Shoegaze veterans, The Veldt, may never have been among the most celebrated names in the genre, but the group goes back as far as the late eighties and their contribution to alternative rock in general is seminal and influential, but sadly underestimated.
With a name taken from a Ray Bradbury short story, The Veldt comprised by dentical twins Daniel (guitar, vocals) and Danny Chavis (guitar), Hayato Nakao (bass) and Marvin Levi (drums), released their breakthrough record, Afrodisiac, in 1994 on Mercury but before that and after it they had to struggle against racism and that type of ignorance often found in record company execs.
The Veldt was a black band from the South who had their shoegaze fuzz and dreaminess enhanced with soul and drew influences from The Cocteau Twins as much as they did from the 1960s' iconic Motown and Atlantic soul. Carrying that sound and attitude on their shoulders, they had to fight against record label ignorance and absurdity. The band has been on and off either as The Veldt or Apollo Heights, but mostly off. They released another album as The Veldt in 1998, Love At First Hate, and as Apollo Heights their only full length, White Music For Black People, came in 2007.
Due to the recent revitalization of the shoegaze scene, acts like The Veldt became relevant again to the ears of a whole new generation and assumed the form of a nostalgic throwback for some the older fans, however the band in 2016 has proven that they can be something much more than that.
Featuring another of the genre's legends, A.R. Kane contributing to its production, The Shocking Fuzz of Your Electric Fur, The Veldt's new EP after a long time of inactivity is an amazing comeback which marks only the beginning of the band's triumphant return, since in 2017 they plan to release even more new music. Comprised of five songs, the EP is a paradigmatic taste of what the band is still capable of so many years later and it makes one wonder how things would have turned out for them if they had the slightest support from those who should have backed them up back in their prime.
Listen below and take some extra minutes to look the band up, listen and take in more of their classic material.