Q/A With Nebula The Velvet Queen
Born in a galaxy far away, Nebula TheVelvet Queen talks about her journey, the Spaceman, and what it means to be an artist.
Nebula, the Velvet Queen, is a Brooklyn-based cosmic love poet, theremin player, improviser, visual artist & community organizer.
Her art is dedicated to documenting the current social and spiritual revolution.
Q: Where is the Andromeda Galaxy? What brings you here to Earth?
A: The Andromeda Galaxy is 2.5 million light years from Earth. I met a clairvoyant who told me she had a message for me from the Galaxy. She told me I am an artificial intelligence program sent here to show humans the path to the stars, if they would only stop killing each other.
Q: How has creating this album meant for you personally?
A: So this is the first album that I really recorded properly with Ayumi and it's amazing. We've done a lot of performances and live shows and things, but to have something actually on tape that's been really beautifully orchestrated by her, it means a lot to me.
Q: Can you describe the instrument you played to people?
A: Yes, so it's called the Theremin and basically it works by electromagnetic waves and you don't touch it. You have to bring your hands close to the antenna and that changes the pitch on the one hand. On the other hand is the volume and then you just kind of play.
Q: Influential artist who has inspired you the most?
A: I hate to say it, but I'm going to say it is Jack Kerouac, because he was the reason I wanted to come and live in New York in the first place. You know, I read all the books about artists in New York, so that's really why I'm here. But musically I like kind of the free jazz musicians, so Common Hawkins is one of my favorites. Also, people who kind of pioneered free jazz in the 70s and 60s and those kind of people.
Q: Why do you hate to say Jack Kerouac?
A; Because Jack Kerouac and the beatniks co-opted black music and jazz poetry and Buddhism, and became famous off of it. This has happened all throughout history in so many art forms. We must be more conscientious going forward and give credit where it is due.
Q: How has living in New York been for you?
A: The best. It's my dream, it's basically my dream my whole life to live here. I came on vacation when I was ten with my dad and I just could just feel the energy of the place. So, I felt like I needed to be here and so I moved here to work about eight years ago. Every day is a dream and it's hard, but it’s also a dream.
Q: What have been some of the lessons you have learned while living in New York?
A: If you want to be an artist here you just have to get out there and meet people. There’s magic in this city and a whole underground of art and culture. I’ve learned that just because you are friends doesn’t mean you’ll be good roommates. I’ve learned that whatever scene you want, you’ll find it here. I’ve learned that capitalism is sucking our souls .
Q: What are memorable moments for you in making this album?
A: I think it was when we went to the hotel, yes, when we went to the abandoned hotel because of covid. There was an artist living there who was recording, so we got to go in there, record a video and then he showed us this rooftop. It was like right in the middle of Manhattan and you could see all of the Empire State Building and everything. It really was magical, so yeah, that was probably my highlight.
Q: What does an artist mean to you personally?
A: It's difficult, isn't it, because I didn't identify as an artist for a really long time, and it was like a specific day where I was like today, I'm going to identify from now on. So it became kind of who I was. But I also feel like if you're someone who just likes doing art, then you're an artist. I don't think it has to be gatekept you have to be like “I'm an artist”, but really anything creative that you’re doing then you're an artist.
Q: What changed that you finally decided I’m going to identify as an artist?
A: My mum died. And I realized how short our time is here.
Q: What have been some of the difficulties in being an artist?
A: Well, obviously the pandemic, so all our shows got shut down. We've been trying to do rooftop shows and things like that, so the scene still carried on, but that was really hard. I haven't seen some of my friends or musicians for a long time. It's hard to just in general be an artist. You don't really get paid for your work, and even now, like musicians, you can stream Spotify and we won't get any of the money, so it's really difficult to make a living.
Q: What inspires you to keep going?
A: Because I love doing it so much, it's who I am and what I'm supposed to be doing. And also because my purpose in life is tied into what I'm doing through my art. You know, I have some other artistic things I do, and so those two things align.
Q: One word to describe yourself?
A: Fiery.
Q: One word to describe what music means to you?
A: Heart.
Q: What does happiness mean to you?
A: I love American Roadtrips. Happiness is finding a stream in a forest and sitting down by the stream and drinking the water and writing poetry, or hanging up a hammock by a lake and sleeping in the sun all afternoon.