Spanish trio VEMA blends the introspective essence of post-rock with the weight of post-metal, crafting immersive soundscapes that reflect both beauty and chaos. In this in-depth interview, they discuss their evolution since 2019, the concept behind their latest EP Feathers, and how they’re shaping the local scene through collaboration, experimentation, and emotional authenticity.
Give us a quick reintroduction—who you are, where you’re from, and what you’ve built together.
We are VEMA – an instrumental band from Málaga that fuses the introspective sounds of post-rock with the intensity of post-metal. We started in the summer of 2019 by Miguel Ángel and Quini, with an intention of expanding the boundaries of atmospheric music, crafting sonic landscapes that invite introspection and evoke deep emotion.
Our debut EP, Ocean Gyre (2021), garnered some public and critical attention, offering an immersive experience through compositions that transport listeners into dark yet beautiful scenes.
Then COVID took us for a halt, like it did for many, so we saw our first shows stopped. Throughout 2022, we established ourselves on Málaga’s local music scene, winning third place in the MálagaCrea Rock contest and performing at various live shows. In 2023, the band re-emerged in 2024 with Alexey as a new member, embodying our artistic growth and evolution.
This process of renewal culminates in our latest EP, Feathers (2024), recorded at Moby Dick Studios under the production of Gonzalo Presa. Featuring three tracks, we tried to explore Nassim Taleb’s “Black Swan” theory, a concept that delves into unexpected, high-impact events, translated into songs with profound emotional intensity where calm and chaos coexist.
We are still finding new horizons and playing good shows live, as well.
Looking back, how did your sound originate, and how far has it come since then?
We started as a more mixed classic post sound, from post-rock to post-metal, as Quini and Miguel did not know each other before and wanted to get to common places. We now go deeper into the darker, heavier sound of post-metal, at the same time trying to keep the melodic part at core, to bring to life certain emotions and thoughts we felt when composing the songs.
Is there a particular album or track that shifted your place in the scene?
I think “Baikal” is one of our most popular songs, which always brings some attention on the live shows and is cited as one of the best songs from our first release. We also LOVE the last EP, as a trio, and like “Echoes” it’s the most mature and complex one, that really shows the growth of the band.
What’s changed most in how you write music now compared to when you first started?
Quini looked for people, and by that time, he already had various ideas and songs.
With the new material, it’s similar; he always brings ideas, and we’re trying to bring a bit more variety in our approach to the songwriting—exploring different scales, tempos, and time signatures, and also thinking of the whole concept of the release—making it a whole piece of art, with one interesting idea behind it that we try to express with our music.
How do you handle creative burnout or ruts as a long-running group?
We’ve had quite a few problems keeping everyone motivated and engaged, but I think remembering that we do it for our own pleasure in the first place, without pressure of strict deadlines or big expectations on us, and also trying to split non-musical responsibilities between band members, as you cannot be just a musician in the modern world—you have to know video production, social media, etc. It’s exhausting.
What’s one feeling or experience you always try to capture through your songs?
It depends for sure, but Quini seems to polish every single detail, and then, we develop on the main ideas. Sometimes he seems to pursue some goal, others he just got this idea and develops it as it is… We have different ideas behind songs and try to express different feelings and emotions, probably more complex and dark ones.
Do visuals and stage presence play a big role in your live shows today?
We started experimenting with some visual effects and fitting videos while playing live, and we definitely would like to explore more—combining lights and video with our music to create more immersive experience. From my point of view, visuals are almost equally important as music itself when playing live.
What performance moment—on stage or behind the scenes—stands out as unforgettable?
For Alexey, personally, probably our last show in Sala Rocka Rock where we have played “Echoes” live for the first time with our friend Nacho from the band Yerma; it was a very inspiring moment to play this song live for the first time.
Miguel chooses the same moment; it was vibrant, and always the road, of course.
Has the post-rock scene changed in a way that has impacted how you operate or connect?
I think we see some enthusiastic people like you who help to spread the word about this kind of music, which definitely helps more people to discover new, smaller bands like us when they want to explore something new in the genre. Some thematic Spotify playlists also help a lot to bring attention to this kind of music.
Has Postrocknation.com been helpful in keeping your longtime fans engaged or attracting new ones?
We have not done much analytics, but we appreciate very much having such a place where we can put some info about our band, with the nice design, quick links to our releases and social media, and all of this is targeted exactly at people who are looking for this kind of music. So it definitely helps a lot—we appreciate all of your efforts to help this DIY style of music.
Do you find yourselves mentoring younger bands or collaborating with newer voices in the scene?
We’ve had some shows with local bands from Málaga who play in a similar style—like Yerma or WETHELAST—but I cannot say we mentor them; it’s an equal collaboration to help and organize local shows, bring people to them, and keep the wheels spinning.
Can you tease any future projects, shifts in style, or surprises coming up?
Cannot say anything in particular as of now—we have some concepts for a new release that we are working on, and polishing the idea, and we keep writing new songs, but it’s still a very long road ahead of us before we will be ready to share anything more specific—we prefer to have something ready to show before we speak too much about it.
If you like VEMA, you can discover more about them and stream their music directly on Postrocknation.com.
Leave a Reply