With Velah, prepare to lose yourself in an always-shifting scape of dreamy shoegaze and moodier, amped-up rock.  Jen Johnson, Nick Murphy, Mike Latulippe, and Danny McNair rarely stick to one convention. Having released several singles and an EP since their beginnings in early 2012, Velah span the sonic gamut, with songs ranging from the poppy, somewhat-whimsical “Skeleton House,” to the dark, more in-your-face “Black Olympia.” More often than not, you’ll find yourself not thinking too hard about musical complexity, and simply close your eyes and listen, as waves of reverbed guitar, delicate keyboards, a tight rhythm section, and oh, lest I forget, a powerhouse double-lead vocalist tandem of Johnson and Murphy.

Now veterans of the Rock N’ Roll Rumble, Velah are poised to get even bigger during the second half of this year. The band had the opportunity to open for Sister Crayon and Bosnian Rainbows, Omar Rodriguez-Lopez’s (The Mars Volta, At the Drive In) latest project, at the Sinclair in July, and from everything I heard, the show was nothing short of outstanding. Look for this artful collaboration of musicians to continue their rise, starting with their show at the Middle East Downstairs on August 23rd.

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How did you guys get started as Velah? I know it’s kind of the marriage of two of your former bands, Static of the Gods and the Acre, but were you all aware of each other before/had you jammed together or played any shows together before starting Velah?

We all kind of knew each other & were friends from playing music in Boston. It was a natural evolution that took shape over beers and hanging out. It’s been about a year & a half since we started Velah, and at this point, we feel like a cohesive unit and don’t think much about the fact that we were part of two other bands.

How long have all of you been active in the Boston music scene? I know you’ve played with some of the bands on the August 23 date before, is it really just a natural thing to keep putting together these shows with friends (I’m aware this question is kind of weirdly worded)?

We’ve actually only played with The Field Effect before, but we’ve seen all the bands on the bill & we thought this would be a great night. Our main goal is to play with bands that we feel are kindred musical spirits in some way, people that love what they do and do it well. It’s been about 5 years since we’ve been knocking around Boston playing in bands, collectively.

What is it about Boston and its music scene that plays a role in your creative direction as a band (songwriting, shows, etc.)?

There are so many great bands in Boston, and it seems like a real diversity of sound & creativity has developed, especially in the past few years. There’s a nurturing aspect here that allows people develop their sound without a lot of pressure.

What was your experience at the Rock N’ Roll Rumble this year like? Especially playing on the first night, how did you feel about your performance (it was awesome, by the way)?

It was a great experience and it was fun to be on the opening night! The Rumble has this contagious energy and goodwill that permeates everything about it. It’s like homecoming for musicians in Boston.

Do you have any band rituals/weird stuff you absolutely have to do before playing gigs?

We could tell you, but then we’d have to kill you. (kidding)

I’m still waiting (with bated breath) for my vinyl orders of some of your stuff, but I just wanted to ask about the packaging/etc. for the “Skeleton House”/”Rose Wave” singles. On the website you mention that it comes with poems, directions into the skeleton house, and talismans, along with the actual record (which kicks ass). How do you think this extra emphasis on other art forms plays into your music? Tell me a little bit more about what you guys do outside of the band, artistically, at least.

The point of the “Skeleton House / Rose Wave” was to create a holistic, encompassing concept where the every detail was part of a larger message. We wanted to create something beyond “here’s a song we recorded, want to download it?” The lyrics, the music, the packaging, all tell a story without being totally literal – we wanted to make something that would inspire the listener to daydream and interpret everything in their own way.

Now, you have two lead singers, Jen and Nick. How does that influence your writing process? I think what I’m getting at is, how do you decide whose lyrics/singing goes with what music you come up with? Is it more developing ideas separately, or coming together and collaborating on music and lyrics?

We don’t have one, locked-in, specific way that we write. In some cases, someone will bring in a finished song, and in some cases there’s some melodic idea that we work out the surrounding pieces together. It’s something we’re still learning how to do, but it’s unlikely that we’ll ever have one, set way of doing things. We’re always aiming for an organic approach.

I try to avoid slapping genres on bands, but are there any particular genres of music that you think influence your sound more than others? I hear a lot of (and don’t kill me for using this term) “classic emo” in your sound (not like the garbage out there today, but like old Jimmy Eat World, Sunny Day Real Estate, etc.), but also with a lot more pop influence (The Hush Sound, Brand New, stuff like that).

It’s interesting; people use a wide range of genres to describe our music. Different people hear different things. Our backgrounds are all very different, and so we bring those musical aspects to Velah. We don’t think of our music in any specific genre; we see it as something cathartic, a way to exorcise demons – both for ourselves & the audience. So in that way there is an emotional component to our music, but we try to avoid being overt and specific. Lyrically, there’s more mystery involved –  we’re shapeshifters, it seems.

One thing I’ve noticed that really kind of characterizes your music is a really understated verse that expands more and more into bigger, bombastic choruses, with a lot of dynamic shifts and increased complexity in your arrangements. Were there any bands that you listened to while writing/developing as musicians that helped make that kind of a trait of your music?

Having a song at one dynamic is like a 5-minute orgasm. Sounds great in theory, but you get fatigued after awhile. Peaks & valleys to keep it interesting. Dynamics are something we’re really interested in and there are a lot of bands that don’t use them. It isn’t easy to make those work convincingly.

You’ve released an EP and a few singles, but I know you play a lot of different songs live that you haven’t recorded yet. Will you be releasing any new recorded material soon/putting the EP/singles on an LP with new tracks?

Recently, our songwriting has been evolving in new directions. We’re moving toward different types of structures that are less “pop,” (for lack of a better term), and more expansive. Still slaves to a good melody, but playing around with more through-composed songs and more subtle structural shifts.

What do you have planned for the rest of the year, aside from this show at the Middle East in August?

Writing & recording, writing & recording, and then more writing & recording!

Almost forgot to ask this ‘cuz I’m a moron: what does your name actually mean?

Velah, in keeping with the theme of our music and creative point of view, has several meanings. It’s an alternate spelling for a constellation of the sails of Argonautis and the Spanish word with multiple meanings including sail, candle flame, and to keep a vigil.

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Check out Velah at the Middle East on August 23 with The Field Effect, The Susan Constant, and The Deep North, and go check out their rad tuneage (yeah, I said it) at velahmusic.com. Stay tuned for our next installment of this crazy show preview.