Cape Town’s curious new deep-house duo, Lex-Vedda
Lex-Vedda is the dynamic duo of Dale Byl and Stuart Vermaak, whose collective musical journeys span more than ten years; from rock n roll to psychedelic trance, they have been involved in the music industry both onstage and behind the rig.
2017/2018 has seen them veer down a different path – a path rather refreshing to most and exciting to all music lovers. A path of sweet melodies and groovy percussion layered with deep vocals.
I sat down with the duo to get a feel of their deep tech house act – Lex-Vedda.
Honestly, for me Lex comes from imagining a future time when we have all gotten through the current issues we all face every day… a place and time of abundance.”
First things first, what spawned the name choice, Lex-Vedda? Does it have anything to do with the status “Lex” of members of the aboriginal people from Sri Lanka “Vedda”?
Dale
Dale: It was an inspired play on words between Stuart and myself whilst looking for a name for and
from the future!
Stu: In fact, we only found out about the "Vedda" tribe after we started Lex-Vedda.
Dale you were in a rock band and Stuart you made psytrance and then later EDM…
Dale: Stu and I worked together in a few studios in the past, were in a band or two together, went on separate paths for a while… we got a bit bored with what we were doing, so we got together and started Lex-Vedda!
Stu
Stu: We’ve been involved in multiple aspects of the music industry for years, and I have found a degree of fulfilment in performance (Psytrance, EDM) and recording, but nothing as significant as what we can do with “Lex”. I felt/feel I have not put out something strong enough.
Lex-Vedda played at Afrika Burn this year. How was it jamming in the desert and what was the response from Burners during your set? This video is super cool ☺
Dale: This was probably one of the best experiences of my life, humbling, surreal and electric! The crowd came alive as we started playing and were full smiles and energy by the time we got half way! Absolutely loved it!
‘Deep Tech House’ barely scratches the surface of the myriad influences that make up your tracks. Where do guys draw inspiration from and what is your creative process?
Dale: We referenced a lot in the beginning to get a feel for the genre and get the mix right – then just did our own thing from there using themes, scenes and stories during the creation process to help to form the feel of our tracks.
Stu: Honestly, for me Lex comes from imagining a future time when we have all gotten through the current issues we all face every day… a place and time of abundance.
Currently we are looking for dedicated management, videographers, and are very keen to collaborate with other artists and creatives.”
You have quite a few tracks up on SoundCloud. Are there any plans to release it as a full album, or what is your plan there?
Stu: We’re actually trying to decide what to do about a release. So far, we have just focussed on releasing music videos, but an EP is definitely in the pipeline.
Dale: What Stu said! 😉
Production, vocals, percussion, mastering (surely?), video editing (?). Is there any aspect that you gentlemen don’t do yourselves?
Dale: We do mostly everything ourselves although we do welcome any fellow creatives and technicians to join us to build this space ship Lex-Vedda!
Stu: We are currently handling all those aspects you have mentioned in house however, there are a lot of things we are always looking for help with…
Currently we are looking for dedicated management, videographers, and are very keen to collaborate with other artists and creatives.
Apart from the Afrika Burn gig, you recently played a gig at the launch of Viral Spiral at Era and the Afrika Burn Decompression event too. Is confidence growing with regards to live performances?
Dale: We love making music and performing live! Confidence is growing stronger every day as we upgrade and evolve our sound!
Stu: Having played and gotten a good response from Afrika Burn, we went into Viral Spiral and Decompression with little inhibition, but they have all been pretty small shows, we’re looking forward to playing some bigger audiences to see how shaky the vocals will be… [Stu is on vocals]
For those who unfortunately missed the gig, where can fans catch Lex-Vedda live and lovely next?
Lex-Vedda: TBA…
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