On My Playlist: Top 5 Veladraco songs

Veladraco is one of those bands that seem to get your attention from the first listen. There is something infectious, visceral and honest about their music that is pleasing to both the ear and to the heart. Their acoustic and piano laden pop rock songs are both catchy and upbeat with great messages. This quartet has a bright future in South African music and these experienced and musically talented guys really bring their own uniqueness to the party with their music. The band consists of Alain Marthezé (vocals), Ricki Allemann (guitar, vocals), Gareth Allison (bass, vocals), Nic Smal (drums) and Sean Marthezé (synth, production).
5. Nuance
Nuance opens up the countdown with its sonic appeal and effects in the intro that take the listener into the opening guitar riff and drum pattern that has an alternative rock feel. These two different sounds mix really well in this song that soars at the chorus: ‘And now we sit here with the space between us, it’s getting louder every second. This cold wind chills to the bone, it’s freezing,’ tells of the difficulty of communication in a broken relationship. Marthezé’s vocals really shine on this track and its different textural elements give a good indication of what this band is capable of.
4. Animals
This is the first track that exposed Veldraco to the masses back in 2011. It may lack the textural depth of their other songs but this stripped down number gets down to the bare essential of music – and it is here where Veladraco makes its mark. The interesting electronic parts that combine with the acoustic guitar are something that has now become signature with Veladraco. This track’s unique sound really caught my attention from the start. Nick’s drumming gets a mention in this song as he varies and carries it throughout. The bridge with its distorted guitar also brings something different to the number.

3. Forest
Nick Smal’s drumming opens this song with a catchy snare hi-hat beat that gets your head bobbing around before a piano inspired melody takes the song into a pleasant new direction. The song has a real upbeat nature and focuses on romance and unbridled love: ‘You’ll never be the one that I forget. I find the promise in your eyes,’ sings Marthezé. The song brings up memories with its nostalgic nature of ‘counting stars’ and ‘watching sunsets’. It speaks to everyone’s emotion and the mix of melody and lyrics really works well on this track.

2. Cliché
The piano interlude and acoustic guitar picking in the intro are one of the most beautiful sounds that Veladraco has ever produced. Allemann really does a proper job with this melody that sticks in your head for a while, while Marthezé sings the catchy chorus ‘All dressed up in black I’m a cliché.’ The song is self-introspective and looks at mistakes made and how things never seem to work out and how things just seem like a cliché.

1. Town
This is my favourite Veldraco song, mainly because of the fantastic lyrics and structure of the track, but when the music video was released my love for it reached a new level. See the video for yourself to see the epic movie references in it! The number may not be very long but it really packs a punch with the constant drumbeat and rhythm section that works beautifully in the intro. The lyrics are also great: ‘On and on it goes, on and on it goes. How do we all get trapped in the middle?’ and ‘Every second we take to assess we just delay,’ takes a look at how procrastination and not living in the moment has placed society in a rut with everything just being an endless cycle.
Somehow, you just wish the song was a bit longer!