Her subsequent momentum brought her to the 2012 Juno Awards where Reid, a New Artist of the Year nominee, performed. Each of us takes our turn of going off into our own creative world and not thinking about logistics and, as a result, I feel like there’s someone in the band that will keep them grounded and reel them back in.”īrampton-raised Alyssa Reid rocketed to fame in 2011 with her debut album The Game and the single “Alone Again” (based on the lyrics and music of the 1987 Heart song “Alone”) that was certified double platinum in Canada on the strength of more than one million copies sold globally. Valley arrives in Peterborough riding high on the January 2022 release of the EP After Party, its earlier-released singles “SOCIETY” and “Tempo” contributing to the band’s attainment of more than 210 million global video streams.Īsked for her take on the band dynamic, James said “Sometimes all of us play the role of either a kite or the kite holder. I think people love to sing along to something chill and hopeful.” This can come with any type of life relationship, like with a friend or even a dog, but it’s when you have the sudden realization of love being a mutual feeling. “Lyrically, we wanted to talk about the ‘Oh shit’ moment you have in life. VIDEO: “Oh shit … are we in love?” – Valley

It all came very naturally, and we liked how it opened up with a story kind of similar to how we like opening up sucks to see you doing better (from the 2018 EP of the same name).” We had never really done a love song before. “Then it dawned on us that, for this song in particular, we wanted something more upbeat because the last thing people needed is a sad song. It kind of reminded me of the beginning of a sitcom.” “And one night, the guy we were working with started this drum groove and I got this walking-down-the-street type of vibe. “We had gotten a cabin during the pandemic to write with friends over Zoom,” recalled Rob Laska about that song. Another song on that EP has the distinctive title of “Oh shit … are we in love?” Released in 2019, Maybe preceded the singles “nevermind” and “hiccup” and, in February 2021, “Like 1999” from the seven-track EP Last Birthday. At that moment, Mike and I looked at each other, and without another word, we were like “Be in our band!”įollowing the release of the EP This Room Is White in 2016, Valley pulled together enough material for a debut full-length album. Then he started playing along to what Mike and I were already working on. “Because Mike and I are noobs, we didn’t know what he was doing. “We were in my basement and we had Rob over and he was tuning his guitar to open tuning,” she said. Karah James added her recollection of knowing they had hit upon something special.

We started hanging out and basically haven’t stopped hanging out to this day. I think we both liked each other’s vibes. By coincidence, we were double booked for a studio session one day and during the session we walked in on each other and started chatting and playing our music for each other. “When graduation came around, both our duos felt like we were going through a transitional phase. “Karah and I went to high school together while Rob and Alex also went to high school together but we were two separate projects,” related Mickey Brandolino during a September 2021 interview with Brittany Min of The Luna Collective. Their musical union clicked, leading to the release of Valley’s self-produced debut EP Car Test the following year.

Members of two separate bands at that time, Rob Laska, Michael (Mickey) Brandolino, Alex Dimauro, and Karah James found themselves in the same recording studio after the time slot was double booked. Twice nominated for a Juno award - in 2020 as Breakthrough Group of the Year and just this past May in the Group of the Year category - indie pop quartet Valley came together quite by chance in 2014. There’s no public parking at Del Crary Park, but there’s neighbourhood street parking nearby and ample parking in downtown Peterborough.įresh off of this past Wednesday night’s double headlining bill of Suzie McNeil and JJ Wilde, Peterborough Musicfest will shine its spotlight this Saturday (August 6) on Valley and Alyssa Reid as the festival’s 35th season continues. N., Peterborough)īring your own lawn chairs or blankets (lawn chairs are available to rent).

The faceless double