At Rock En Seine 2025, I had the chance to meet up with Vera Daises, a rising French artist. Known for being part of the group Ottis Cœur, she is now flying solo and has released her first single, “Chess Game,” a few months ago. Her sound is influenced by ’90s rock characterized by cutting guitar riffs, direct songwriting, and high energy.
“Chess Game” was the first single she chose to release from her project. The song was born from a real-life experience, a summer crush that didn’t work out, which she felt the need to put into writing. She explained that this track carries a lighter theme and she wanted to start her musical journey with something fun and not too heavy, presenting herself to the world with energy. In her own words, the song has “a little bit of a dirty production,” which felt right for the upbeat mood she wanted to convey.
She told me that she had other songs in mind before settling on “Chess Game.” The project itself was written in a somewhat unconventional way. When she was asked to open for Tess Parks at La Maroquinerie – a big opportunity for her – she had about five demos sitting in her notebooks. She re-arranged them to perform live and kept playing them at her following shows. Many of these tracks, she said, feel like pages from her diary, spanning several years, later adapted to live performances. She always knew she would release them someday, so she began experimenting with Ableton on her own. “Chess Game” came out of this moment, when she was having fun with production, and she highlighted how essential enjoyment is to her artistic process. If she doesn’t enjoy making a track, she said, it ends up feeling tasteless.
After a while, though, she hit a wall with her demos. Even if she was getting more comfortable on Ableton, her arrangements remained live-oriented, with bass, guitar, and a few synths. She realized she needed help since she lacked technical knowledge and felt her ear was still too fresh to handle everything alone. That’s when she met Geagea, another artist with her own project, who now collaborates with her. They start from Vera’s demos and refine them together. The partnership is well-balanced: Geagea leans toward clean, synth-driven production, while Vera prefers a more chaotic, dirtier sound. Their disagreements, she said, are never negative but rather constructive and help move the songs forward.
When I asked if she had a favorite lyric in “Chess Game,” she explained that this track isn’t lyrics-focused, and that wasn’t its purpose. She enjoys writing in English, which she feels offers a musicality that French doesn’t. While she isn’t especially attached to specific lines in this song, she does like the pre-chorus and chorus for their fast and rhythmic delivery. She added that her other songs will have more profound lyrics, but this one was simply about having fun.
Beyond music, Vera Daisies is a multidisciplinary artist. She studied animation at the prestigious Parisian school Les Gobelins and used to create small animated clips for friends in the rock and punk rock scene. Eventually, she realized she wanted to do the same for her own work. Since her music and drawings were so naturally aligned, she decided to make her project multi-art, blending animation, music videos, drawings, and comic strips and probably more as she doesn’t want to hold herself back. For her debut single, she created the video herself and is planning to release more animated clips for her upcoming tracks.
Right now, Vera Daisies is working on her first EP with Geagea, scheduled for release in 2026. In the meantime, she hinted that a few singles may arrive beforehand, though she didn’t give details. As for live shows, she just announced a performance at Le Hasard Ludique on September 26 for “Les Inrocks Super Club,” a contest dedicated to discovering new artists where she will appear as a mentor.
Follow Vera Daisies : Instagram | Spotify | YouTube | Apple Music
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