L
os Angeles is a city absolutely brimming with
talent ranging from aspiring pop stars, weekend
warriors and barroom brawlers to singer-
songwriters who set up shop on the Sunset
Strip hoping to nab your attention and a record deal.
Often portrayed as cutthroat, the constant grind of
the LA scene can seem overwhelming to newcomers;
and even once you’ve acclimated, making a splash is
a full-time job. With each new artist trying to capture
a piece of the market, cultivating ‘relevance’ and
chasing trends, far fewer actually seem to be carving
a path for themselves on their own terms. Vanessa
Wheeler is one such artist.
Under the pseudonym VAVÁ , Wheeler
painstakingly crafts music that bridges the gaps
between pop, traditional Brazilian guitar, electronica,
and R&B. Her voice soars into the ether above her
grounded, intricate guitar work, much of which filters
through her Brazilian roots and jazz-guitar fluency.
Her right hand is a force of rhythm, which she
augments with time-based effects and a particularly
clear, dynamic tone, perfectly suited for her complex
open-chord voicings.
“Music was just a natural part of growing up,”
she ruminates. “My education was my mom playingwhat she thought she’d heard on the radio, which
is another filter, I suppose. She’d play these classical
flourishes and turns, she’d add them to everything.”
Thanks to her mother, Vanessa was heavily
influenced by Western classical and African music,
bossa nova and even traditional chorinho, which
translates to ‘little lament’ and features upbeat
rhythms and improvisation. Vanessa describes it as
“truly sad, melancholy party music”. And many years
later during her stint at Berklee, she would return to
chorinho for inspiration while studying composition.
Eventually, she latched onto the sounds of Ace
Of Base, New Order, Brazilian pop, and European
electronica. Later, she listened to Patty Griffin
“obsessively” and soon picked up an acoustic guitar,
leaning into the singer-songwriter genre, although the
acoustic part didn’t stick. “I grew tired of comparisons
to other singer-songwriters, so I ditched the acoustic
and picked up electric instead.”GOING ELECTRIC
Released in 2018, The Other Side EP shows off these
influences along with her spindly, fractured style
and heartfelt, relatable songwriting. Collaborator
Francisco Ojeda, who simultaneously helms bassCOLLECTION
74