The Veldt

A band that deserves far greater recognition.

---

Back when MTV was still showing music videos and Seattle was the epicenter of the music universe, there was buzz of “Who will be the next ‘Seattle’?”. Chapel Hill/Carborro and Raleigh, NC were churning out strong contenders for the title of “Next Big Music Town”.

NC based bands like Superchunk, Polvo, Flat Duo Jets, The Veldt and many others were putting NC on the map as the next hot spot over other locales such as Austin, TX and Athens, GA. Check out this news special from MTV circa 1991….

---

Formed in 1986 in Raleigh, NC by twin brothers Daniel and Danny Chavis, along with original members Marvin Levi on drums and Joseph Boyle on Bass, The Veldt took their name from a Ray Bradbury science fiction story where the word, veld, was used to describe an open grassy area of low scrub and grasses in Southern Africa.

Capitol Records signed the band to a deal in 1989 and a US tour ensued along with supporting slots for Cocteau Twins and The Jesus and Mary Chain. Their 1992 album, Marigolds, released on Island Records was recorded with Lincoln Fong, bass player of the band Moose, but soon after The Veldt switched labels to Mercury Records and released their album Afrodisiac in 1994. That album was produced by Ray Shulman (The Sundays, Bjork, Sugarcubes) containing the popular college radio songs “Revolutionary Sister” and “Daisy Chain”. Their single form that album, “Soul In A Jar”, was an underground hit.

At the time, my band, Fountain of Youth, was tapped to play several supporting dates for The Veldt on the east coast. I had the pleasure of watching The Veldt from multiple vantage points and I can testify the band had a sound unlike anything anybody was doing at the time.

The Veldt rotated through several members, having various bass players and drummers on several occasions, then going back to the original line up periodically. However, the anchor was always the twins, and no matter who was on the stage sharing the musical space with Daniel and Danny, the sound was always ethereal and all encompassing. The Veldt was in control and from the stage the audience got a single unit pushing boundaries and doing music on their terms and in their way.

In the late 90’s the hype over who would be the “next Seattle” had pretty much dissipated and the North Carolina music scene had changed dramatically. By then the brothers had relocated to NYC and dropped the band name The Veldt and started working under the name Appollo Heights. A 2008 self-released album, White Music for Black People, found the brothers expanding their sonic offerings, with by then, permeant collaborator Hayato Nakao.

With a name change back the The Veldt, the band released 2017’s The Shocking Fuzz of Your Electric Fur: The Drake Equation EP followed in 2017 by the 6 song EP Thanks to the Moth and Areanna Rose, a single in 2022, “Sweeter”, the 2022 album Entropy is the Mainline to God leading up to the singles, “The Everlasting Gobstopper”, “Aurora Borealis” and “Angel Heart” in 2023.

After a fantastic performance, Daniel and Danny discuss the band’s beginnings and early years in the video below.

While I enjoy the entire catalog of the band, if I had to pick just one album it would remain 1992’s Marigolds featuring the fantastic tracks “Tinsel Town” and “Willow Tree”.

The Veldt, like so many great bands, deserve a much wider audience, and after 40 years maybe that day is coming. The brothers seem more focused now, the music is as fantastic as ever, and the band has been playing more shows lately. Add in the reach of the internet and maybe The Veldt will finally get that large scale attention.