Vilda Ray's Single "Boyfriend Girlfriend" And Her Colorful Take On A Real Life Relationship
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Vilda Ray is a vocal artist and producer based in Los Angeles, California, originally from the island of Guam, whose fresh and bubbly vocal style is paired with a unique combination of R&B, Soul, and Funk. She started out in music as a producer making beats on a laptop. She went to school for engineering in 2012 and then tried her hand at songwriting.
"I became more comfortable being upfront as an artist. I feel like it's just a natural progression, but I'm more of a songwriter than anything. I am more of a behind the scenes chick. I don't like being at the forefront, but it's one of those things that you can pull out of your pocket every now and then and do, and it's another way to express myself."
Vilda Ray split her time growing up between the small U.S. island territory of Guam and the grunge capital, Seattle, Washington. She spent her middle school and adolescence years in Seattle listening to the likes of Jagged Edge and Sean Paul. When she went back to where her family was living in Guam, the music shifted to listening to Island and Reggae and expanded her exposure to different beats and sounds.
"I'm originally from Guam. It's a small island in the Pacific and super tiny. You won't find it on the map unless you're absolutely looking for it. I'm from there, but I moved back and forth between the states and Guam a lot, so that allowed me to have the best of both worlds. Guam is completely different from what it's like here in the states, but it's the greatest place to grow up, I think. Guam has the greatest, most kind people ever known to exist. I was fortunate I got to see two opposite ends of the world."
Vilda Ray released the first single from her forthcoming E.P., "Liquid Sun," called "Boyfriend Girlfriend,"
on January 15th of this year. The song paints a vibrant picture using a mix of flirtatious lyrics, bouncy synths, muted funk guitars, and a generous side of horns. Vilda followed the single by sharing a colorful music video reminiscent of playful 90s nostalgia on Friday, January 22nd. The narrative delivers a playful take on sexuality and relationships.
"I've seen many people hide their desires for the sake of someone else's feelings and end up torturing themselves in the process. I need to remind you that your love and needs, whether they be for women, transmen, non-binary individuals, or someone else special, must come first."
The song, "Boyfriend Girlfriend," although playful and upbeat, was actually inspired by a drama-fueled story shared by someone who was involved in a triangular relationship.
"The song was about this girl leaving her boyfriend. Just a natural progression of things, and it just ended. An audience member came up to me after a show, and she was like, oh, I'm with this girl right now who was cheating on her boyfriend with me, and I was like, oh my god. I was like, damn girl, okay, but tell me more. I just thought it was so funny that she identified with one of my songs and that it made her want to come up and just spill her tea."
"I would add that the song is not meant to condone cheating or anything like that. If you want something else, it's okay, to be honest with yourself. If you want a different type of love than the one that you've been in for however long, then it doesn't really matter if you want to shift away from that and try something new or do something that you've always wanted to do. This girl from the audience was just being honest and connecting with a song."
"Boyfriend Girlfriend" was made for the dance floor and was created in good fun. The rest of Vilda's music aims to either make your body swerve or leave you teary-eyed. Her sound retains its own new wave originality while still paying respect to influences such as Prince, N.E.R.D., and Chaka Khan. However, what made Vilda's music a reality didn't just evolve from experiences and messages about life and relationships. The musician shared some advice for young musicians hoping to also pursue a career in music.
"I work with a lot of artists and a lot of people that want to do it, but they never do it, or they don't take the steps towards doing it. If you want to pursue music as your career in whatever aspect of music, writing, or being a studio musician, you just have to keep showing up. Show up with ideas, show up with a good attitude, and show up with purpose. The first attempt at something may not turn out your way, but you just have to keep showing up because how are you supposed to get better if you don't keep doing it? Keep showing up and keep having a good attitude about things. Sometimes my attitude gets salty too. I'm tired, or I'm like, why is this not working or why are these songs not hitting the way they need to hit, but it doesn't really matter because I just close the hard drive up and then go back again the next day and try it again."
You can follow Vilda Ray on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter @vildaray and check out her music on Apple Music, YouTube Music, Soundcloud, and Spotify.