Biography
''I think we''ll be seeing more of them'' - Clair Sturgess, XFM
''Impressive dub rock'' - Kerrang
''Muscular, upfront and in-your-face'' - Making Music
''Full-on new millennium rock'' - Kings Head Live
Velika are a London-based four piece rock band playing full-on, energetic
rock songs with big choruses, breakbeats and reggae basslines. Their lead
singer, songwriter and guitarist, Damien Devaux, was born in Antigua in
1975 and moved to the UK when he was four years old. He started to play
music in his early teens and was in a number of rock bands before he was
eighteen, when he started to spent more time and become more involved
with music out in the Caribbean. From writing and recording with local
bands and artists to performing his own material, the West Indian influence
gradually started to surface in his own music. Snipets of skank guitar,
reggae basslines, dub effects and laid-back, offbeat drums began to be
mixed in with the harder, more aggressive rock sounds and it is this mixture
of styles that creates the foundation of his songwriting.
At the beginning of 2001, he teamed up with his brother, Christian, and two
school friends, Ben and Dan, and together they have been gigging around
London, Guilford and Kingston. Their style is aggressive guitar-based rock
with a Caribbean influence, and this upfront, in-your-face element to their
songs creates an energetic mood at their gigs.
For info, email: damien_devaux@hotmail.com
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