Going Back To 2090 With Venessa Michaels

CREDIT: Heath Gresham

Venessa Michaels’ Y2K vibe is just what the doctor ordered if you ask me! I loved picking her brain about her start, upcoming debut album Sent From Saturn, Coachella performance, and much more. Check out our full interview below!

Could you start from the very beginning and tell your story and how you got into making music?

I've always loved music. I feel like some things you just kind of, well, are chosen for you, you know what I mean? I used to play classical guitar when I was younger. I’d just do like, you know, little fingerpicking, whatever. Loved loved music. Played piano when I was little. My mom was actually the first person that suggests like, DJ. She was like, you love music so much. She had a friend who had traveled and DJ’d and she was like, you could travel the world doing what you love. And I was like, Mom, I don't want to be a DJ. I obviously tried it. I fell in love and I stuck with it. I wouldn't have it any other way. I started producing when I was younger; I thought I was producing. I was on that old MacBook where it had GarageBand. I was just chopping stuff up. I was like, “this is so cool”. Eventually a friend gifted me logic and then I switched Ableton and now we're here. Progression.

I love that story, too, because we really do all have to start somewhere and for a lot of us, that was GarageBand. It carried us through! I think it's so cool that you've kind of created your own self-coined “2090” genre. What does that sound like?

I'm super super inspired by the production, songwriting, the time, you know, early 2000s, 90s. It was like Timbaland killing stuff. Missy was doing her thing. Not to mention even the other side of things like No Doubt, Sublime, The Offspring. I was just in love with all of it. I think it was just a really special era. But when I talk about 2090, first I was doing some remixes of throwbacks. I wanted to flip them into something that was more futuristic, so to speak, something new, something fresh. So I really think of 2090, it's really just a concept of taking something that really inspired you as part of your life and making it new and fresh, and like the future. I like to think of it as what's next.

On 10/14, you released your single Spirit On Mine with Luck. What inspired this track?

At the time, honestly, her and I were working a lot on her project, It Wasn't Luck, which is out now check it out. She's amazing, one of my best friends and an incredible artist. I was working on this album actually a couple years ago, and I just put it on pause. I was really focused on other things I was really in love with, like what we were creating, especially with Luck. This actually came about a couple of years ago, like two years ago, we started it and we wrote to it. I reproduced it like 500 times, too many times. Once the vocals were in there, it was so so beautiful. We sat on it for a while. It took me a minute to get that push inside myself to just go. Honestly, Luck was was a big reason and I was like, you're right, we need to drop it. So we made a video and I finished up a bunch of other records and I'm just like really ready to release my own stuff. I just been thinking about how to make it really special and unique which, you know, held me back mentally, but I was like, you gotta just do it.

What can you tell me about your upcoming debut album?

I can tell you it's called Sent From Saturn, so expect when you come see a show it will be an experience. I want it to be an uptempo, dance music experience where you're just going to feel like a part of something out of this world. That's what it is.

You performed at Coachella this year - what was that like?

Wow. I mean, that was amazing. Sahara is one of the best stages at Coachella, that's the dance stage. I mean, honored, honored to be there. Obviously, Coachella is massive festival. I played the first set of the day on Friday, which was the first time we all came back. Well, the first time Coachella came back after the pandemic, and honestly, I didn't really expect you know, people to really be there. I was like, yeah, I know, my homies are gonna pull up. That's all I need. But it was pretty poppin and I was like, this is amazing. I'm really loving, loving that experience. And then I went from that to playing the campgrounds at night, which was just insane. So, overall, Coachella. The hype is real is, it's incredible.

Do you have any other performances coming up that you're really looking forward to?

I'm throwing a party with some friends Carter Cruise and Pennywild tomorrow. It's a Halloween event in West Hollywood!

I saw you also created a song for a DreamWorks Netflix show. Can you tell me all about that?

Shout out to DreamWorks. That was also an amazing experience. At the time, I was making music in my room. I mean, I still have my little setup in my room. I work with a publishing company who has my catalog and will pitch it out. They sent me a brief and they were like, DreamWorks is looking for a theme song. Here's a little brief about the show because they won't show you obviously, they're just like, you know, make something like this. So I really thought about it. I got in my world, I got my guitar, bass, I got all the instruments and just kind of really sat there and was like, what would I want my animation to look like, a sound version of it. I just created a little piece. The way that they do it is, what I learned later, is they do it blindly. They'll play the music against the picture, but they won't say who created it so there's no bias, you know? They were like, this is the one. That's amazing. Yeah, so that's a Netflix theme song of a show called Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts. Awesome show.

You've already worked with some really cool artists so far in your life, Kiana Ledé and Kaleena Zanders, just to name a couple! Who else is on your dream list of people to work with?

Oh wow, dream list - that runs deep! I want to work with so many people. I feel like music is something that, you know, it's a vibe thing. It's an energy thing. There's so many beautiful people out there who are incredibly talented. But off the top, I mean, there's Rihanna. I want to work with Doja Cat. I want to work with these females that are writing and killing it in the studio. But you know, I can't help but go back to my day ones that I really believe in and are about to take over.

What are you doing when you're not making music?

That's so hard because I really really am obsessed to a fault. If I'm not making it, I'm listening to it. I'm thinking about like, I'm just listening to how other people work. I'm always just thinking about it. Even going to shows I'm like, wow, this is amazing. You get inspiration and you're just like, oh, man, I want to be working. When I need to relax and turn it off, I'll watch stuff like The Bachelor. I need to turn it off at some point. You know what I mean? I've been watching Undisclosed which is this show about aliens and UFOs and stuff. And then, you know, like Married at First Sight. I like that about TV that you can just really turn it off.

Here in Maine, our state motto is “the way life should be”. So, I want to know, according to you, what is the way life should be?

I feel like the way life should be is with people you love, music you love, an area you love. If it's food you love, you know, just a happy, beautiful, supportive community with good vibes, man. Maybe on an island.

Much love to Venessa for taking the time to chat with me! Check out her latest single and music video, Spirit On Mine, here!