Valence

Winner of the 2020 Francouvertes competition, the singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist from Quebec releases a new single: Jamais (j’aurais pensé).

The fine-tuned yet laid-back indie pop of Vincent Dufour alias Valence is one that is unobtrusively attractive. An amalgam of warm colors and a nod to soft-rock ballad clichés, it melds catchy and cosmic melodies, borrowing its dense sound from neo-psychedelia and its ethereal aesthetic from dream pop. How it all seems so effortless is dreadfully charming.

Valence’s approach is however anything but random, and draws its inspiration from electronic music research and sound modeling. He admits being influenced by pioneers of the method like François de Roubaix, or more recently, Kevin Parker. Producer in the maximum privacy of his bedroom in the St-Sauveur district, Valence nevertheless gives himself the leisure to explore as he pleases, without any limits or pressure. This translates well in Jamais (j’aurais pensé) ; “This song is about shock. The reason why the unlikely hits hard as it actually happens is obviously because you don’t expect it. The song was a way for me to take my time and assimilate, to pay myself an internal visit”. After a few days of work and several layers of synthesizers, the piece quickly became what it remains to this day: a cathartic power ballad, a gift to Valence himself and to those who also face such brutal changes.

Autonomous without going at it entirely alone, the young artist collaborated with Steeven Chouinard (from Le Couleur), Aubert Gendron Marsolais and Antoine Bourque, who – this time around in the studio, not in his room – joined to add their touch to the new track.

Listen to Jamais (j’aurais pensé)
https://smarturl.it/ValenceJJP