Velben - Creative Flowz

Creative Flowz : Bio

Detroit soul singer Velben knows every direction to the human heart. The music on his debut EP Formless operates like an elite GPS navigational system through the beautiful but uncertain terrain of love and life. One would expect no less from a man who – as a youngster – spent countless hours listening to Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson and Prince. The grooves of these legends prompted Velben to lift his own voice and sing in an effort to escape the harsh realities of his dysfunctional home. The harmonious melodies that emerged from the youngster carried him far outside of the restrictive boundaries of his home, and past the stereotypical limitations of his east-side Detroit neighborhood. An industry novice at the time, Velben’s arduous odyssey kept him well acquainted with the tribulations of a struggling artist. Sidelined by the hardships of this quest, he sought refuge in the spoken-word/poetry scene where he garnered a profound talent for songwriting. Still music never left his mind.

A chance encounter with the instrumental track “Walking Large” by The Roots prompted his musical cultivation process, sewing the seeds for Velben’s own unique style to emerge and peek through the gray clouds. The track had a playful but soulful vibe that he loved, and that vibe compelled him to dig out some previously written poetry and literally go with the flow. He eventually established a creative relationship with two of hip hops elite: Jneiro Jarel and Baatin of Slum Village, and the rest is history. Not able to locate producers to cultivate his sound Velben discovered Jaydee and The roots instrumentals and used them as a blueprint. Velben explains, “I fell in love with their sound and shaped my style from these instrumentals, but I write all of my own material because I think I'm really good at being me. My music is definitely who I am.”