Amsterdam’s Doctor Velvet drops their debut full-length, ‘New Breed,’ a refreshing, gasoline-fueled blend of rhythm ‘n’ blues, Latin soul, and vintage rock.

Led by longtime friends David Grutter and Jerome de Vijlder, they’ve teamed up with talents like Alex Figueira (Conjunta Papa Upa) and Sam Ghezzi (The Hi-Stakes) to deliver a dark, moody ride through hazy nightclubs and cursed roads, yet irresistibly danceable. It’s like the sound of ‘66 coming back to life, 60 years later.

“We’re digging deeper and deeper into the soul and rhythm & blues of the ’60s”

Your album ‘New Breed’ blends rhythm ‘n blues with elements of Latin soul and vintage rock ‘n roll. Were there any specific albums that influenced this direction?

David Grutter: I think we grew up in a generation that has access to all music ever recorded, so it’s only logical that we get inspired by a lot of differently styled artists. We take bits from rhythm ‘n blues, Latin, soul, rock ‘n roll, jazz—you name it—and try to blend it into our own style.

Jerome de Vijlder: Yeah, we just liked all of those styles and tried to combine them. A lot of great music we like was created the same way, I believe. Look at New Orleans, for example. It’s a place where so many cultures and music styles came together, creating a new sound from all those influences combined. I like to think of the mix on this album the same way.

What kind of atmosphere do you hope listeners feel when they dive into your music?

Jerome: You know, I like to keep things as open to the imagination as possible. Of course, the vibe of the tone and the lyrics can imply a lot. But everybody who dives into these songs might relate their feelings or imagination in different ways. I can get many different vibes from one song, depending on the state I’m in while listening.

As high school buddies turned band leaders, how has your long-standing friendship shaped the creative process? Can you share a memorable moment from your journey together that illustrates this bond?

Jerome: What really stands out from our friendship and musical bond is that we both started our first band and everything together from scratch. We had barely, or maybe even never, played with others, let alone led a band or written songs. I remember those very early days, and this was way before Doctor Velvet. We were running our first real band and wanted to write our own songs. To do so, we figured we had to book a lodge house somewhere in the middle of nowhere and spend some quality time with a lot of booze and such. We ended up partying, drinking, and listening to music all weekend long without getting anything done at all. This was because we had no plan or ethics on how to write and compose songs. It was after a lot of hard work and studying that we came to understand the craft a little bit better. From our first gig to the ones we play these days, we have learned and played mostly everything together. That is something special.

David: We started out with big dreams, and it’s very special to fulfill some of those together. I remember a moment during our first tour in Brazil where we had just played a very big festival for maybe 2,000 people. We were watching a beautiful sunset after getting off stage—it felt like a moment we could’ve dreamt about in high school. Shortly after, a minor riot broke out at the festival, and we had to be rushed to our hotel by the tour manager, but that’s a story for another time…

<a href="https://wapshoowaprecords.bandcamp.com/album/doctor-velvet-new-breed-album">Doctor Velvet – New Breed (album) by Doctor Velvet</a>

Can you share some further details about the album-making process?

Jerome: Well, the album was cut in one weekend—three days of recording from 9 to 5, I think it was. All the instrumental tracks were cut live, with a few sax overdubs here and there and stuff like that. When playing live, you keep it spontaneous and don’t overthink it too much. The same goes for writing songs, by the way. The song has to come to you, or it’s just not ready to be finished yet. For instance, I wrote the last parts of the lyrics for the song ‘Bad Luck Baby’ in the bathroom the morning before we were going to record it. I think recording music that way really gives it that energy and rawness while you also feel the soul and anticipation of the musicians among each other. It makes for a sound that really comes alive, in my opinion.

How does the energy of your live performances compare to the studio recordings?

David: We really tried to bring the same energy that we have live on stage into the studio with us. I think it’s one of our strengths that, no matter the situation, we’re always able to make a crowd dance. We wanted to bring that catchiness into the studio, which is why we chose to do every instrumental track live with a full band.

Jerome: Live music naturally has much more power and energy. It really makes you focus on the vibe, the groove, and also a little bit of showbiz, of course. What I like about the studio is that there is much more depth in your tone. You can really search for a sound and try to get it down exactly the way you want to hear it, and when you do, it’s magic.

What does the future hold for Doctor Velvet?

David: We have a lot of plans in the near future. First, we’re going on a few ‘New Breed’ release tours, and I’m happy to say that we’ll be coming to the UK, Brazil, and Spain, besides the Netherlands and Belgium, of course.

Jerome: And about the sound… We’re digging deeper and deeper into the soul and rhythm & blues of the ’60s while still flirting a little with that Latin vibe, is all I have to say on this one.

Can you take us through a typical songwriting session for Doctor Velvet? Is it more of a collaborative effort or do certain members take the lead on specific tracks?

David: I think Jerome definitely takes the lead in songwriting. He came up with most of the ideas during the writing process for ‘New Breed.’ Often, he comes to the rehearsal room with an idea, and we work it out from there. But it depends—sometimes I bring something, or we come up with something together as well.

Jerome: It’s a bit of both, and it varies. I wrote seven of the album tracks at home for New Breed. This happened because songs can come to me at any given time. Sometimes I get the chord progression or the ‘lick’ on my guitar first, and then the melody of the chorus or verse comes later. But at times when I don’t have an instrument in my hand, like maybe in the car or riding my bike, I come up with a great verse and melody and try to remember it until I get home and see if I really have something. Luckily, we also have phones that you can record with and hum into nowadays. From there, if I have something I like, I usually get so excited about the idea that I try to figure out the lines for the saxes and the type of drums and stuff. When you’re in the zone of writing, you better get everything out of it. But besides the solo ventures, we also have some great sessions where one comes up with a line, and the other adds to it, and it goes back and forth. Those sessions can really last until the next day if we get into it. After the writing process, the song still has to come alive in the rehearsal room, and when we’re in there, I like to get everybody in the mix and let them add to the song if they have a good idea. That part is the most fun, I think.

If someone is new to your music, which song from ‘New Breed’ would you suggest they listen to first, and why?

David: I think from this album, ‘Road to Nowhere’ could be a central point that connects a lot of the different styles that influenced the album. It’s very danceable, funky with a strong Latin feeling, but also pretty bluesy with heavy lyrics. But on the other hand, I would say just start at the beginning of the album and take it from there!

Let’s end this interview with some of your favorite albums. Have you found something new lately you would like to recommend to our readers?

Jerome: We both keep digging and discovering more oldies from somewhere between the early ’20s and ’70s mostly—it’s like a passion to us, almost just as much as making music is. Most of this stuff, though, came as singles, not albums. So instead, we have a few rare tunes that I discovered that give a nice impression of what Doctor Velvet might listen to:

‘Coralee’ – Titus Turner
‘Take Me With You Baby’ – The Five Royals
‘Don’t Play With Love’ – Little Willie John
‘Nobody But You’ – Garnett Mimms & The Enchanters
‘Keep An Eye On Love’ – Ernestine Anderson
‘Handy Man’ – Sparks Of Rhythm
‘Zing Zing’ – Art Neville
‘Walkin’ Cryin’ Blues’ – Jackie Lee Cochran
‘Evening’ – Cab Calloway
‘Loup Garou’ – Clarence Gatemouth Brown
‘Chop Suey Mambo’ – Alfredito & His Orchestra

Klemen Breznikar

Headline photo: Laura van der Spek

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