WE SUPPORT SASKATCHEWAN’S ENTERTAINMENT & MUSIC SCENE

Whether it’s reaching out to a newly released project, musician or creating a spotlight for local talent to be heard on any of our stages, as well as opportunities to be heard opening for larger acts on a full-venue stage. We look forward to assist and launch newest concepts that strongly support the local music in this province. The local music scene is super important to us – we are a small province, but we have big dreams. Let’s grow and support each other – putting Saskatchewan on the map for premium music and entertainment experience.

IN THEIR OWN LEAGUE STRUT’N

If you have been familiar with the Saskatchewan Music Scene over the last couple years, then you probably recognize Devon Gunn or his bodacious bass lines. Devon Gunn has been operating under the musical moniker ‘VBND’ since 2015. VBND is all things soul, with Devon guiding listeners through his tracks. Getting his start in the Saskatchewan Music Scene unconventionally, VBND blew up online first. Spotify and Soundcloud success came early for Devon and he now sits at 222,782 monthly listeners on Spotify. VBND worked towards growing the sound. In 2019, The Soulmate Collective was formed. The Soulmate Collective is a group of talented musicians creating songs with direction from VBND. The band has grown so much over the years, and now they work together on making the tracks. They have played Saskatchewan Music Week, Sask Jazz Fest, and many other stages. There is no limit to their success, and we are happy to see them grow.

VBND joins us while we patiently wait for the full-length album ‘Scum Funk’, set to drop on Friday April 23rd 2021. We take some time to go over how the artist went from being mainly a solo artist to a full band. We go over the history of VBND as a producer, his Spotify and Soundcloud fame, artists that influence their sound, and his process to creating of song.

We chat about The Soulmate Collective, a rotating long list of talent in SK. Katie Tupper, Ayden Draude, Jesse McMillan, Connor Newton, and Devon Gunn make up the current line-up that share the workload on Scum Funk. We chat with Devon about collaborating with such talented musicians, recording their album at The Sweat Shoppe, and the music mojo. Devon shares his thoughts on Katie Tupper’s ability as a singer/songwriter, the privilege to work with her on Daughter of the Sun (2018) and now on Scum Funk (2021). Take a moment, learn what’s to come for the group, and so much more.

YOU HAVE A VERY LARGE FOLLOWING ON SPOTIFY AND SOUNDCLOUD.

YOU STARTED RELEASING MUSIC ONLINE AT THE VERY EARLY BEGINNINGS OF VBND. OVER THE YEARS, YOUR SOUND HAS EVOLVED. BOTH EARLY VBND AND YOUR CURRENT WORK ARE VERY ACCESSIBLE SONICALLY. HAVE YOU ALWAYS BEEN INTERESTED IN BENDING THE “NORM” OF A GENRE WHEN YOU ARE COMPOSING? WHAT INFLUENCES YOUR SOUND? WHERE DO YOU START WHEN YOU ARE PRODUCING A SONG?

VBND: Genre has never really taken up too much rent in my mind, to say that I consciously mixed genres would be incorrect. I am very heavily influenced by D’angelo and other neosoul acts, as well as various jazz musicians, Michael League of Snarky Puppy, Roy Hargrove (specifically his neosoul/funk style albums, to name a few. I just like the way a rhodes piano sounds over some off-kilter drum beats and I love playing crazy basslines. Daughter of the Sun was a direct response to my desire to play music like that with a live band, same goes for any and all future music I will make. At the beginning of my music making career I would always start with a chord progression and went with the wind, back then it wasn’t much in the way of wanting to get fame or popularity but rather an experiment to see what I could do with my current skillset. Nowadays, especially for Scum Funk, I start out with the grimiest, most off-kilter drum beat I can make and slap a bass line or chord progression, then I send it off to a vocalist and go from there!

“ALL INSANELY TALENTED AND I VALUE THEIR INPUT ON THEIR PARTS”

– VBND

YOU ATTRACT A LOT OF TALENTED MUSICIANS.

YOU HAVE HELPED FORM THE GROUP “VBND AND THE SOULMATE COLLECTIVE” – WHICH FEATURES JESSE MCMILLAN, AYDEN DRAUDE, KATIE TUPPER, CONNOR NEWTON, AND YOURSELF (DEVON GUNN). THE EARLY WORK WITH KATIE TUPPER ON THE EP ‘DAUGHTER OF THE SUN’ AND THE MOST RECENT SINGLE “GOLD CHAIN” HAVE REALLY OPENED A LOT OF DOORS TO NEW OPPORTUNITIES AS SONGWRITERS. WHAT IS YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH COLLABORATING? HOW HAS IT CHANGED OVER THE YEARS? HOW GREAT IS IT TO HAVE SUCH A TALENTED SINGER/SONGWRITER ON YOUR TEAM?

VBND: When I started I wanted to do everything by myself, vocals on a track were nice but I didn’t want to depend on them. I opened myself up to having a vocalist on songs in 2015 and things just went from there. Mostly online collabs in the beginning but with the forming of the live band I shut myself off to that. I only collaborate with people i can physically meet up with in person, I feel like the music magic mojo is just way stronger and easier to work with if you can bounce ideas off another musician in person, I’m hooked on it. Daughter of the Sun was just me and Katie writing the songs, I would have full control over the instrumental side and she would take care of the lyrics. I had other musicians come in to jam on the instrumental songs but for the most part I would take control of where I wanted the song to sit and where it was going. Scum Funk was different, we recorded it live, I didn’t want to dictate 100% of the time. My band members are all insanely talented and I value their input on their parts. That being said, Katie Tupper has been an amazing musician to get together with, I’m incredibly honoured to be making music with her. She’s probably the best songwriter I know, but I’m a little biased hahaha.

Introducing the Newest Hard Seltzer Vizzy – Another Hard Seltzer? Yeah, but we’ve got superfruit acerola cherry. Vizzy provides a healthier alternative to traditional Hard Seltzers. Superfruit Acerola Cherry is an antioxidant and typically contains the highest amount of vitamin C compared to other fruits. Making Vizzy not only taste amazing, but you feel great consuming the refreshing beverage. Vizzy is new to Saskatoon and is exclusively available at local pubs and bars. Support your local restaurant before Vizzy is available at retail stores. Follow MolsonCoors306 to find out where you can find the new addition to their lineup!

Sparkling Hard Seltzer with Acerola Cherry – 5% alcohol, 140 calories, 2 carbs 0 grams of sugar (per 473ml can)

Click image to listen to the album, releasing April 23rd 2021

Artwork by: Shanelle Westmacott

YOUR NEW FULL-LENGTH ALBUM ‘SCUM FUNK’ RELEASES ON APRIL 23RD 2021.

CONGRATULATIONS ON ALL OF YOUR SUCCESS WITH YOUR THREE SINGLES LEADING UP TO THE ALBUM. “SLOWLY STARTING TO TAKE FORM”, “BREATHE ME IN”, AND “GOLD CHAIN” COLLECTIVELY ALREADY HAVE 226,751 PLAYS ON SPOTIFY AND THE FIRST SINGLE (“SLOWLY STARTING TO TAKE FORM”) HAS ONLY BEEN OUT SINCE JANUARY 28TH 2021. THIS ALBUM FEELS SO GOOD TO LISTEN TO AND WE HAVE ONLY HEARD 3 OUT OF THE 15 TRACKS. WHAT CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT THE ALBUM? WHAT WAS THE PROCESS OF CREATING ‘SCUM FUNK’? HOW DOES IT FEEL TO BE RELEASING MUSIC AGAIN? 

VBND: We recorded the album 90% live with some vocal overdubs, it’ll be around 50 minutes. That will break my record for longest project, my old ones would range from 15-25 minutes, it’s a big one! I started the album shortly after Daughter of the Sun dropped but didn’t really work on it until July 2020, we recorded the whole thing in August 2020 on short notice at The Sweat Shoppe here in Saskatoon. There was a 2 year gap between DotS and Scum Funk and it feels so good to finally have a full project out. I think these songs are some of our finest work to date!

“THESE SONGS ARE SOME OF OUR FINEST WORK TO DATE”

– VBND

All photos inside article supplied by guest.

*hover over photo for issued credit.

LEARN MORE ABOUT WHAT’S TO COME…