Influences: Violet

 
Music

Lisbon has firmly cemented itself as a city with purpose and promise in recent years – a new wave of dancers, producers, disc jockeys, radio stations and genres have all emerged from the Portugese capital as of late and there is a lot to be excited about. However, there are few from the city who have created such impact as Volet aka Inês Borges Coutinho. 

She has become a renowned disc jockey and selector counting up bookings across Europe and beyond. As the brains behind Naive records, co-founder of Rádio Quântica, and a mina resident she has placed herself at the forefront of cutting edge experimental music in not only Lisbon but far beyond. Her own music has been widely championed and praised by the likes of Peach, Octo Octa, Eris Drew and many more whilst her personality and love for music has radiated through at all times. 

She appears on the latest Apollo View EP on Insult To Injury, the record label run by Timothy Clerkin. She offers up a futuristic remix of rugged compulsion and one that is set to burn dancefloors to shreds. 

We invited her to guide us through some of her own musical influences across the years and it's safe to say that she has fine taste. 

See below: 


Buy the new EP HERE. Follow Violet on Facebook HERE

"So, about my neptunes obsession. It's real. I think these two albums, fully produced by them, are probably my single biggest influences. Sonically intriguing, melodic, very clearly emotional music, punctuated with unpredictable, crisp drums. So from a texture, melody, emotional approach point of view, this is the core of my musical DNA right here. Clipse's album sounds both really experimental and ear-worm-y, plus Pusha T and (then) Malice are to me some of the most skilled rappers, in the top of their game here.

It also strikes me how they efforlessly navigate between alien sounding instrumentals like 'momma i'm so sorry' to super soulful, classic-sounding songs like 'NIghtmares'. I should probably also mention their first album 'Lord Willin' which is just as perfect but to me lacks the sonic weirdness that this one has. And n*e*r*d*'s album is like, when pop peaked for me. I honestly think a pop song can't get much better 'Provider', 'Truth or Dare' or 'Rockstar' – to this day, these songs make me dream. They make me feel invincible, corny as it may sound. Other highlights are 'Run to the sun' (my favourite 'ballad'… ever?), Baby Doll (shouts to Kelis on the back vocals, whose album is another influence) or Am I High. E3very single instrumental in this album is literally perfect? Like wtf."

"I join these two Portuguese masterpieces as my love letter to One Eyed Jacks, the label that was my first true home and the first time i felt part of a crew in dance music. Aquarian Ball is a track that i heard a snippet of even before it was finished – I loved it so much that I decided i wanted to create a label just to release it – I was gonna call it Peixinho (little fish LOL). I'm glad I didn't because in 2009 i was unprepared to run my own label, and in the same year Photonz founded One Eyed Jacks, which he perfectly ran and put out what would become really formative music for me, including his track Aquarian Ball, which sold out after two weeks. No wonder, the infectious breaks, the huge drum freakout, and the bleepy line are the dopest thing that happened in Portuguese dance music (maybe). Anyway, saying his sound influenced me is an understatement and i cannot stress enough how these days were key to my artistic practice, community ethos and sonic language.Also released on One Eyed Jacks was Arm1x by Igor and Adriana, a total anthem for me: melodically and rhythmically, this track would put me in trancey daydream states for years to come (and still going). I still think it's one of the best dance tracks I've ever heard in my life.

While we're on the Lisbon music subject, can I give another big shout to some artists that, at one or another point in time influenced me and continue to do do: Buraka Som Sistema and the whole Príncipe posse who continue to teach me about groove as i repeatedly come back to their records; Paraíso, another of my homes and a true DIY, family-run labour of love in the local scene if there ever was one; and last but absolutely not least Odete, BLEID, Kerox, Stasya, fabaitos – young artists who have taught me so much with their incredible music (do yourselves a favour, check them out) and keep me on my toes creatively, you have no idea how much it means to have you in my life. I hope i have the privilege to stay alive a few more years just to see you thrive."

Here's the rest…

Lumidee Never Leave You Uh Oh Official Video

This is quite a literal influence: i was actively trying to sound like this song when i finished my first track ‘palmas’ – it obviously (sadly) ended up sounding nothing like this Lumidee classic, but what i was aiming for was a similarly infectious clap action, heavy bass and the naiveté and rawness that’s expressed in the vocals.

  • Lumidee Never Leave You Uh Oh Official Video

    This is quite a literal influence: i was actively trying to sound like this song when i finished my first track ‘palmas’ – it obviously (sadly) ended up sounding nothing like this Lumidee classic, but what i was aiming for was a similarly infectious clap action, heavy bass and the naiveté and rawness that’s expressed in the vocals.

  • Mala - Left Leg Out

    If i’m honest I would have to include an early dubstep classic here, i think this is definitely my favourite one – or is it? I think it is – and it feels like a bit of a prophecy because of the left leg mention – i infamously f*cked up my left leg in december last year so I’ll ride with this synchronicity. I love how tough, tense and ravey it sounds, and how it always reminds me of how insanely fresh and exciting this sounded to me 13 years ago – it still does. The one time i went to fwd in London this track was playing as i got in, that gave me chills for life.

  • A Tribe Called Quest - Bonita Applebum (Official Music Video)

    In the early 2000s, when the internet was not so big and i lived in Brighton, i used to go to the Brighton Uni library to sit and read music magazines like Rolling Stone. I remember reading an interview with Pharrell, who mentioned this song made him realise music is art. I took a note and looked it up, obviously biased because I’m obsessed about The Neptunes (more about that later) – and of course i loved it. The super sleek keys and vibey / sort of stoner atmosphere are what i look for in music a lot of the time, and I think this song low key made me gradually become interested in sampling and what it means. From breaks to melodies.

  • Cj Bolland - Camargue [1992]

    I clearly have no problem referencing classics, so here goes. Is this my epitome of dreaminess in dance music, probably so. Do i wish i made this record, um, yes. Have i cried listening to this track, many times. My eyes are watery just listening to it right now to write about it. This track is what i feel inside when i think about communal raving – it’s my ultimate rave archetype if you will. The level of oneiric in these pads and these keys is supernatural to me. The tough bass breakdown at around 4:25 is everything arrangements exist for. I can’t even continue cause i’ll end up writing a poem and CJ Bolland would file a restraining order against me.

  • Paul Woolford - Overload

    Here’s an artist that represents a lot of what i aim for when i make music. I really love Paul’s sound design and his knack for a great melody. I could pick so many tracks, namely Special Request ones, but I’m going for this one cause it makes me really envy the skills in creating the syth stabs, the crazy drum programming and the moments of sonic pressure. This is such an exciting tune to play out, at one point i was getting self-conscious of playing it so often!

  • The Exaltics-- About Time

    I’ve played this one a lot but I’m not sure it’s my fav Exaltics track, but that doesn’t matter because i love all his tracks (literally). I picked this one emotionally because it was put out on Cologne Underground records, the label run by the late Andreas Gehm who has also deeply influenced me as a bona fide acid head who is also a sucker for mysterious, melancholic melodies. Anyway, back to The Exaltics – my passion for his music is one of the piece of my goth-dutch-puzzle of influences, and i feel like here i should mention also Unit Moebius, Legowelt and the clone-crème-bunker axis that i started to get exposed to mostly via my One Eyed Jacks fam. My fav thing about the exaltics is how in your face and abrasive their acid is, and tbh i love how they also nail electro, breaks and straight-up techno tracks equally masterfully.