Veronica D’Souza is an Indian/East African/Danish independent producer and songwriter, with a feminist, multicultural and artistic approach to music and the world. “Just Because a Crush” explores the encounter between two people with a fragile mind, and with its catchy hooks, visual production and Veronica’s vocals, the debut single glides effortlessly over a pulsating rhythm of hypnotic beats and caring lyrics.

“Just Because a Crush” is the first single from Veronica D’Souza’s upcoming album, and it was produced by Veronica herself and mixed by Jorge Elbrecht, who is known for his work with, among others, Sky Ferreira, Caroline Polachek and Weyes Blood. Veronica contacted Jorge Elbrecht a year ago, and he immediately fell in love with her sound and has since mixed the rest of the album.

Veronica D’Souza lives in Copenhagen and she personifies fearless creativity and a genre-defining approach. In addition to her music, she is also recognized for her great work as an entrepreneur, activist, change agent and advocate for women’s rights, where her transformative influence resonates through her musical art. Veronica D’Souza’s music reflects her authentic voice of emotional depth, lush harmonies, and a courageous commitment and urge for change.

Veronica was the founder of fashion label CARCEL, which made headlines in Vogue, i-D mag, The Huffington Post and made the cover of The New York Times globally for its innovative approach to empowering women in prisons with paid employment and education through luxurious and sustainable clothes. She also founded Ruby Cup, a social enterprise dedicated to providing sustainable menstrual products to women and girls in East Africa.

Having to close down CARCEL due to Covid was a catalyst for Veronica to find her voice again in a new way and teach herself how to produce music. In line with her entrepreneurial spirit, she took the lead and spent the nights on YouTube to emerge as a self-taught and independent artist. Veronica’s music is an extension of her work promoting women’s rights and her fight for social change. There is a common thread in her messages and her way of looking at the world with an in-depth storytelling of many different layers and genres.

Built with glitchy electronics and a thick bed of yearning vocal harmonies, ‘Just Because A Crush’ is an atmospheric, genre-transcending, sincere antidote to post-covid anxiety. “If the stars don’t align, make them shine”, Veronica sings as the track sweeps over the listener with subtle, soulful life-affirming moods, reminding the listener that even if things don’t go to plan in life, that you can still make something beautiful out of it.

The visual part of Veronica D’Souza symbolizes the sensuality of connecting with nature and fire to breathe in instability and find power and strength. The press pictures are therefore photographed at Ordrup Næs – Veronica’s favorite place to breathe and connect with nature.

Veronica, your music is described as a blend of impatience, passion, dread, and hope. How do these emotions influence your songwriting and production process?

I’ve always been pretty impatient by nature, and have learned to do many things myself, to move in my independent rhythm. That’s partly why I taught myself how to produce, so I could put my ideas to life without waiting for someone else to have time. But when I am writing a song, it is as if time stands still and I can sit patiently for hours without moving just being in the process. Then, there is no patience or impatience. It’s just flow. Reaching that state of mind is probably part of what I love the most about writing songs. If I don’t feel passion, I have a hard time navigating – everything becomes meaningless and without taste. I need that gut drive and kick to be engaged in anything. In my creative process, it can come suddenly from anywhere. Maybe a theme grows out of a harmony change, or I connect with what the song is about, and then I work from there. I continue until I find that passion and feeling in a song. Otherwise, I don’t believe that it should exist. I am not scared of darkness, and I have learned to connect and accept fear as a part of life. It means something is important. I am born hopeful, and I have a very optimistic mindset. Hope is why I create I think, it has guided me in all that I have done both as an entrepreneur and as a musician. I have seen hope in people in the most desperate situations, and I believe our only option is to find it, protect it, and channel it.

Can you tell us more about your multicultural background and how it shapes your artistic approach to music?

My father grew up in Dar Es Salaam and learned to play the piano in the Catholic Church, surrounded by the sound of the prayers of the Mosques. With Indian parents and African and Arabic influences, he was sent with a spaceship to London in the 60s to study. There, he fell in love with Jazz fusion and world music, of course also influenced by the rock and pop scene of the swinging decade. As an immigrant in Denmark, he used music to bring people together throughout his life and founded a center for world music. I was born into all of that, and would fall asleep at night listening to him play the piano, and every weekend, I was brought to some concert, classical, rhythmical, or any genre. In that way, my childhood was a music school of all genres and a celebration of world cultures. I love all types of music (if it’s good), and don’t listen in genres, but more as a musical flow. Everything is inspired by something else, and to me, music is a communicative appreciative dance between many languages from many countries over time.

Your debut single “Just Because a Crush” has been praised for its emotional depth and lush harmonies. What inspired this song, and what message do you hope to convey through it?

There is a spike in mental health issues, especially among young people. I can’t help to wonder whether it’s the world that needs softening and slowing down so we can all breathe more easily. We also need to look at treating the failed systems of the world – the busyness, the hustle, the misalignment between what we know is good for us and the planet and the dirtiness of how the world operates, and then maybe, exactly that super sensitivity could help us all tune into a more caring and soothing world that makes better sense. And maybe, we could make the world just a bit more kind. I wrote this song as a warm hug for fragile minds and a new kind of fighter’s anthem, reminding us that in our gentleness lies true strength. 

“Just Because a Crush” was mixed by Jorge Elbrecht, known for his work with Sky Ferreira and Caroline Polachek. How did this collaboration come about, and what was it like working with him?

A friend introduced us, I sent him a song and he liked it. When I got the mix back from him I was blown away. I had never imagined that something I had made could sound so good and still be the same. It was as if he had respected all my artistic choices, understood them, and made them come through much clearer and in balance. We then agreed to collaborate on the full album. Working with Jorge is incredible. He is a generous person with real artistic integrity. His point of departure is the songwriting and making something unique and real. It’s been quite empowering for me, to have Jorge believing in me, without trying to change what I do. It’s rare in this industry, to have that sort of respectful guidance. He is both a great teacher and musician, and then his mix just sounds amazing.

As a self-taught producer, what were some of the challenges you faced while producing your album, and how did you overcome them?

YouTube is my best friend. Major love shout out to all the incredible geeks out there who take the time to upload and share all the best tips in all sorts of situations. I still can’t believe how lucky I am to live in a time where this type of education in all of this is free, and you can access masterclasses all night long on any topic. My biggest challenge is probably the good old imposter syndrome – you know, is it good enough, can I do this, etc. I still feel like a total beginner. But the joy of creation overcomes that. I read a study on representation that said that 96,6% of producers in the US are male. Representation matters, and I collect examples of incredible women who are doing it themselves and get inspired by them.

You founded the fashion label CARCEL and the social enterprise Ruby Cup. How do your experiences as an entrepreneur and activist influence your music?

When I create or build anything, it comes from the same set of values, it is just different modes of expression. I have always been world-caring and I guess a combination of my impatience and hopeful optimism has led me to be both entrepreneurial and build solutions together with incredible women that could improve lives as well as helped me develop my toolbox for how to express myself through music. I am a strong believer in independence and making your own choices. The reality is, that’s not an option for many women especially. In my work, I have sought to increase options of independence for women by addressing period poverty through Ruby Cup and increasing paid work and education for incarcerated women to have financial independence –  as well as practice it for myself as an artist. In my experience, true independence can never achieved alone, it is always through collaboration and community.

 CARCEL aimed to empower women in prisons with paid employment and education. How did this mission impact your view on social change, and how is it reflected in your music?

We collaborated with incarcerated women in Thailand and Peru who were there predominantly due to poverty-related crimes. I learned so much from all the incredible women on our team. The resilience, the power, the optimism, and caretaking, not to mention all the talent and preservation of excellent craft(wo)manship. I experienced, that social change is connected to independence, which is a hard thing to strive for within a prison system that has been put in place to take away human agency. But even there, just with very few means like an opportunity for education, encouragement, and a properly paid work opportunity, all the women I met, put their entire dedication into creating a unique and caring organization that uplifted and inspired. A proper opportunity is about dignity. And when you feel dignified, you grow from abundance. I am still in contact with many of the women we collaborated with. And they continue to inspire me. Many a lesson is, that to create social change for women, you don’t necessarily have to do much, except stop holding them down.

“Just Because a Crush” is the first single from your upcoming album. What can listeners expect from the rest of the album in terms of themes and musical style?

Genre-defying, independent, and playful.  

As an advocate for women’s rights, what are your plans for using your music to promote social change and empower women?

I continue to work for women’s rights in addition to making music and sitting on the board of an organization called ‘The Soulfuls’ working to enhance opportunities for women of color in the creative industries. I think representation is key, and am still learning how I can best contribute to creating a more equitable playing field. To me, social justice and climate are interconnected – and I hope to be able to humbly contribute to a redistribution of power so we can get more diverse voices to help us build a better society for all of us and our planet.

Social Media Handles:

Instagram @veronicadsouza

Website: www.veronicadsouza.co