VeeAlwaysHere is back with another vulnerable, raw, and relatable track and we can’t get enough of it.
The self-taught musician’s new song “joker,” according to his team, is “a track written about hopelessly trying to fight for one’s love, even though you know that there’s nothing left to fight for.” Good for everyone who’s ever struggled with just walking away, even though it was the right thing to do, “joker” also marks the final song VeeAlwaysHere will release before sharing his upcoming full-length project broken: playlist II, which is set to be release later this year.
“Acceptance is the hardest part, and the biggest struggle in this song. When you know it’s doomed and it’s better to just walk away, but the comfort and the familiarity are keeping you from moving on,” VeeAlwaysHere says in a statement.
“Life is a movie and you play the lead. I’m trying to see if there’s a role for me; this feels like her story and not mine. ‘You played the joker, while I played myself’ – she set everything up the way she wanted, and I fell for it and ended up just lying to myself, but somehow ‘I can’t seem to let it go.’ It’s a mystery even to me,” he continues.
Growing up in Siberian Russia, VeeAlwaysHere has always had a deep passion for music, paired with the influence of American Pop music.
As a child, VeeAlwaysHere pushed through the language barrier to write songs, however because he couldn’t speak English – they were initially just gibberish. While having mastered the English language in a mere 2 and a half years, VeeAlwaysHere is now a self-taught musician who handles his production, writing, recording and mixing.
“joker” follows the release of “irl” and “I don’t dance” ft. Ted Park in 2023, and ego: playlist I in 2022, which received praise from a ton of music critics.
VeeAlwaystHere chatted with Celeb Secrets to talk about all things “joker,” his future plans, and more! Check out our full Q&A down below and don’t forget to listen to “joker.” Let us know what you think of the track by leaving a reaction down below or tweet us @celebsecrets.
Celeb Secrets: Can you take us through your process of writing “joker?” Was there a
personal experience that played into this journey?
VeeAlwaysHere: “The entire process of making this song was so much fun. I wish there was one deep personal experience or heartbreak that inspired this song, but the reason this song exists
is because some friends and I just got together at the studio, talked about life and then
when we started talking about movies. I had the first lines of the song in my head
already; “Life is a movie and you play the lead, I’m tryna see if there’s a role for me.” We
took it from there and built and wrote the whole song in one night. It was such a magical
experience with everyone pouring their heart into this song, so I guess in a way, “joker”
is a collective of all of our personal experiences and I tried to do them all justice with my
performance.”
CS: For those unfamiliar with your sound, how would you describe your music?
What inspired your sound for “joker?
VAH: “My thing is genre hopping. I don’t have a sound. My sound is whatever I want it to be
that day! It keeps my process really exciting and allows me to have so much fun making
music. I also want the fans to keep guessing and expect the unexpected whenever I
announce a new release. In terms of the sonic world of “joker”, since my friends and I
were talking about movies and that inspired the key concept of the song, I wanted the
sound to be very epic and cinematic. I collaborated on the production of this song with
my producer friend ‘Mexico City’ and we were really making a movie instead of a song.”
CS: We know you produce, write, and record all of your own music, what has
been the most pivotal moment of your career so far?
VAH: “The most pivotal moment of my career was the moment I realized that I don’t need
anybody else to make music. I can build my own world from start to finish, and then
invite other people into it if I want. Discovering this self-sufficiency in my music really
helped me continue finding joy in the process and I never gave up on it, even when it
was getting very difficult, even when nobody was listening and even when it felt like
nobody cared.”
CS:You have had some noteworthy features including Ted Park on your tracks, if you could have any artist featured on one of your songs who would it be?
VAH: “There are too many of them to even mention. Every single feature I do is such an
exciting process, because, as I’ve mentioned before, I get to invite these fully established
artists into my world and see how they can make it better. It sounds very selfish, but
that’s how I approach my appearances on other artists’ projects too – I want to
contribute as much as I can to their world. We’re all just building something and it’s
very refreshing to let someone else in and be open to new ideas. This part is honestly my
favorite.”
CS:We are all eagerly waiting for your album drop. Do you have a favorite track
off of broken: playlist II?
VAH: “You have no idea how excited I am!! After releasing ego: playlist I last year, I had no idea
how I could top it. I felt like I put everything I had into it; however once I started, it
turned out that I still had more to say and more sounds to make. This new project is so
special and was kind of made in record-breaking time. It came together so naturally and
so quickly, I honestly was blown away. “broken: playlist II” is the ultimate love letter to
my new life and new chapter in my career. It’s hard to pick a favorite, because honestly
it changes every day, but right now I would say it’s track #2 “out my head” – that’s just
how I feel right now.”
CS: Since we’re Celeb Secrets, do you have any secrets (or fun facts) about
yourself making the song “joker” that we wouldn’t know just by listening to
the song?
VAH: “The song was almost fully made and recorded in one night, but when I brought it home
after my studio session I wanted to re-record some parts, because I felt like it was a
movie and I wanted to give a good acting performance with my voice. The entire time I
was recording, I pretended like I was on a movie set with a camera pointed at me just
saying my lines as an actor, and I bet I looked really funny doing that haha.”
CS: VeeAlwaysHere is an awesome stage name. How did you get your stage
name? Was it a childhood nickname or did you think of it?
VAH: “Vee is a nickname a friend of mine gave me in college and the “AlwaysHere” part is just
a tribute to a core belief that I have as a person. I believe that all the good things that
happen in life are a combination of being in the right place at the right time, and while
we can’t really control the time, we can definitely put ourselves in the right place and
just wait for the moment to come. It started off as just a silly Instagram handle, but
turned into my actual stage name.”
CS: Should fans expect a music video for “joker?”
VAH: “I guess we will see 🙂 I definitely have some ideas… let’s just leave it at that.”
CS:We know American pop music inspired you as a child, what were your
favorite songs to listen to?
VAH: “I listened to EVERYTHING that came on MTV. I could literally just spend all day
watching all the music videos and listening to the songs when I was a child. I feel like
that’s when I started developing my genre hopping tendencies.”
CS: What are the rest of your plans for 2023?
VAH: “Well, I kind of already started working on whatever my “playlist III” is going to be to
finish off the trilogy. I have a couple of shows I’m playing this summer and a few I’m doing later this year, but aside from that just making more music and having fun with it. I’m so in love with the whole process, I’ve told myself so many times that I’m gonna take a break, but it just never happened. I’m so pumped for everyone to hear “joker” as well as the rest of “broken: playlist II”, I’m literally counting the days!!”
