We were lucky to catch up with Veesugee recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Veesugee thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

Every song that I write is meaningful in some way. The most recent album I released, Anti the Learned Machine, speaks to the heart of believing in one’s self and pushing through the darkness and negativity we are penetrated with each day. I dove deep into understanding the power we have as individuals to make a positive impact in society creatively. We have the answers and ability to make a better today. One that is stripped of ego and approached with love and compassion.

I wrote the album, Anti the Learned Machine, from 2011 – 2015, while living in Portland, Oregon. I spent many days/nights opening the songwriting portal with in me. Allowing the color of sound to come through my voice and the words of tomorrow to drip from my pen. I’m a messenger meant to bring hope and inspiration to help humanity evolve to more peaceful existence.

I remember writing the title track for the album. Song #3 on the album, ATLM, I was living in a dark, cold garage turned tiny apartment in SE Portland. I’d light candles, sip on red wine, and strum my beautiful, black Ibanez hollow body with accompanying reverb and distortion through a beat up Peavey 120 amp. It was magic. The lyrics are simple and goosebump worthy…

We have created the virus
And we control the cure

We are anti the learned machine
We are anti the learned machine

We have been lying dormant
With influenced dreams
We are wading in a darkened
Slumber of star like space

We are anti the learned machine
We are anti the learned machine

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

It’s important that we embrace our natural born abilities. Mine is singing. My voice. The first song I wrote filled me with a joy and sense of excitement I had never experienced before. I was twelve years old. That was twenty-eight long years ago that I wrote my first song. Every experience I have when writing leaves me feeling this same wonder, excitement, and empowerment of self. It’s incredible. If there was any advice I could give the true artists of today, it would be to keep your chin up and keep exploring your natural abilities. Tap into your inner world and interests. Discover what makes your heart sing. And inspire others around you to do the same. Expect to be rejected for doing something people don’t understand. Take advice when you deem it to be important to your personal growth. And shake off everything else.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

I am rooted in endless possibilities of new creation. Every note I play and sing, every lyric I write is new and inspiring. I take a literal blank canvas and color it so to speak with sound. I create music and connect deeply to a universal language shared by all.

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

I’ve pondered this many times and I keep going back to my idea of a much needed reform for how artists make a living. I don’t have it all figured out, but artists need a living wage. Most of us are working multiple jobs to make ends meat and continue creating in the small amount of time we can dedicate to our craft. We bring so much depth to every human experience and most of us are living in poverty. We’ve been stripped of basic necessities for living in devotion to our creations. It’s simply un-except able. Imagine how much more artists would enhance the human experience if we were well cared for by society.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: Instagram.com/Veesugee
• Facebook: Facebook.com/Veesugee
• Other: You can stream and download my album on Apple Music, Spotify, Bandcamp, etc.

Image Credits
Sacred Soul Images Natia Cinco