A CONVERSATION WITH... vera daises
With her bright yellow hair and talent for world-building, French artist Vera Daises is naturally someone who catches your eye and ear. So at The Great Escape 2026, she chats with us about her newest EP, the 10 year journey it was, and what’s next for her in France and beyond.
Picture by Imogen Mosley
My name is Vera Daises. I'm from Paris, France. I play music, I play guitar, and I do indie rock music. Also, I'm an illustrator and video director. I like to mix illustrations and music when I can.
How did you fall in love with creating, and how did you fall in love with music, especially?
My first love was animation. So, when I was young, I drew a lot. I started doing stop motion, and then I studied art. I always loved music as well, but I think it came later.
Were there any artists you listened to, either then or now, that really inspired you to keep making music?
I used to be, and still am, a big fan of Jack White from White Stripes and Alison Mosshart from The Kills.
They’re big influences for me, especially Jack White. He always had statements about creation. And I always really identified with them because he used to say that you have to restrain yourself to be creative. You have to make your own rules and create your game.
It just felt right for me.
Are there any rules that you've created for yourself that you feel has helped your creative process?
It actually depends. Sometimes it could be when I'm producing music, I'm only using one tool. Or when I write songs, I try to make little games.
In the final product, you wouldn't identify the games, but when I write songs, it could be reformulating things and trying to get deeper. To dig deeper in the meaning of what I want to say.
So what's something that you really love when it comes to creating, whether it's producing or creating these videos? What’s one thing that maybe you struggle with as well?
I really love playing, as I already said. I think the most important thing is to have fun because it translates into good music. Struggles are always a good rule for a game. If I struggle to do something, I would use that instead of calling it a struggle. So, I'm a French native person.
Sometimes I write things and images that you wouldn't really write in English.
I would say I struggle sometimes to put myself into creation, but that's the only thing I could say. Because I think everything's a game, so everything’s fun.
I love that outlook. I feel like I need to put more of that in my life. So, speaking of creating your most recent release was in January. Is there any track off that you really want people to pay attention to?
For now, I would say ‘Missing Something’. I really like this song because I was struggling with it. I used that struggle, and I found a solution to it. I contacted a German artist that I loved, Sloe Noon, and she replied to me, and we ended up hanging out together in Paris. We finished the song together, and it was when I understood that music doesn't have to be something very solitary. When you do your own project, and when you have your own label, you get lonely sometimes. It doesn't have to be like that. So, I'm really happy I got to meet her, and we're going to work together in the future again.
What else do you have planned for the future that you can share?
I'm going to release my first vinyl. So, it's the vinyl of the EP, but it took a long time. It's going to be a special edition green vinyl. I'm also going to tour in France and doing festivals this summer. I’m doing many small festivals, but I'm playing the Biches Festival too. I'm playing just before shame, which is really exciting. Hopefully I'll get to tour in Germany and in the UK again. It's my first time here in the UK performing. I lived in Manchester 10 years ago, so while that was a long time ago, I really love the UK.
Picture by Imogen Mosley
I just feel great here because I have yellow hair. I mean, when I'm here, I just feel confident enough because nobody pays attention to me. Like everything's normal. I feel like the UK has an openness that I don't really find in Paris.
How are you finding The Great Escape? And like, how are you feeling now that you're here performing?
I'm excited. I'm really stressed as well. But I think it's a good thing. I’m welcoming it and I think it's going to be great. It's just a half an hour show. I love Brighton. I love the queerness of the city as well. There's so many amazing artists here too. I missed Lime Garden's show last night and there's Chloe Slater, who’s really cool. I don’t know her personally, but I wish.
What’s one thing with your music or with your art in general that you're really proud of?
When I started doing music, I moved to Paris.
It was after my thesis, about 10 years ago. It's hard to be a woman in music, especially when you're not fitting the criteria of beauty and you sing in English as well. They're not very welcoming of that in France. So, it's a bit harder. You perform in very underground places and you don't get paid. So, I had to find another job and I had to work a lot. It took me about 10 years to release the songs I released in January. It's all the songs I've been writing through the years. And now I'm going to make more music. I’m happy I stuck to it and never gave up. Especially when I'm on tour, I'm touring with my best friends and they're all girls. And I'm very proud of having them on tour with me. All my team is mainly women and that’s something I'm really proud of, especially in the way that we're all growing up together.