We speak to Dan Cunningham of Vona Vella

Vona Vella's latest single, Bear Trap, was recorded down on the Kent coast in Margate at The Libertines' studio, The Albion Rooms. The band (singer-songwriters Dan Cunningham and Izzy Davis with Dexter Howell on guitar, Claud J Melton on bass and Confetti alumni Jake Bott on drums) are signed to Peter Doherty's label, Strap Originals. 

Hi Dan. Tell us about your new single, Bear Trap, and what inspired you to write it?

I initially wrote this back in March 2024, and it has been a band favourite to play live for the last year, so I'm very pleased that people can finally listen to it. I wrote this song from the frustrations of working a s**t job (at the time) whilst barely affording rent. 

I'd finished work after a bad day, and it sort of poured out of me. I usually find songwriting a way to relax if I'm feeling anxious. So I sat down, basically venting as I couldn't bring myself to say something in the moment due to not wanting to get sacked. And half an hour later, Bear Trap was born.

Did being fans of The Libertines add an extra layer of inspiration to the recording sessions at The Albion Rooms?

We love The Libertines' music, and we've been very fortunate to tour with them multiple times and got to know Peter Doherty very well. They are true songwriters who care about what they say and how it impacts their fans, and we definitely took inspiration from that for this upcoming project.

We've recorded all our projects at the Albion Rooms; it's our second home. We love working with Jason Stafford; he has recorded, produced and mixed the last two projects, and he's a dream to work with. He's so open and happy to try all ideas, whether they are good or not, or if they make the final take, it doesn't matter to him. He's always honest, and as we've worked with him for so many projects, we've created a great relationship creatively to where we can all agree or disagree, and no one gets put down. 

I bet you couldn't believe it when Strap Originals showed an interest in you?

We were only 19 at the time, so it was very overwhelming. If you're from Loughborough, then you'd know the infamous Bradgate Park, and that's basically where we verbally signed the contract, which is a nice full circle, as me and Izzy have spent lots of time there talking about songwriting and how we always wanted to put a band together, but not quite knowing how to make it happen. 

What was your first impression of Nottingham's music scene? And how has co-managing The Grove changed things?

The Notts music scene is the reason why we moved in the first place. Loughborough (at the time) only had a small micro pub called the Cask Bah, which is where we played our first gig together. The more we went over to Nottingham to see bands play and go to all the different venues, we both knew that Nottingham is where we wanted to be based. 

The Grove has had a huge impact, and we've been inspired by so many bands sonically. The bands are always good and always bring something new to the space, which is so exciting to see, and one of our favourite nights was the Swallowtail EP release show. They had local acts Drury Hill and Pict support in every band was a dream to watch. 

With the band being based in different parts of the country, how do you maintain the tight-knit feeling that comes with hanging out together regularly?

We've all been friends for a long time now, and even though there are long periods of time where we don't see each other, it always feels the same when we get back together. We're very proud of this project and want to make it work collectively, and being able to tour around Europe together and play countless shows has only brought us closer together.

You started the band in lockdown; what were the pros and cons of forming a band during that period?

We had a lot of time on our hands to write and be creative, which was a strange space to be in. It didn't feel real, but we started to write to pass the time and started posting clips onto Instagram just for the fun of it. That's when Ross from Morcheeba reached out, saying he wanted to remix our tune Sun, which was a shock.

In terms of cons, maybe inspiration was lacking as we were stuck at home. A lot of people wrote songs about Covid, but we didn't really want to. We ended up writing a lot of love songs, as who doesn't like a classic love song? 

You went down to London, but cite cost as a reason for moving back, what impact do you think this is having (and will continue to have) on the music industry?

London is basically pushing out anyone who can't afford to live in it, and this is creating a class of people who are in the ideal spot of 'making it' in the music industry and leaving everyone else to find another path. 

To be honest, I think that due to so many artists making it online, it allows people outside of London to build a fan base and gain attention, which is a good thing about TikTok and Instagram. It also means that a lot of musicians end up having to be 'influencers' online. Being just a songwriter isn't enough these days, which is a shame and definitely something me and Izzy feel like we have to live up to. But if you don't live in London, then it's just the reality of it.

Your second album, Carnival, is set to come out in February 2026. Can you tell us anything about it? Will you be touring around the same time?

The whole album is a new page for Vona Vella. The songs are about the current climate we live in, hidden within metaphors and jangly, happy guitars. We will be doing a mini tour in November and then an album tour in March, hitting up all our favourite cities!

@vonavella

Photo below by Nigel King. More photos of Vona Vella's performance at The Grove can be found here