Belgian-based band TWOFVCE has been busy making new music since we
last featured them here on WtMM a little over a year ago. And, once again, we find ourselves swooning at the result of their efforts. They continue to captivate with a smart, polished blend of electronica, pop, and R&B, even as they stretch out and experiment with new elements.
After This is the band’s brand new single, which they dropped today. It’s a total ear-worm. They’ve locked onto a bouncy, danceable beat, complemented it with bright, sparkling guitar licks, and meshed it all together with their signature sound: atmospheric vocals, dense, layered synths, and skillfully mixed tempos. The song expertly builds and swells and, like all good dance tracks, features a killer drop.
We are proud to premier After This for global audiences and grateful to the band for catching up with us from Belgium to mark its release.
[WtMM] First, the sadly obvious questions in these days and times of COVID-19: Are you and your families safe and healthy? How are you holding up right now? Are the four of you able to continue working even if you are physically distancing? Everyone is impacted, but we at WtMM are particularly aware of the economic hardships so many artists are facing.
Thankfully, everyone in our near surroundings are still healthy. Like the rest of the world, we are trying to do what we can from home. It is not ideal, but we are trying to make it work. Luckily, we all have enough gear at home to do some productive work. For example: mixing new tracks or trying to come up with vocal and guitar ideas. It’s a shame that our upcoming gigs were cancelled, though.
It’s been a year since you released your excellent EP, Always Behind. What have the last 12 months been like and what have you focused on as a band?
We worked on new music quite a lot; trying to find a balance between the opinions of the four of us! We’ve also been focusing more on vocals then we did before. Lastly, we have been trying to bring our live-set to a higher level.
To our readers who have never heard of you, how would you describe your music and craft?
We get our inspiration from a lot of different musical genres, so we would probably describe our music as ‘eclectic’ (for a lack of a better word). We never really aim for a genre when writing, but we like harmony, groove and we love combining acoustic and electronic elements. Alternative indie you can dance to.
You previously shared that Always Behind was an important milestone in defining your sound. How is your sound continuing to develop and evolve as you work on new music? What are you learning about yourselves?
Our sound comes naturally when we work together. But, as mentioned before, it is not always easy to work on music with four opinions. Too many cooks in the kitchen [Laughing]. We are always fine tuning this process.
Tell us more about your new track, “After This.” What’s the origin story of this song? How did it come together?
Like most of our songs it started out as an idea (in this case a 4-chord progression) on which we built the song further. The inspiration for the lyrics came from a general thought that, these days, the world revolves a lot around social media. After This is a question to all of us. If society brought us here, then what’s next?
The opening spoken lines of the track mention “the other side” and, in the chorus, you sing, “Whatever they seem to say / When people are on the run / You’ll never get to the bottom of / Staring into the sun.” I hear a sense of searching and escapism in those lyrics. Is that what they mean to you?
More searching than escapism, but both elements are definitely in there. The lyrics in the chorus refer to the fact that life on social media might distort the reality behind it. Everything only seems to last for 24 hours.
What comes first for you: the music or the lyrics?
The music, always. Usually we are 90% into the song when we realize we don’t have any vocals yet!
‘After This’ sounds even more pop-foward than your previous songs. I hear a lot of Jamiroquai. Were you consciously crafting that sort of sound here or is it just how this particular song developed?
Each track we make is a sum of a lot of different factors: artists we are listening to, the moods we’re in. Perhaps in this case we were more in a ‘dancy’ mood [Laughs]. You hearing elements of Jamiroquai in our music is nice to hear. They are among the artists we listen to.
What else is in the pipeline right now?
We have several other tracks finished, some that will be released soon! Again, these tracks will have a different vibe to them. One of them will have a more housey feel. Maybe DJs will like that one as well, since it is very dance-orientated.
I know some of your upcoming show dates have been canceled. How else can people follow you and get their hands on your music?
All of our tracks are available on all regular streaming services. One of our tracks is also featured on an edition of Vinyl Moon (Vol. 46: Cosmic Blues), for people who are into vinyl.
Final question: when washing your hands for the recommended 20 seconds, what song clip(s) do you sing to yourselves?
Willem Vermandere – Ik plantte ne keer patatten (Dutch for: “One time I was planting potatoes”). What a tune!
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Thanks to TWOFVCE (Julian Sheffield, Mo Clinton, J. Grant, John Westminster) for taking the time to rap with WtMM. Be sure to stream/download “After This” and follow them on the platforms below.
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