discovering creatives
☆
discovering creatives ☆
WITH
veduna
Interview by Priya Chana
©Milo Parker
[Priya] Tell us about the formation of Veduna, who are the members and how did you come up with the name?
[Maddie] Veduna really started when I met Harry, it was obviously an unofficial band at the time but from the moment we met we started writing songs together. The whole Veduna journey has been sort of a documentation of our relationship in that sense. We decided to piece together the band around September 2025 and then had our debut gig in October. The band consists of myself as lead vocalist, Harry Laycock as our lead guitarist and backing vocals, Beau Presley as our bassist and double bassist, Jack Boylan as our rhythm guitarist and Kev Scott as our harmonica.
Lilith’s Diaries talked to Maddie and Harry, from the up-and-coming folk music band Veduna, as they discussed their creative process, making music and performing in the UK music scene
The name Veduna actually came about because I was on a yoga retreat in Slovenia and Veduna was the name of the place. We needed a name as quick as possible as we had already gotten our first gig booked, so we went with Veduna! The word, Vedana, is also one of the five Buddhist Shandhas, meaning all of the emotions and physical sensations observed through the senses. I feel that, that really resonates with our music, each song is an expression of our own personal emotional realities.
[Priya] What genre of music do you make and how would describe your style?
[Harry] Our music can range from traditional folk, such as Roy Harper, to a more modern sound, such as Big Thief. Our song writing process can really alter where on the folk spectrum our music lies though, Maddie probably brings more of a modern folk sound in comparison to me. So when we completely collaborate with a song, we like to think we create our own new folky sound entirely. Our performances are intimate, the nature of the music creates this environment however our stage presence definitely adds inclusivity with the audience. We’re definitely not too serious on stage, and treat our audience as our friends.
©Milo Parker
[Priya] What is your favourite song of yours and why?
[Maddie] I’m a huge fan of our newest tune ‘Bones too’. It’s about reflecting on a time where you give all you can to someone and not receiving the same energy back, essentially losing parts of yourself in the process. Despite the melancholy metaphors of the song, for me it’s more about the progress I’ve made in life. Singing this with Veduna on stage and how much I enjoy it just shows me how far I have come.
[Harry] Mine is ‘Don’t Feed The Birds’. It was the first song I ever wrote, start to finish with the lyrics and everything. It wasn’t until I met Maddie that I started singing, so this song was a huge milestone to me, especially to perform on stage. It’s about letting life take its course and perhaps the law of attraction. For me it was, not specifically looking for the right person but having the patience in knowing they will come to you one day.
©Veduna
[Priya] What is your song writing process like, how do get inspired or come up with ideas?
[Harry] I generally sit down with no initial idea of what I’m going to write, and have a play until I hear something I like, then the song just unravels from there. It helps to be sitting somewhere nice, I’ve got a spot on a lake back home that I like to go to for inspiration.
[Maddie] I like to tell stories in my songs but not so that they’re too obvious. We love natural metaphors with a mix of literal and raw words to make up a song. When I’m singing, I focus a lot on the sound I’m making and try to make my vocals blend to the music softly.
“We want our gigs to be an experience and an opportunity to let your hair down and enjoy some heartfelt music.”
[Priya] What do you like specifically about being a part of the local music scene in Nottingham?
[Maddie] It’s lovely playing in Nottingham and seeing familiar faces that come back to our gigs. Another thing that I noticed straight away moving here is that the venue owners and sound engineers really listen to our needs and make our music come to life for a performance.
[Harry] Definitely the community. There are loads of fantastic venues within a 15 minute walk and everyone seems to know each other. There are tonnes of city festivals where the whole city comes together about the music.
[Priya] Do you have any upcoming music releases, can you tease anything about them?
[Harry] We Recently recorded a live session with our friend Joss, who is an amazing sound engineer. We transformed his bathroom and captured such an authentic sound. This will be out very soon, featuring three songs, including our favourites that we mentioned!
[Maddie] On the 8th and 9th of June we will be officially recording some songs at The Grove, where we have played a lot of gigs in Nottingham. After working so hard on them for a year, we feel it’s finally time to be released to the public ear. So keep an eye on our socials for their release date!
[Priya] Do you have any upcoming gigs for people to look forward to?
[Harry] We play our favourite Notts venue, The Grove, for its 2nd birthday, on the 29th of August and are looking forward to our first gig outside of Nottingham at DeepDale music festival. The festival is very folk heavy and is by the Norfolk coast which couldn’t be a more beautiful setting for our type of music.
[Priya] Is there anything that you have learnt so far, that you would advise to anyone that wants to start a band?
[Harry] Go to gigs and meet people. I think the best way to get a gig is to know someone putting one on, or a band who need a support. Emailing promoters and venues is also a good way to get a foot in the door.
[Maddie] For us, it was putting in the energy and effort so much that what went around eventually came back to us. Of course we’re still a new and upcoming band but we couldn’t be happier with the way things are going. Most importantly you have to enjoy it! There’s no point starting a band for the wrong reason.
©Milo Parker
