Sarah and Felipe are two multitalented artists from Plano, Texas, who formed an indie pop/rock duo called Vanilla & Pepper. After performing at a variety of local restaurants and coffee shops, they expanded their networks to YouTube and soon began releasing their own music. They have already released three singles called “Right to Dream,” “Seven Seas” and, their most recent release, “Pretty Pink Heartache.” Much like the beginning of the “Pretty Pink Heartache” music video, Vanilla & Pepper press play on a cassette player and transport you to a retro world with their newest single.
“Pretty Pink Heartache” is a vibrant indie-pop song with rock and roll roots. The snare beat is laid back in and paired with a bass guitar to add more “pepper” to the song. What Vanilla & Pepper brings their fans above all is flawless harmony. As individual singers, they both prove their natural talents with bubbly and energetic voices. When they sing together it’s like they were never meant to sing alone. The pair represents exquisite compatibility; not only in their vocals but in their career as an indie pop/rock duo. Lyrically, they sing about two lovers who continuously end up heartbroken trying to make a relationship work. The music video for “Pretty Pink Heartache” only adds to Vanilla & Pepper’s retro aesthetic. The song starts off with a snare drum beat as neon glitter bounces around on the top of a snare drum in the video. The rest of the video consists of bright colors and neon signs. The pair wears 60’s style outfits and hairdo’s for more vintage effect. With “Pretty Pink Heartache,” Vanilla & Pepper bring the right amount of vanilla and pepper to the indie, pop, and rock genres!
Listen to "Pretty Pink Heartache" here.
Welcome to BuzzMusic Vanilla & Pepper! Both the song and video for “Pretty Pink Heartache” have contagious and uplifting energy! Can you elaborate on the story that your lyrics tell?
Sure! Well first, we would like to talk about the inception of Pretty Pink Heartache. We were on a long road trip and getting restless so we started to read billboard signs out loud for fun. The words that stood out the most were, “what about you, are you injured” (you guessed it!) and “pretty pink.” We then tried singing those words out loud and shortly after, we made up the melody to the chorus. The song eventually developed into a story about a short-lived relationship, where one person feels deceived by their partner’s decision to call it quits. It's a song about miscommunication and not understanding why the relationship ended so abruptly. Seeking closure, the person wonders how their ex is doing while acting as though they are fine when clearly they are hurt. It’s an interesting kind of hurt though, the chorus is sung with a slight sarcastic feel almost as if the main protagonist knows that somehow they will be ok.
You recently decided to add a bassist to your duo for more musical flare! Can you tell us how you came to this decision, and how it has changed the dynamic of your duo and musical style?
In the beginning part of this year, Vanilla & Pepper got booked to play the Foundation Room at House of Blues in Dallas. We had performed at this venue in the past as a duo. This time, we really wanted to step it up with our overall stage performance. We decided to try and locate a drummer and a bass player to accompany us. Felipe contacted a close friend, Jeremy Piche, who we thought normally played guitar, but it turns out that he enjoys playing bass as well. Jeremy responded with, “I was wondering when you guys would ask me.” Jeremy is awesome! He’s been a huge help and brings so much to the table. As far as the dynamic of Vanilla & Pepper goes, It has certainly filled up our sound. Jeremy is very supportive and encourages us to continue being the main driving force in the music creating process. We really enjoy how bass guitar brings so much feeling and vibe to our songs.
As individual artists, you have your own talents and tastes. Can you tell us how you are able to fuse together both of your music styles as a duo?
Sarah comes from a very singer-songwriter and pop music background. Felipe was born in Mexico and really likes things with a lot of guitar like blues rock, punk, and indie. When we started jamming together we would listen to each other’s music and eventually found some common artists that we like and that really started focusing our sound. When we write music, Felipe is good at creating guitar riffs and chords, Sarah then comes up with lyrics and vocal melodies. One common theme that we noticed that people would comment on is on our ability to blend our voices to create nice harmonies, so that’s also a big part of what helps us combine our talents. Speaking of different talents, Sarah does artwork and graphic designs for Vanilla & Pepper, while Felipe enjoys doing all of the band’s recording and music production.
You are currently working on your first EP as a duo. Can you give fans a hint on what they can expect on this EP?
We are indeed working on an EP at the moment! Actually, this is a very interesting time to be working on music with everything crazy that’s going on in the world right now. We had a handful of ideas to begin writing and we are currently in our home studio working out each idea. We want to continue to write songs with uplifting and positive vibes. So far it’s safe to say to stay tuned for a good blend of vocal harmonies, catchy guitar riffs, and maybe a little bit of Spanglish sprinkled on one of the tracks. We’re going to aim for fun, exciting songs that we hope people can relate to. Music that can really showcase who Vanilla & Pepper are.
facebook.com/vanillapeppermusic
instagram.com/vanillapeppermusic