Spokane’s Vika & the Velvets to release lead single Friday; new album out in June
Olivia Vika stands in between recording lead vocal takes at Bear Creek Studio in Woodinville, Wash., on Nov. 13. Vika & the Velvets’ new single, “Carousel of Love,” and portions of their upcoming album were recorded during this session. (Jordan Tolley-Turner/The Spokesman-Review)
Spokane’s own Olivia Vika, frontrunner of Vika & the Velvets, has spent years establishing herself as a key presence within the Lilac City’s music scene. She has a new album on the way this summer, and fans will get their first taste with the lead single, “Carousel of Love,” on Friday.
Although an up-beat track, the song stems from the emotions and realizations of being in a romantic relationship with the wrong person. The notions of a theme park or a roller coaster, specifically, act as a metaphor for the almost chaotic emotional uncertainties and ups and downs one can experience in this type of relationship.
Vika believes one of the lines that best exemplifies this theme comes from the second verse: “Sometimes I think I feel our spark, but it’s really only the roller coaster’s arch.”
Sonically, Vika and the band continue to explore the retro-inspired, rhythm and blues-based sounds and sonic structures they are known for.
“We definitely tried to shape the song around a vintage, ’60s doo-wop type of vibe,” Vika said. “Everything tied together pretty nicely to create a kind of retro, pop-rock song.”
One section of the song that best demonstrates this goal also happens to be one of, if not Vika’s favorite aspect of “Carousel of Love.” Toward the end, the repeating harmonic backing vocals take charge with what she describes as a “wah-ooh” segment that gives the track another vintage, surf-rock layer to unpack.
Despite the melancholic theme, the bright and buoyant sound is what led Vika to choose “Carousel of Love” to be the lead single of the record.
“I think this one has a lot of good energy and sets the tone for what’s to come up next,” Vika said.
The full 11-track project is set to be released in late June with two more singles to precede it.
The second single, “Dreamgirl of the Century,” will be released April 25 and explores a drastically different tone than the first as an emotional ballad of a track.
The stark difference between the two songs may act as the perfect indicator for listeners to expect a wide range of exploration from Vika and group. Although remaining relatively rooted in classic R&B and rock, fans of Vika will hear aspects such as variables of country and Western to a full horn section.
“It’s definitely a new direction,” Vika said. “There are a lot of new elements that I have never experienced or played around with before.”
Listeners can find the single on Spotify and every major music streaming service on Friday by searching “VIKA.”