After spending much of the last few months building and cultivating her sound, London-based newcomer WUINDER BETA is now ready to introduce herself to the world with her vibrant debut single 'Waiting Here'.
Set to feature on her forthcoming debut EP 'Love You To Beats', which is due out soon, 'Waiting Here' makes for a wonderfully rich and immersive introduction to her sound so far. With its broad and euphoric electro-pop aesthetics, sweeping atmosphere, and her own compelling vocals at the helm, she is certainly one to keep a firm eye on for the months ahead as well.
So with the new single available to stream now, we sat down with her to find out more about her origins and what has been inspiring her most over the years.
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What was the first instrument you fell in love with?
There were two big moments in my life when I fell in love with instruments. The first one was when I was a child and my arts & music teacher gave the class one of the most creative assignments: to make our own instrument with things we had at home.
I remember that day I rushed home, cut a piece of a dusty off-white hose pipe my dad had in his toolbox, removed a squeaker from an old toy and rolled it to make it look like a cornet. Despite the sound being irritating to my parents, I had so much fun with my little cornet for days.
The second and even bigger moment was last year as I was producing my first EP. I went to a show at the Lexington in London and for the first time I saw an artist playing an intricate 80s instrument called Omnichord.
When I got home that child in me came back in full-force and I wondered “What if I created my very own instrument?” One that can actually be played on stage and is fully aligned with WUNDER BETA vibes.
I joined forces with an incredible maker and we co-created a new synth-like 3D-printed instrument. He programmed beautiful pipe organ chords into it and made in a way that each chord I play projects different visuals on my outfit.
We called it MOrgana — inspired by the enchantress in the Arthurian legend, often portrayed as a fairy or goddess, who mastered the passage between our world and the Other World.
I can’t wait to play MOrgana on stage and make music with it.
What kind of music did you love when you were younger?
I’m literally a girl from Ipanema who grew up in Rio de Janeiro listening to Bossa Nova and a wide variety of Brazilian music genres and beats. But as I started going out at night as a teenager, I fell in love with the Electronic music underground scene that was just arriving in Brazil.
During the day, while it was 30 degrees outside and all my friends were at the beach, I was locked in my room listening to my favourite artists like The Chemical Brothers, Prodigy, Kraftwerk and Bjork.
That’s why when I started making music I had no doubt I would challenge myself to explore a fusion of all the sounds that were already my veins: Bossa Nova and Electronica, with ethereal atmospheric sunset vibes.
What was the first album you remember owning?
It was hard and very expensive to get hold of the latest and greatest albums in Brazil in my teenage years, so the first time I travelled to the US, I entered a shop and spontaneously bought Roni Size & Reprazent and Sunscreem albums. I listened to those non-stop for months. Still nowadays, I sometimes play a few songs from those albums on Spotify and they take me back in time, I hear the sounds, smells and vibes of that moment.
What is the one song you wished you could have written yourself?
There are so many. Some Brazilian singer-songwriters write like poetry. You can’t even translate their lyrics into English without losing their deep meaning.
Songs like Oceano (Ocean) from Djavan are full of poetic metaphors, using elements of nature to convey a love story.
But Hypedballad from Bjork is unparalleled. I’ve listened to that song zillions of times and still, every time I play it in my living room, the song takes me into a world of imagination. Her voice, lyrics, layered instruments, the cinematic crescendo production, all combined, takes me into a vivid dreamy journey.
I feel as if I am living those moments and seeing everything she sees. And that’s how I write my songs - I want my fans to see and feel in their bodies and minds what I see and feel when I’m writing them.
Do you have any habits or rituals you go through when trying to write new music?
As I wake up in the morning, I must have my Matcha latte and inhale fresh air from the outside to oxygenate my body. I'm a night-owl, so I learned to take it easy in the morning, and allow my energy to grow wild as the day goes by.
Most of the time, I start writing music out of a strong feeling I’m having at the moment or a sound that profoundly touches my heart.
That’s how Waiting Here came about. I co-wrote it with a British guitarist who loves Bossa Nova. He sent me an audio and said “I’ve been playing with these chords, what do you think?”. That sound immediately touched something deep in me. So I added it to Ableton and started listening to it in a loop. Suddenly, I knew exactly what the song was about and started writing the lyrics in my notebook.
Other songs came differently, through a vivid dream or a long distance memory of mine. The key for me is to stay present and allow those magical moments to happen.
So whenever I go for a coffee, a work meeting, in the tube, as I walk, I allow myself to dive into any strong emotion that catches me, a sound that touches me or a wild dream I once had. I dream a lot! I also try carrying my notebook everywhere I go, and if I don’t have it, I record voice notes and write thoughts of the moment on my phone.
Who are your favourite artists you have found yourself listening to at the moment?
Bonobo is always present on my Playlists. His sound takes me into dreamy places and I love it. Apart from him, recently I’ve been listening to Jamie xx latest album and Klangphonics. I saw Klangphonics show in London two weeks ago and was mesmerised by their ability to take the audience in a journey with their half-quirky sound, ability of combine backing tracks with live instruments and incredible visuals.
If you could open a show for anyone in the world, who would it be?
There are three, actually! Bjork, Aurora and Bonobo.
What do you find is the most rewarding part about being a musician?
I used to be a games entrepreneur, leading a team of 70 people working remotely and releasing some incredibly creative games. But at some point I felt deeply lonely, craving human connection, deep emotional connection.
Being a musician allows me that: to tap into my emotions as I write music, freely express it with my sound, my voice, my body, and collaborate with incredible artists. Then on stage as I perform my songs, I love creating a space where my fans feel deeply, and go on an audio-visual journey with me.
All those moments fill my soul with gratitude and love.
And what is the most frustrating part?
All the admin required to release a song as an independent artist these days. From choosing a distributor, filling out endless forms and metadata on DSPs, trying to fit your sound into specific genres, and the anxiety-inducing non-stop content creation to grow a social media presence.
And what is the best piece of advice you have received as a musician?
When I was just starting to write music and that massive self-doubt and imposter syndrome caught me, I had a chat with an inspiring musician who told me: “What you’re writing right now no one, out of 8 billion people in the world, is writing. Because no one is feeling exactly how you’re feeling, no one has lived exactly how you lived, no one is who you are. This is a unique moment that will never repeat. So allow yourself to enter a state of play and express it with no fear of the outcome. Express it through your voice, your lyrics, on a piano, guitar, it doesn’t matter. Let it all out”.
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WUNDER BETA's new single 'Waiting Here' is out now. Check it out in the player below.