Q&A: Vicky Farewell Blossoms Into a Free-Spirited Individual in Debut Album ‘Sweet Company’
STEPPING INTO THE SPOTLIGHT CAN BE DAUNTING — but it is a move that Vicky Farewell does with glittering grace in her self-produced debut album, Sweet Company, released April 8. A seasoned music industry veteran hailing from Orange County, Farewell’s sparkling pop-R&B concoctions are sweet with just a hint of melancholic flavor — a juxtaposition that is attributed to starting the album process while in quarantine and taking the leap to create something that is solely her own.
Before embarking on her solo journey, Farewell toured as a keyboardist and vocalist for Kali Uchis, Willow Smith, and Mild High Club. She also has writing credits on two Anderson .Paak albums, namely Malibu and Ventura. Her immense talent and retro-tinged flair caught the attention of Mac DeMarco, who immediately signed her to his label after hearing Sweet Company in full.
The album itself is a true testament to her creativity as an individual, and it is easy to see why Farewell is held in high regard by her peers. Fusing her straitlaced pianist training with jazzier improvisational knowledge, Sweet Company flourishes with magical instrumentation built for a daydream atmosphere. The steady, groovy tune of “Kakashi” conjures up images of an indie rom-com, while the ’70s-style crooner “Are We Ok?” playfully describes mixed signals from a lover. Both singles have been featured in Spotify’s “Fresh Finds Indie” and “Fresh Finds R&B” playlists, and fans of artists like Jessie Ware and Raveena will find themselves enjoying Farewell’s whimsical, psychedelic world.
Read below to learn about Farewell’s artistic upbringing and how her extensive life experiences have pushed her into a self-assured environment that combats what is expected of her.
LUNA: You’ve gotten a chance to play some live shows recently, do you have more planned for the future?
FAREWELL: I'm opening for Mac [DeMarco] on his tour in August, and then I think I'm doing another show and a headliner show in June. Other than that, I don't have anything booked yet. But I would love to do a tour — maybe in the fall. So I have to figure that out.
LUNA: About your classically-trained background, what brought you into that musical sphere?
FAREWELL: I started classical lessons when I was about seven or eight years old. That was something that I had asked my parents for. My parents didn't really force me — that's kind of like a big stereotype with Asian American families. But I begged them for lessons. I was just like, “I really want to do this, please.” Eventually, they finally let me, and I just stuck with it until high school.
LUNA: Did you initially start playing instruments or composing?
FAREWELL: I played piano, and I still feel like that's the only instrument I really know. I don't really play anything else. At the time, I was just studying classical. So I was just practicing a lot of classical literature. Then, occasionally if I heard a song I really liked on TV or a movie or something I would always try to figure it out at the piano.
Harmony and chord progressions were always very interesting to me, which was what led me to jazz, because jazz is about music theory. It's not all [theory], but it can be about theory, learning how to like play changes, and improvising over all of that. That was another thing: I was always drawn to like the idea of freedom of expression, music — musical freedom of expression. The longer I stayed in music, the more I wanted to expand my vocabulary, expand my repertoire.
LUNA: What was your journey going from jazz to where you are now?
FAREWELL: At the end of my senior year in high school, when I really got into jazz music — this was like the Y2K era, the Internet was happening, but it wasn't nearly like what we have today. There's no algorithm, there's no playlists. The radio was still the main consumption of music, I feel. So if you were interested in something that wasn't being played on the radio, you'd have to do a lot of work, like actual physical work, to find these records. So I would go to different libraries and just check out records, like jazz records, as much as I could.
I didn't have a jazz teacher yet. I didn't have the “proper way” to do it, which is complete bullshit. But it doesn't matter. So I got into it pretty organically. It was just like, “This sounds interesting, I wonder what it is.” Then, in my curiosity, it just led me closer to it. Eventually, I was able to meet people who were actual jazz musicians who led me in the right direction of getting a teacher. Learning how to play, how to practice — it's just a completely different kind of musical expression that I had to learn from scratch, basically. Back in those days it was taught like … classical music is taught by sheet music, right? You have a piano teacher, sheet music, you learn how to read, blah, blah blah. So it almost feels like there's like an instruction manual to learn how to play classical music.
But with jazz, there isn't. It's almost like [it’s] just passed down to you. From my first experience taking lessons from a jazz teacher, he just passed it down to me orally. It was very interesting — I was used to having a structure. Like, “Here's this book, and after you're done with that book, here's the next book,” you know? It’s just books and books and books. And then [with] jazz [it] was like, “Here's recordings, listen to them, and go see a show — don't just sit on your ass and practice piano. Experience it.” When I started learning all those things, I was like, “Oh, this is great. This is where I need to be.”
LUNA: You have credits on two Anderson .Paak albums, and you have also toured with Kali Uchis and Willow Smith. What is it like working in these types of collaborative environments?
FAREWELL: It's centered around the artists, and that's just the way it is — it's their music, and you're just there to help them and they choose us. They choose you to be there because there's something about you they like musically and that you add to their artistry. Obviously with Anderson that's more of a creative thing. I've co-written and co-produced for him. But with Kali and Willow and other people I've toured with I was just up in the band like any normal gig.
But in particular with those two artists, they were the most welcoming of me. I've been in the music industry for a long time. And 10 years ago, it wasn't as open as it is now as far as diversity. I've definitely gotten fired or didn't make the cut because of my look, you know. And I know what that means. Especially if you're a person of color, you know what that means. But at the time we didn't know what we know now. I lacked the vocabulary that I have now. So I felt like, “Oh, I'm not meant to be on stage. I'm not meant to be seen. I'm just meant to be in this supporting role or the background role of this industry.”
LUNA: In knowing what you experienced and how you felt, did you plan on going solo early on, or was that more of a recent decision?
FAREWELL: I think the feeling of being an artist was always with me. I know that's a huge reason why I still work with Anderson from time to time and why I've worked with these artists — because they hear something in my musicianship. They hear something in me that's interesting, unique, different — whatever it is. I knew that I had it in me to create something, I just lacked the resources, or I just wasn't motivated enough to just sit down and do it, you know? And also I just didn't think that I was good enough — going back to feeling like, “Oh, I'm never going to be in the forefront. So why should I even do it?” So, yeah, the manifestation came much, much later — like two years ago.
LUNA: On your thoughts about facing adversity in the industry as a woman of color, are there ways that traversing the industry has gotten easier and others that have stayed difficult?
FAREWELL: I can't help it, but I remember people — I remember the people who helped me along the way, and then I remember the people who could have helped me but chose not to. I especially remember the people who did the opposite, where they tried to not help. You just remember these types of people. And then you become better at recognizing them, even before something bad could happen to you and your career or whatever.
That's just how things are, as fucked up as that may sound. So I think, now that I am where I am as an artist, I feel like the network that I do have already is great. I'm very fortunate to have someone like Mac [DeMarco] helping me out; and his team. And then also my producer, friends, and artists — friends that I've been having friendships with for the past 10 years now. I'm just very lucky to have built those relationships, and if there are other things or hurdles I have to go through just because I'm a woman or whatever, it kind of doesn't matter to me anymore. Because I don't really need them. Yeah, it does suck. It does. But I have people on my side. It makes me feel more confident to navigate the industry.
LUNA: Is your lyrical content based on real experiences or more on emotions and feelings?
FAREWELL: They're very much real, real experiences. And they're very real emotions — even the songs that are kind of scattered, and I was sad when I wrote them. But I feel like their production side of it was still very playful, even though these lyrics were very sad. It was still a very playful way of producing music. I think to tell myself that, “Yeah, this was a sad moment, but I'm not sad about it anymore.” We've moved on already. It felt good to ride it out. But I think it's just to remind myself — and remind my audience — that this is all temporary. It’s not gonna last forever.
LUNA: What kind of advice do you have for people that are looking to branch out on their own after they've worked in collaborative environments for so long?
FAREWELL: You really don't know what's going to happen until you do it. So just write your own stuff, just do it for yourself more than anything — especially if you have that voice in the back of your head telling you, “Hey, you want to do this.” Which was what I had for like, a decade, just telling myself, “You want to do this” and I was like, “No, I don't.” I just suppressed it. So if you have that voice in the back of your head saying, “You got to do this,” then do it. Don't wait for another pandemic to happen to do it, like I did.
But it's also never too late, because I feel like I'm older but it doesn't necessarily mean it's over. Your career isn’t over. I've read a lot about other creatives whose career started later in their life, and it's very uplifting to hear their stories. So I've definitely tried to find like-minded people and get their advice on it too.
That helps because it helps you feel like you're not alone. You know what I mean? Because it gets very lonely after a while of just writing for people all the time. And in a weird way, it makes you feel isolated, because you start to feel like your music isn’t yours. So it kind of feels a little weird because you're giving yourself to other people a lot, which is fine. There's nothing wrong about it. But eventually … you want to do something for yourself too.
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