What are your names?
Karah James, Mike Brandolino, Rob Laska, Alex DiMauro
What is the bands name?
Valley
How did you come up with the bands name?
We liked the sound of the name and liked how it looked on paper. We felt that it was vague enough to be interpreted in many ways but also specific enough that it could also mean just one thing.
What is your genre of music?
Alternative pop?????? We consider our sound to be influenced by styles of music, but feel boxed in when we use genre titles (not to get all hippy on you)
Give us a little bio about you.
We are now a 4 piece band but originally we were 2 different bands that got double booked at a studio by accident, we really connected and found that we filled each others musical voids, so we naturally started a band. We currently live in Toronto Ontario, and are gearing up to release Side A of our first LP called “MAYBE”.
What made you go in to music?
It was never really a choice we made, it was just always the thing to do. Things definitely influenced and motivated us along the way, but for the most part we feel that it is as much as a necessity as eating and sleeping is!
Are you a signed?
We are signed to Universal Music Canada
You released your new single ‘Push For Yellow (Shelter)’,tell us more about it.
We wrote most of Push For Yellow in Brooklyn after walking home late at night. The colour yellow to us represents a feeling of being stuck in between, think of a traffic light, green is go, red is stop, yellow is? We tried to capture the feeling of hesitation for this song as if you were driving and suddenly hit a yellow light, it’s always a bit of a panic or hesitation, correlating to a feeling of your 20’s.
What was the writing process like?
The writing process started in a writing session with a producer named Ay Okay, we wrote the first verse and pre-chorus with him and then took the song home. The chorus of Push For Yellow was actually a chorus from a song we wrote a really long time ago called “New York”, as we were walking home from the session, we noticed that both songs worked really well together so we basically just took the chorus and made some changes rhythmically and lyrically and then bam it was done. We recorded a demo in our hotel room that night.
What was the recording process like?
After recording that initial demo in our hotel room, we went back to our studio in Toronto and decided what we wanted to keep from the demo and re-recorded everything else in our basement studio. We almost always do drums in a large studio for the sound of the room and the gear, as well as we hired a gospel choir to sing on the chorus and that was done at Noble Street Studio in Toronto. We used a lot of our favorite synths for this song such as the Prophet Rev 2, the OP-1, and the Moog Sub 37.
What is the message you want listeners to take from the single?
There’s more of a feeling than a message I think, it’s more of just a train of thought, but if people connect to that and that makes them feel like someone else is going through the same thing, then that is the goal.
Describe the track in two words.
Yellow and hesitation.
Will we see a Music Video?
YES!
Will we a EP or Album and if so what can we expect?
HECK YES! WE are releasing our LP in 2 sides and MAYBE Side A comes out November 2nd! We cannot wait to share it with the world!
If so describe each track in two words.
Track 1: Blurr, Mirror
Track 2: Disappointment, Graceland
Closer to the Picture: Parties, egos
Track 4: Mad, Man
Track 5: Name, dropper
Push For Yellow: Yellow, hesitation.
Do you have any gigs planned or a tour in planning?
Yes we are doing a fall tour through Canada and the United states, see our instagram bio or Spotify for dates!
If so where are you thinking of heading?
^
What else can we expect from you this year?
2018 is almost over, but 2019 you can except MAYBE Side B and hopefully a lot of touring!
Do you play any instruments?
We all play!
Who are your influences?
Fleetwood Mac, Bleachers, The 1975, Bon Iver, Babygirl, Maggie Rogers.
How do you get inspiration to write songs?
We get a lot of inspiration from films or literature, and of course other music. Some songs do stem from people and experiences too.
Where do you see yourself now in 5 Years?
Touring, on album 3 maybe? Hopefully living a sustainable lifestyle as a musician.
When you’re not doing music, what do you do?
We each do our own little things such as camping, spending time travelling, spending time with friends, skateboarding etc.
What was the song you listened to most that influenced you to go more in to the music scene?
The entire first 1975 record. That when we knew we were in the right place.
What’s the best advice you have ever been given?
Nike yoh, “Just do it”
What advice would you give to aspiring musicians not about the industry and just as an artist?
Try not to follow trends so religiously, people WILL see you for who you are, and that’s how you build a sustainable career.
What quote or saying do you always stick by?
“How you live today is how you live the rest of your life”
Where in your hometown is a must go to visit?
DownTown Oakville, there’s so much history and it’s good vibes, we love being by the lake.
Your coming off tour;
1/ Where do you go first?
Back to our own homes
2/ Who do you see first?
Inevitably since we all live with our parents we usually see them first haha, then our managers at our part time jobs lol. And THEN we’ll see S.O ‘s and friends.
3/What do you eat first?
Oh man, VEGIESSSSSSSSSSS SO MANY VEGIES AND WATER.
When you are at a gig, what are 5 things you cannot forget?
In ears, laptop
Water bottle
Chapstick (miserable without it)
Diffuser and throat tea
Alex’s backpack (the 5th member of Valley)
Do you have social media accounts so your fans can follow you?
Yes absolutely:
Valley’s Socials
Rob’s Personal
Mikes Personal
Alex’s Personal
Karah’s Personal
Karah’s B page
