Bash Co. — Velvet

Bash Co. — Velvet

Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal · March 22, 2026 ·

Acoustic Rock / Soft Rock / Indie Folk

Bash Co. transforms a visit to Prague into a heartfelt love song with a fascinating historical dimension. “Velvet” brings warm acoustic guitars, gentle folk-rock melodies and increasingly dramatic percussion into a composition inspired by the Velvet Revolution and the emotional intensity of INXS. I particularly like the idea of using a city's political history to explore the power of love during difficult times. The marching drums give the second half an additional sense of purpose, while the intimate songwriting keeps everything personal. A thoughtful independent release from a Portuguese musician who understands that even the simplest love story can carry a much bigger meaning.

Interview with Bash Co.

^)> “Velvet” was written during a six-day trip to Prague. What was it about the city that made the songwriting process flow so naturally?

Prague was and is unbelievable. Velvet was written there, I felt I couldn’t come back home with an unfinished song, I had to complete it while the feeling was fresh and present. I was so absorbed by the atmosphere, but I didn’t plan anything besides going places. I didn’t plan to write anything at all. It was a six-day family trip during Christmas time, there was a lot going on, but words just felt so clear and that has always been me, I write down all things I come up with whenever they do. Visiting Prague’s most iconic places got me the setup, and the intention of getting to know INXS’s video locations for “Never Tear Us Apart” gave me the rest. I had some previous chords to which I would mumble random words and sounds, and they turned out to become the structure for the song.

(^)> You were inspired by INXS and their connection to Prague through “Never Tear Us Apart.” How did that song influence the musical direction of “Velvet”?

I love the song and I love the band. Like I said, visiting the locations for their video was intended, we even took a lot of photos imitating the video. But writing anything wasn’t planned. I think the song has influenced my life, period. Those six days were too little to sum that up. Maybe most people will look at “Velvet” as a song about the same character reminiscing a few years later, but I still think there’s more than meets the eye, precisely because of the historical ideas of separation, political division and the struggle for freedom which you mentioned that inspired the song in the first place. That’s one point of view, surely not the only one. It all adds up for the sense of talking about the song and not about me, so I just love it.

(^)> The lyrics reference Kafka, the Velvet Revolution and the Iron Curtain. How did you connect these historical and literary influences to a personal love story?

There was a whole previous baggage of knowledge about the city, of course. I love Prague’s history and background. But I wasn’t planning anything, I was just there and it became clear. I just thought about what would be if there was this person going through the city and talking about this special feeling, which I don’t think is that clear as it seems. Are we talking about someone in love? Has this person just seen someone in velvet and started to dream about it? Is this someone who is reminiscing on a past love while going through places? Is it love for a person at all? And has that love won? Or was it defeated? Did war and separation get the best or is this person alive to testify how good it was? And why is there the presence of solitude throughout the song, despite all this? What has really happened? Is this someone who has loved or someone who hasn’t loved until that moment? So many questions, which is something I love. I think I give all the answers, but I like thinking otherwise, you know, and I sure try to confuse people.

(^)> The percussion in the second half deliberately resembles marching troops. What inspired that arrangement, and how did you achieve the effect in your home studio?

My idea was to start the song simple; I mean, true to the way I usually start, just me and my guitar, and then engage in more complex mixes that would act as one more character in the song, with more powerful guitars and the role that drums play within the song, trying to imitate marching troops in the second half. As the song seems to refer to love through tough times, also separation, as well as political issues like the Velvet Revolution and the Iron Curtain, I felt the entire sonic experience had to make the listener feel he or she was there. I honestly think I'm trying to convey my thoughts not only through the lyrics, but also through the choices I make in terms of the way it's going to sound. Because the lyrics on the second half are the same as the first one, I thought tension had to occur to break the sense of calmness the first half delivers. Maybe the character has gone through those places more than once, maybe not. I don’t own a proper set of drums, but I do have the tools the produce any kind of beat I want, so I did. It’s one more subtle nod at the topic, like if troops were coming.

(^)> You usually spend weeks developing songs, but “Velvet” came together unusually quickly. Do you think working too long on a composition can sometimes take away its original emotion?

I honestly don’t think so. Of course there’s a difference, but emotion resists, always. It’s at the core of any change precisely because that necessity emerges from trying to be more faithful to the original emotion as I can be. My songs have always been a product of several weeks of changes and development. At the core, it’s always me and my guitars. But in my mind, all instruments are being played, even the ones I don’t know how to play. So, I spend weeks creating them on Ableton and sorts. In fact, I have different versions of my songs, in the sense that I don’t usually delete ongoing work, my releases turn out to be the last version of them. If I hadn’t released my songs, they’d would be going through changes to this day. That’s also one big change in me, having to deal with a “final” version of songs, which also means being definite about the attempt to show the ultimate emotion through that song.

(^)> You released the single on your birthday. Was that simply a personal celebration, or did you want to mark a particular moment in your life?

The lyrics were done around the 22nd of December, my birthday was three months later, and I planned the release for a maximum of 90 days. Like I said before, I always try to get songs better, so I took the schedule to its last day, and in fact it wasn’t easy, because I really had to do all the release work on that special occasion, while celebrating I mean. It obviously feels different because of the way it was created and how personal it has become. Releasing it on my birthday felt completely natural.

(^)> You've described yourself as a songwriter and teacher, but not a singer. How does that distinction influence the way you approach recording and performing your own material?

First, I’m a teacher, that’s my everyday job. Songwriting and composing have been a hobby for decades, but I take them very seriously. I sing all my songs for recording purposes, as well as I play all guitars. I've been trying to introduce some keyboards and piano bits on my songs; they can be heard here and there. But my voice and my guitar are always the start of everything. I send my voice to the dashboard just like any other instrument, and I mess with it with everything I can, up to the point where it won't sound like me if I need to. That's because I want the song to last, not the person behind it. I don’t want to be identified at all by it. I want it to be sung by a thousand people who won't know who wrote it. And you can be sure I won't let my songs sound worse because I was tempted to sing them, just because I've written them. I can sing, and I actually like my voice, but I could never live up to the songs I write the way I plan them. Tone, pitch, all has to fit, and I make it fit. Hardly ever does it fit my voice, so I work on it. I perform them all live when I want to, with the kind of differences that won't make it to a recording process, but the producing bits and getting songs better and better are what I've aimed at for the last 16 years. My identity is always there, my pronunciation on some words is unavoidable and I don’t try to hide it. I’ve never had perfect accent and I’m proud of that, I’m just a Portuguese singing in English. So, I don’t consider myself a singer because I think vocals are one more instrument to be tuned, changed, altered at will, the same way I don’t consider myself a guitar player or a bass player or even a musician just because I play.

(^)> You've been creating solo music since 1999 while also performing Portuguese music with a band for over thirteen years. What does your solo project allow you to express that your band doesn't?

It has never been on purpose to maintain any distinction. But it has been necessary for my own sake. We’ve been playing Portuguese covers for so many years, my solo work is completely different. It’s not a question of language, because I’ve written in Portuguese as well. But my songs are me, they’re my things, most of them not everyone gets to know where they came from. They’re from a place on my own, they’ve always been. In fact, I always think the kind of exposure that solo work may lead to will always be too overwhelming for a person like me. Within the band, I get to play live more often, which is something necessary, but the songs aren’t mine, so I’m just a performer, I’m not showing my life, my thoughts, my dreams and pains. So, playing with a band is totally different and it allows me to experience music in a way I’m always afraid when it’s my own stuff.

(^)> Kafka's quote, “We're all cages in search of a bird,” holds particular meaning for you. How does that idea connect to your decision to release music regardless of commercial success?

It’s a little more complex than what I’m going to say, but sharing my music may be understood as the bird for my cage, if you will. The bird will never be success, that’s for sure. I’ve got a lot of cages though, and releasing songs isn’t the biggest bird, it’s not the first one as well. I just want my songs to be out there, that’s the fulfilment, there’s no other ambition. I’ve written and composed songs as a hobby and the only difference is I’m getting them out of the shelf and sharing them. I can’t say it isn’t special, but it’s also very challenging. It’s a fight with myself. The fear of losing my songs to lack of memory and the eternal bliss of not being heard at all, got the best of my fear of exposure, that’s just it. Of course, I could just record them for myself, but it wouldn’t be the same thing. All this idea of wanting songs to be heard and the creator doesn’t matter, etc, would be stupid if I don’t get them heard at all. So why not? Maybe someone else likes them too.

(^)> You seem more interested in getting your songs heard than becoming famous. After more than twenty-five years of songwriting, what would you regret most if you stopped making music tomorrow?

That’s exactly it, it’s about the songs, not their creator. Probably there’s something I’d regret, but I don’t know right now. I don’t think about that. I used to think about not being able to write when I was younger. You know, the fear of running out of ideas and the teenager illusion that I had to have a lot of them because I was thinking about making a living out of music. But that hasn’t been the case for decades. I’m entirely comfortable with what I write if I like it at first. I have to be my very first filter, I won’t release everything just because it’s mine. Nothing else matters besides me deciding a song it’s good for me. Like I said before, I won’t mind if people don’t know who’s behind the songs. I like to think they’re a fully grown being, sent out to the world and I’ve got nothing more to do with them. It has nothing to do with not wanting people to know more or less of me, the point is that it’s about not letting myself get in the way of my songs. The stage is all for them. I want them to be heard for what they are, not because of who wrote them. That’s just it. If people want to know more about me, they eventually will. It’s just not important and it doesn’t add much to what the songs are and matter. Nowadays, I would surely regret if I hadn’t released them and the ones that are to come next. But the day it all ends, if it’s tomorrow or not, I’ve done my share, for a long time, they’ve come out of me, I haven’t imprisoned anything. It will be the same now as it was in the beginning: one day I write, one day it all ends. Nothing will erase what has already been done, meaning the songs exist, they are out there and that’s all that matters.

(•)> That's all, Folks! Check it out on the Pigeon Opinion Playlist