Interview: VËR x 3409 – Best For You

“My single is called ‘Best For You’. It’s about a simple, selfless kind of love. One that stems from a deep, honest friendship and ends up unconditional and compassionate.”

Hey VËR! Can you introduce yourself to our readers?

Hey, I’m VËR (short for ‘Vered’ – the Hebrew word for Rose). I’m a 27-year old independent singer x songwriter x producer from Montreal, Quebec. I’ve been immersed in music for as long as I can remember, and decided I would become a singer after going to my first concert at 12 years old (thanks Hilary Duff!) My educational background is in Architecture & Design, and more recently in Audio Production from the Harris Institute for the Arts. I’ve got a passion for creating something out of nothing, and my happy places are the studio and the stage.

Congratulations on your new single, can you give us some insight into the inspiration behind it?

‘Best For You’ naturally flowed out of me. I remember sitting in my studio wondering where this song came from all of a sudden, as it usually takes me quite a while to piece together a song. As an exercise in letting go and not overthinking, I just let the song happen to me instead of trying to be in full control over every tiny detail. ‘Best For You’ is a simple kind of love song told from two perspectives. From one end, it’s about a selfless, endless kind of love rooted in trust, support and honesty. From the other, it’s about the appreciation of having your special person help you become the best version of yourself. It all boils down to wanting the best for the one you love – friend, lover, whoever.

What was the recording process like?

I record out of my home-studio. The initial demos are always really raw and ballad-y where I record my voice as I play along on the keyboard. But when it comes to getting the final takes, there’s a lot of re-dos, comping, editing, tea-drinking, incense burning and salt lamps glowing. The recording process is my favourite part of music making actually, and my best work comes out when I set up a zen, relaxing mood in my studio.

Where are you from and what’s the music scene like there?

I’m from Montreal but I moved to Toronto when I started pursuing music full-time (so I actually know the scene better there than in my hometown!) Toronto’s music scene is really happening. It’s very diverse and multicultural which is always really beautiful when it comes to collaborations, networking and going out to live shows. You can find a little bit of everything in the TO music scene and it’s home to lots of incredibly talented artists.

If you could collaborate with anyone in the world, who would it be and why?

I would have absolutely loved to collaborate with Amy Winehouse. She’s such an inspiration behind my work and I feel like our voices would make such an interesting blend. She was so talented, raw and had such an interesting writing style. I feel like she would have some amazing advice and tips too.

What’s coming up next for you?

I’ll be releasing the rest of the songs from my debut EP by the end of the summer. I’m currently in the middle of working on a full-length concept album with a really amazing producer from England (who I’ll keep as a surprise until the release 😉)

https://open.spotify.com/artist/0K0ilmTCt0Nx59agGOYkaP