Valise – Young Bloomers

A) Basically Coldplay through a VSCO filter! 

A) We’re big fan of some classics like Arcade Fire, Flaming Lips and Death Cab, as well as some newer acts like Beach House and Washed Out. You hear a bit of each sprinkled through the music

A) The song is about loss from two entirely different events that occurred in my life: one being the break-up of a long term relationship and the other being the loss of my adopted brother, who the song is titled after. There’s a lot of overlap in those experiences and, obviously, there’s a lot that can’t even come close to being related. I wanted to just walk the line between those experiences and see how that affected the listener.

A) It’s been a great response so far! It’s been playing on our local radio station for about a year now, which has been surreal for us. We get a text twice a week from people saying, “I heard ‘Charlie Gray’ on the radio!” and we get all giddy.

A) It’s always different methods for each inspiration. I have 500 lines of lyrics that I save on my phone for whenever I need them, but sometimes the song writes its own lyrics. I’ve found it easier to just allow the song to be what it needs to be rather than just legalistically piecing together what typically makes a song. Keeping the creative mystery alive is the ultimate goal. You never know when the lightening will strike.

A) I think this album was a fresh beginning for all of us musically. We finally found the palate we wanted to create with and after listening to the songs, I felt like there was this sense of “youthful awakening” – or something. Be it through intimate encounters with girlfriends or through heavy experiences like death, it all just felt like it captured what it feels like to grow up in your twenties for me.

A) We all had a big hand in writing and producing ideas for this album, but we definitely relied on our manager and producer Matt Wilbur to get a spark going whenever the juices were low. It was a very collaborative and democratic process.

A) A lot of dancing and gut-busting guitar solos.

A) For me, working with Sufjan Stevens would be a dream come true. His range of writing style and production is unmatched in my book.

A) It’s important to us to interact with anyone who is willing to take that first step and interact with us. These are the perks of being in a young band. Every day you get a chance to share more of your story as a band, and with every relationship we develop, the more people identify with our purpose. It’s too easy to just be a band that makes music. The connection through social media gives Valise a sense of purpose.

A) Thank you from the bottom of our hearts. We’re very excited that the fire is starting to catch and we owe all our friends, fans and family for striking the match.