Influence Of A Doyenne: Vandetta And Her Unwavering Love For The Scene

Vanessa Fernandez performing at the Alex Blake Charlie Sessions as Vandetta (Credit: Dawn Chua)

You have true blue troopers in the scene, giving their all in revolutionising and fortifying its longevity. And then you have champs like Vanessa Fernandez. “Household name” might be a term loosely tossed about like a ragdoll, but Vanessa has a reputation much worthy of that accolade, one built for over two decades.

Today’s scene surfers know her as a doyenne who wears numerous hats in the singer-songwriter circuit – her dominant Vandetta alias that ambitiously explores neo-soul and electronica, her guitar-centric Soulful Ghosts collaboration with Nic Robertson, her unorthodox Octover project with Jason Tan, and just simply being herself, Vanessa Fernandez, where she juggles everything from audiophile albums to National Day campaigns. With pitch-perfect precision and a velvety timbre that would warm any icy heart, Vanessa’s vocals are rooted in soul, yet fit snugly in the myriad genres she dabbles in.

Vanessa also used to bolster the scene as Programme Director of the now-defunct Lush 99.5FM, a radio station that provided a home not just for indie music on the airwaves, but local musicians who yearned to have their material heard by the masses. In an industry often overpowered by pop sentiments and money-making content, Lush was a breath of fresh air that butted heads with the mainstream, and Vanessa was integral in sustaining its credibility.

Dig through the archives even deeper, and you’ll find that Vanessa was a formidable force even back in the noughties. As part of islandwide sensation and hip-hop outfit, Urban Xchange, who many might remember from a prolific Coca-Cola TV commercial, Vanessa helped shape the rap scene in Singapore that was still in its fledgling stage at the time, undisputedly paving the way for future emcees and producers.

It's no wonder that Vanessa continues to command much respect in the industry, often revered as a mentor and anchoring figure in the ever-ascending growth of the scene. It is this stacked resume that also earned her a slot at the recent Alex Blake Charlie Sessions, that made history by being the first female-fronted music festival in a decommissioned power station (check out my review feature).

I managed to have a brief chat with the accomplished yet humble artiste after her performance, regarding her tireless passion for the scene she helped forge, and how she gets into the headspace of her several endeavours.

Hey Vanessa. First up, how do you mentally switch between your various projects?

I think for Vandetta, when it kinda came about, it didn’t feel like something that was who I am as Vanessa, but more like a persona. When I was growing up and younger, before writing music, I was a very awkward, shy kid. So I feel like the switch or persona is a part of me, but not the part that often gets to come out. But when you give it a name and its own identity, it’s almost like you give yourself freedom to be that part of yourself.

When it’s Vandetta, it’s turning it on. And when you’re Vanessa… me… haha… it’s really more like this. It’s much more intimate, toned down and less showy. But that might change. I’m probably not as shy a person as I was anymore. You do enough interviews and radio, you become that person.

How did the transition into radio come about for you?

I was in music from very young and was in this group called Urban Xchange. Then we kinda broke up, and radio was looking for people. So I thought I’d just do radio for a bit. I went into radio because I felt like I wanted to help my scene in a different way. I’m very passionate about Singapore music so it was just another way to support local musicians. But music and singing will always be my first love, and I will always be doing something music-related.

How do you feel the scene is like following the departure of Lush 99.5? Is something missing?

It’s pretty hard to know for sure. I still get people coming up to me telling me they miss it. Also because it has a space in the airwaves that's just empty [she refers to the frequency 99.5]; it’s not as if somebody came in to take over that role of playing electronic or indie. I feel that there’s an emptiness on a mainstream level. But if you look at it holistically, there are so many artistes just doing exciting things. On one hand, it is sad and I do feel that there’s something missing, but on the other hand, there are so many people in the scene doing amazing things. It’s overall net positive!

You’ve also been vocal with your support of the music climate in Southeast Asia. What can be done to elevate the perception of music coming out of the region?

It’s really nice that people are thinking about what’s coming out of Southeast Asia. But I hope that the discussion of Asians making music goes a lot deeper. There’s so much happening in the underground. I hope that more people in the West will get to see that someday, that there’s more to Asians making music than ‘ASEAN pop’ or Crazy Rich Asians.

You were great on stage earlier. How did it feel playing in this gargantuan power station?

This space is very interesting. Acoustically it has really high ceilings, and sonically I felt like I was gonna be overwhelmed. But it sounds really good and feels really good on stage. I think the vibe is also very good, which is the most important thing.

This isn’t your first rodeo with the 24OWLS and 19sixtyfive team, having worked with them previously for Singapore’s Laneway Festival. How’s it like working with them again?

I love the 19sixtyfive team. I’ve known them for such a long time as well. I have a lot of history with them from when I was 18 and was approached by Marcia [Tan, chieftain of 19sixtyfive] about working together and Desmond Goh who’s from Electrico. And also, working with them for Laneway. I’ve always appreciated the level of professionalism as someone who also works behind the scenes, not just as a musician but also a producer. I like their level of professionalism and I feel like it’s something that, sadly, not all organisers have. I really appreciate the level of detail and look and feel of everything. The experience is always something special when this team is behind it. I’m just really happy to be doing it.

One of the songs that you performed earlier was a rearranged version of empowering anthem, “Not Your B”. What’s the origin behind this song?

It’s actually an old song. I wrote it in 2008, and when I was doing another gig a year ago, Benjamin Kheng [from The Sam Willows] came up and said “I really love that song. I hope you put it out one day”. I was working on releasing new stuff so I went, “Huh! Maybe I will!”. So I went into the studio with Evan [Evanturetime] and we put it out. It’s an old song, but I just feel like some of these things don’t change. In fact, I feel like it’s even more important to be able to sing that message to somebody who might be going through what I went through.

With the years you’ve been in the scene, have you ever encountered such unequal treatment?

It’s very sad to feel that stuff like that still exists today, but I also wonder if that’s ever gonna change… somehow, I don’t think so? You need to have everybody in the world suddenly become conscious at the same time, that we are all equal and there’s no need to treat other people differently. We should all be respecting each other and loving each other. So I think it’s really just your mindset.

Definitely when I was younger, I had a few complexes. I think when you put out an energy that comes from a positive place, something strange happens. People will treat you like that’s what you are. So I realised that, if I push myself down or buy into the idea that I am lesser than them, people will treat me that way; it’s like fulfilling my own prophecy. But if I just live with grace and embody my full power as a woman, then I feel like people will also recognise that.

Is that what the Vandetta persona is about? Embodying your full power?

It’s actually from one of my old bandmates when I was in this group in 2008. He gave me that name because I’m very opinionated. If I didn’t agree with something back then, I was a lot more vocal about it. It was actually a bit of a micro aggression, until it morphed into the nickname “Vandetta”. And instead of being mad at it, I just decided to own it.

With all the recent singles you’ve released as Vandetta, can we expect a full-length album in the pipeline?

I would really like to do a full-length album, but there are so many things that go through my head about what needs to happen. I might do – at least as Vandetta – new music that I wanna put out. It will take a bit of time because I have a very big vision about what I wanna do with it. I won’t talk too much about it because it’s not fully fleshed out but yes, I will work on an actual album for Vandetta. I’d really like to write more stuff with Chok Kerong. I also write music with my partner Nic Robertson as Soulful Ghosts. And I also wanna do more music with Jason Tan.

Wow. It sounds like you might need to tap into a third personality.

I already kinda split myself; I’ll probably just stick to either Vanessa or Vandetta. But I do feel, at the core, it’s always soul. I don’t think that will ever change.

For more information on all of Vanessa Fernandez’s projects and pursuits, visit her official website.