By Scott Roos
pics by Deanna Roos of Contingent Colours Photography
At Chester Fest Couch + Music Festival in Prince Albert this past Saturday, July 9th, Saskatoon based singer Velours put on an energetic set of 90’s style riff rock. With a new backing band in tow, a springy, enthusiastic Velours made sure the audience on hand was privy to a series of exclusives as her time on stage carried on. This included two or three Velours originals audiences were hearing for the first time and an extra special cover tune.
“This was my first time performing in P.A. and my first Chester Fest, so getting to perform some new material for the first time was something that I really wanted to do. It was really fun,” commented Velours in a brief chat with NSMZ after her set.
The cover tune Velours performed was the chart topping Kate Bush track “Running Up That Hill. She announced from the stage that she will be releasing her personal take on the song July 19th. The original 1985 version, of course, received renewed attention recently when it aired during a pivotal scene during Stranger Things season four. It served as inspiration for many who heard the track during that specific moment on the show including Velours.
“I was introduced to the song because of Stranger Things and I’m so grateful. That scene in Stranger Things is absolutely beautiful and that song really impacted obviously everybody and I just couldn’t stop singing it,” explained Velours. “My mom told me that I should just do it. My mom has the best ideas. She told me I should cover it so I hit up my producer Ryan Stewart and we ended up recording it.”
Velours describes her unique take on the track as “a more 90’s, mixed with 80’s mixed with a more modern vibe”. If her performance of it at Chester Fest is any indication, this merging of decades serves to underscore the wide swath of influences that she is able to draw from musically, on top of her versatility and adaptability as a singer in general. The months off due to COVID have given her the chance to refine her sound and lean more and more into the 90’s music she loves. More new material is on the horizon to be sure but, for now, this cover of “Running Up That Hill” will give her fans, both new and old, something to talk about.
"I’m really excited for people to hear my take on 'Running Up That Hill' because I’m really proud of it. I am proud of all my new stuff. Like the stuff I presented tonight I’m so proud of it. I think it's more ‘me’ than I’ve ever sounded. I have such 90’s roots. A friend of mine literally said ‘you’re what would happen if 90’s pop culture had a kid’ which was a huge compliment for me,” concludes Velours.