Cruel Optimism – The story behind the music of Natural Velvet

by Corynne Ostermann of Natural Velvet

Natural Velvet


My name is Corynne Ostermann; I’m a multidisciplinary artist and musician playing bass & providing vocals for the Baltimore-based group Natural Velvet.

Natural Velvet started in 2012, and I’ve been involved since the beginning, as well as with my bandmates Spike Arreaga (guitar), Kim Te (guitar), and Greg Hatem (drums, production). I genuinely feel so lucky to have had my bandmates’ attention for as long as I have had, and as a result, I’m very protective of them and the long-term sustainability of our project.

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Believe in Your Ability to Lead a Creative Life

by Maylin Lei

Believe in Your Ability to Lead a Creative Life by Maylin Lei

Credits to ilyaimy.com for providing the cover picture

My EP, When Pigs Fly, is the first body of music I’ve ever released. I purchased my first guitar little over a year and a half ago and only began writing songs after a year of learning to play guitar. However, when I found out how enjoyable it was to write songs, I knew that I was onto something.

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Airwaves Spectacular Preserve The Song

by Cyrus Keefer

Airwaves Spectacular Preserve The Song by Cyrus Keefer
We are in our 40s, except for Kayla:) But we have been grinding for years. Chris who writes our sound and I met 20 years ago after I left my more heavy/ hardcore band Novelty( we opened for acts like helmet, into another, cast iron hike, sunny day real estate, etc) I had given up on music after we had tried to raise a band called 5,000 Rooms, which never made it to perform live. Now, in the future with the ability to file share we birthed airwaves spectacular.

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