracks?
I love the various remixes of my songs. Looking specifically, I knew Die Young especially had potential to go harder on the drop so I thought of Skepsis. So when we reached out, he just nailed it. He made the track filthy and that’s exactly why I loved it. Similarly, Pola and Bryson took Low Down and transformed it. Again here, I knew I wanted the track to be able to be played at a rave and go off and it had potential to be reshaped that way. Pola and Bryson made it exactly that. Getting other artists involved is sick and can see a whole new direction for a song!

Congratulations on “Zero Experience”! How does it feel to be releasing your debut mixtape?
Thank you so much! To release my debut mixtape feels exciting, scary and a long time coming all in one. It has been like a year and half of work, so although it is scary I feel like it’s time to be released into the world has definitely come. I am also really proud of it and excited to hear what people think. I think the key difference I feel between releasing a body of work rather than a single is that I am not just dropping one story but rather several at once which come together.I think also in my career as an artist it felt the time had come to release a body of work rather than another single.

What was the creative process behind the project?
I always had the idea of Zero Experience as the title. I think like there have been a lot of times in my life where I felt as though I should know what I am doing, where I should be in my career, who I am or what my next steps are but realistically, I am twenty three and I often don’t have those answers. As I get older the less I care about not knowing and I am beginning to realise that actually, there is some fun in not knowing and figuring it out as I go. So, once I had that title and concept and initially Low Down for the mixtape, the other songs came what felt pretty naturally.

What are you portraying thematically on the tape?
I am always going to write about a variation of things which have affected me, I’m not confined to one. However,  I guess for me they have all fallen under the theme of the self deprecating feelings which coincide with growing up. It really does not matter how stunning or popular you are, everyone feels insecure or out of place, so it was about translating that for me on this mixtape. Obviously, I am twenty three now, but the songs discuss my experiences across the ages, from as young as about fourteen or fifteen where personally I found myself really struggling with the realities of puberty and feeling in somewhat of a pit because of it all the way up until now. As I explained before, I think I wanted to capture the unsettling feelings of uncertainty and an honest depiction of youth in Zero Experience.

Talk us through your sonic decisions across the mixtape?
I knew I wanted a heavier drum and bass track in the mixtape, it made sense for me and my mixtape as a whole. I also knew I wanted Chase and Status involved and so with that Rampage came to be. The other tracks on the tape are maybe more liquid, but the lyrics maybe more raw and honest. Ultimately songwriting remained at the forefront of my decisions for the songs. The sound was driven by the lyrics, the way the lyrics feel to me is how I came up with how I wanted the track to sound and in turn, the sonics of the tracks followed suit.

What’s next for you?
It is definitely a busy end of the year. I have got my tour coming up across the UK and Europe towards the end of October, with my London headline show at Heaven on November the 1st. Then it is basically all about the new music. I have got some writing trips coming up, one in New York and then at the beginning of next year some more new music is coming and maybe an album???  So for the foreseeable future it really is about keeping building, momentum going and working really hard.

Where do you want to take your artistry?
I would like to grow the sound that I have already made, and make it as big as I possibly can. I want to work really hard at that, spread and reach different audiences than it already has. I also want to keep the people who are listening to my music around me, I want to grow together. In terms of music, besides releasing my mixtape, I’d like to continue to play more shows. Bigger rooms. Next year & writing my debut album are really important to me. More specifically, it has always been a dream of mine to work with Flume, so that is definitely an aim for the future.