Chad Valley (musician)

Last updated

Chad Valley
Chad Valley at The Waiting Room.jpg
Chad Valley performing at The Waiting Room in The Three Crowns in Stoke Newington, London on 14 November 2014.
Background information
Birth nameHugo Manuel
Origin Oxford, England
Genres Chillwave, synthpop
Years active2010–present
Labels Cascine

Hugo Manuel, better known by his stage name Chad Valley, is an English electronic recording artist and singer. He has released two EPs, various singles and three full-length albums, Young Hunger, Entirely New Blue and Imaginary Music in 2018.

Contents

Career

Manuel began Chad Valley as a solo project alongside the Oxford-based band Jonquil which he heads. [1] In 2010, he released his eponymous debut EP via Cascine, which consisted of four tracks. His second EP, Equatorial Ultravox, was released in 2011 leading to wider recognition for Manuel. Neil Ashman of Drowned in Sound described this release as "wistful in tone, but it's no nostalgia trip and summer or not it's a consistently blissful and thrilling EP that bodes well for any forthcoming album." [2]

In 2012, Manuel released his first full-length album, Young Hunger, his longest release as Chad Valley and which involved contributions from many other artists including Twin Shadow, El Perro del Mar and Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs. Under the Radar described the album as "[making] little attempt to veil his affection for the zillion-dollar, slickly produced, mammoth-sized pop albums of the 1980s; the results are as charming and imaginative as one may have come to expect from one of the blogosphere’s most buzzed-about artists." [3] On the album's extensive use of collaboration with other artists, Manuel stated "It was always the intention to have loads of guests from the very beginning. As a way to involve more people than anything else; because I think it's hard, as a solo musician, to not get really introspective. I'd done two EPs worth of introspection; songs that were just me and my thoughts, written and produced by me with lyrics by me. It was all a little too me-centric, and I'm not too comfortable with that. So, I wanted to have other voices in there to widen the palette." [4] Pitchfork stated "The many guests on Young Hunger prevent the album from getting too bogged down in schmaltz, adding color and texture to the record." [5]

Discography

Studio albums

EPs

Singles

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pharrell Williams</span> American record producer, singer, songwriter, rapper, and fashion designer (born 1973)

Pharrell Lanscilo Williams, often known mononymously as Pharrell, is an American record producer, singer, songwriter, rapper, and fashion designer. Born and raised in Virginia Beach, Virginia, he first became known as one half of the hip hop and R&B production duo the Neptunes, which he formed in 1992 with fellow musician Chad Hugo. Collectively, they have produced 15 singles which peaked within the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100—including four songs that peaked atop the chart—as Williams gained initial recognition as a frequent backing vocalist for the duo's productions. He also formed the alternative band N.E.R.D. with Hugo and drummer Shay Haley in 1999, for which Williams serves as lead vocalist. He has been widely considered as one of the most influential music producers of the 21st century, and is credited with impact on various genres of modern popular music.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chad Hugo</span> American record producer

Charles Edward Hugo is an American record producer. Alongside close colleague Pharrell Williams, he formed the hip hop and R&B production duo the Neptunes in 1992, with whom he's produced numerous hit records for various artists. He is also a member of the band N.E.R.D., alongside Williams and Shay Haley, and co-founded the record label Star Trak Entertainment with Williams in 2001. In contrast to Williams, Hugo typically does not perform on records.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kenna</span> American singer

Kenna Zemedkun, known professionally as Kenna, is an Ethiopian-born American musician, philanthropist and technology creative. His track "Say Goodbye to Love" was nominated for Best Urban/Alternative Performance in the 2009 Grammy Awards. Kenna is the founder and producer of the Summit on the Summit clean water initiative, and also partnered with Justin Timberlake to re-imagine the social network Myspace before its purchase by Time Inc.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Matthew Herbert</span> British electronic musician

Matthew Herbert, also known as Herbert, Doctor Rockit, Radio Boy, Mr. Vertigo, Transformer, and Wishmountain, is a British electronic musician. He often takes sounds from everyday items to produce electronic music.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Matthew Dear</span> American music producer, DJ and artist

Matthew Dear is an American electronic music producer and DJ.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rose Melberg</span> American drummer

Rose Melberg is a musician and songwriter from Sacramento, California, currently based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. She has performed both as a solo artist and as a member of Tiger Trap, The Softies, Go Sailor, Gaze, Gigi, Imaginary Pants, Brave Irene, Knife Pleats and Olivia's World.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tim Hecker</span> Canadian electronic musician, producer, and composer

Tim Hecker is a Canadian electronic musician, producer, composer, and sound artist. His work, spanning albums such as Harmony in Ultraviolet (2006), Ravedeath, 1972 (2011) and Virgins (2013), has been widely critically acclaimed. He has released eleven albums and a number of EPs in addition to a number of film scores and collaborations with artists such as Arca, Ben Frost, Jóhann Jóhannsson, Daniel Lopatin, and Aidan Baker.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Burial (musician)</span> British electronic musician

William Emmanuel Bevan, known by his recording alias Burial, is a British electronic musician from South London. Initially remaining anonymous, Burial became the first artist signed to Kode9's electronic label Hyperdub in 2005. He won acclaim the following year for his self-titled debut album, an influential release in the UK's dubstep scene which showcased a dark, emotive take on UK rave music styles such as UK garage and 2-step; it was named the album of the year by The Wire. Burial's second album, Untrue, was released to further critical acclaim in 2007.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sierra Swan</span> American singer

Sierra Marie Swan is an American singer-songwriter. She is known for her work with Dollshead, Black Eyed Peas and as a solo artist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dirty Projectors</span> American rock group

Dirty Projectors is an American indie rock band from Brooklyn, New York, formed in 2002. The band is the project of singer-songwriter David Longstreth, who has served as the band's sole constant member throughout numerous line-up changes. The band's current line-up consists of Longstreth, alongside Mike Daniel Johnson (drums), Maia Friedman, Felicia Douglass and Kristin Slipp.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zola Jesus</span> American singer-songwriter

Nika Roza Danilova, known professionally by her stage name Zola Jesus, is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. Her music has been noted for combining elements of electronic, industrial, classical, and goth. Born in Phoenix, Arizona, she spent her formative years in northern Wisconsin, where she began writing and recording music independently while attending college. During her second year of studies, she released two singles through the independent label Sacred Bones, followed by two EPs. Her debut album, The Spoils, was released in 2009.

The People's Temple was an American garage rock band that formed in 2007 in Perry, Michigan, and later based out of Lansing. In February 2013 Third Man Records released "Never More," a 7-inch single recorded live at Third Man in Nashville.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Blake (musician)</span> British musician (born 1988)

James Blake Litherland is an English singer, songwriter, and record producer. He first gained recognition following the release of three extended plays—The Bells Sketch, CMYK and Klavierwerke—in 2010. He signed with A&M Records to release his self-titled debut album (2011) the following year, which was met with critical praise and peaked within the top ten of the UK Albums Chart. He then departed the label in favour of Republic Records, through which he released his second album, Overgrown (2013) to further critical and commercial success; it likewise peaked within the chart's top ten and moderately entered the US Billboard 200. His third album The Colour in Anything (2016) was followed by his 2018 single "King's Dead", which peaked at number 50 on the UK Singles Chart and marked his first entry–at number 21–on the Billboard Hot 100. Its success foresaw the release of his fourth album, Assume Form (2019), which yielded his highest entry on both the UK Albums Chart and Billboard 200. His fifth and sixth albums, Friends That Break Your Heart (2021) and Playing Robots Into Heaven (2023) followed thereafter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">How to Dress Well</span> American multimedia artist

How to Dress Well is the stage name of Tom Krell, an American multimedia artist, singer-songwriter, and producer from Boulder, Colorado. He began releasing music independently through his own blog around 2009 and via labels like Tri Angle, Lefse Records, Weird World, and eventually Domino later on in his career.

<i>Submarine</i> (EP) 2011 EP / soundtrack by Alex Turner

Submarine is the debut solo EP by English musician and Arctic Monkeys lead vocalist Alex Turner, released on 14 March 2011 by Domino Recording Company. It was written by Turner in 2009, on an acoustic guitar, at his New York City home. It was produced in London by frequent collaborator James Ford, alongside guest musician Bill Ryder-Jones, and string arranger Owen Pallett. The EP consists of six original songs that act as the soundtrack of Richard Ayoade's debut feature film, Submarine (2010), based on the novel by Joe Dunthorne. The artwork is a resized version of the film's poster, which depicts lead actor Craig Roberts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Active Child</span> Musical artist

Patrick James Grossi, better known by his stage name Active Child, is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. His debut album, You Are All I See, was released in 2011 and produced by Ariel Rechtshaid, and garnered substantial reviews from media outlets like Pitchfork Media and Drowned in Sound. In 2011, Active Child opened for British musician James Blake and for the French synthpop band M83. In 2012, his song, "Hanging On," was covered by English pop artist Ellie Goulding and later included on her second album, Halcyon.

<i>EPs 1988–1991</i> 2012 compilation album by My Bloody Valentine

EP's 1988–1991 is a compilation album by Irish-English shoegaze band My Bloody Valentine, released on 4 May 2012 via Sony. It features four of the band's extended plays for Creation Records—You Made Me Realise (1988), Feed Me with Your Kiss (1988), Glider (1990) and Tremolo (1991)—and seven additional rare and unreleased songs.

Charlie Yin, professionally known as Giraffage, is an American electronic music record producer. Of Taiwanese descent, Yin grew up in San Jose, California, and graduated from the University of California, Berkeley, with a degree in Political Economics. He subsequently pursued his musical career, regularly performing as Giraffage at San Francisco Bay Area venues and around the world, independently and with other artists. Yin has collaborated with other electronic music producers, including Porter Robinson.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ought (band)</span> Post-punk band from Montreal, Quebec

Ought was a post-punk band from Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The band consisted of Tim Darcy, Ben Stidworthy, Matt May (keyboards) and Tim Keen (drums).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">EarthGang</span> American hip hop duo

EarthGang is an American hip hop duo from Atlanta, Georgia, composed of Olu and WowGr8. They are co-founders of the musical collective Spillage Village, with JID, Hollywood JB, JordxnBryant, 6lack, Mereba, and Benji.

References

  1. Whyte, Woody (22 November 2012). "Interview: Chad Valley". Spindle. Retrieved 27 July 2014.
  2. Ashman, Neil (22 June 2011). "Album Review: Chad Valley - Equatorial Ultravox". Drowned in Sound. Archived from the original on 8 August 2014. Retrieved 27 July 2014.
  3. McGuane, Kenny S. (29 October 2012). "Chad Valley - Young Hunger Review". Under the Radar . Retrieved 27 July 2014.
  4. Carew, Anthony (12 October 2012). "Interview: Hugo Manuel of Chad Valley". About.com. Archived from the original on 11 July 2014. Retrieved 27 July 2014.
  5. Brown, Harley (29 October 2012). "Chad Valley: Young Hunger Review". Pitchfork Media . Retrieved 27 July 2014.