Valensia
Encyclopedia
Aldous Byron Valensia Clarkson (born April 13, 1971, in The Hague
), better known as simply Valensia, is a Dutch singer, composer, producer and multi-instrumentalist
.
and used to spend a lot of his time at the family's beachhouse in Dénia
, Spain
. When he was a little kid, he used to play guitar and sing at the beaches in Dénia. He had also written a lot of songs and was even offered a record contract, but his parents decided he was too young for the music business and refused the offer. Several years later, in the Netherlands, Valensia used to play in some bands, usually on keyboard or guitar.
(another Dutch singer) at an airport, as they were both listening to Queen
´s Bohemian Rhapsody
. After that, Valensia started sending demos to several record companies and producer John Sonneveld noticed him. Then Valensia signed a record deal with Mercury Records
and in 1993 his first album "Valensia
" was released.
Influenced by Kate Bush
and Queen, Valensia's self-titled first album (known as "Gaia" in Japan
) contained the hit single "Gaia" that, out of nowhere, reached #2 in the Dutch charts and stayed in the charts for several weeks. "Gaia" had success in other countries too. The album itself spent almost 20 weeks in the album charts and had good critiques. Four singles were released: Gaia, The Sun, Nathalie and Tere.
He was quite a success in the Netherlands, but he was an even greater success in Japan. Valensia noticed that, so a mini-album called "The White Album
" was released in Japan only, in 1994, including a Valensian-styled Christmas song ("21st Century New Christmas Time") and a version of Duran Duran
's "A View to a Kill
."
") was the first Dutch surround sound
CD ever made. It was, again, a success in Japan, but his Dutch record company didn't want to promote it. Due to this fact, it received less attention than it perhaps deserved in the Netherlands.
K.O.S.M.O.S (Valensia often refers to it as "Costmost") was the most expensive album in the history of the Netherlands. Valensia said that people often forget that his first 2 albums were produced by "the best Dutch producers" (as Valensia himself said): John Sonneveld and Pim Koopman
(KayaK
's drummer).
Three singles were released: "Kosmos", "Thunderbolt" (only in Japan) and "Blue Rain" (only in the Netherlands).
For his next album, the record company ordered him to write songs in an Alanis Morissette
-style, because they thought the public wouldn't like Valensia's style of music. At the request of the Japanese record company, "Gantenbrink" (the only real Valensian song on the album) was added. Ironically (or sadly), Valensia's new album "Valensia '98" (full name: "Valensia '98 Musical Blue Paraphernalian Dreams Of Earth's Eventide Whiter Future & Darker Present Soundspheres From New Diamond Age Symphonian Artworks To Yesterday's Westernworld Rockcraft Under The Raging Nineties' Silver Promise Of The Happy Hundreds On The Break Of The New Millennium's Hazy Misty Dawn") also known as "Millennium" or "Valensia III," was never released in the Netherlands.
Though his Dutch record company refused to release "Valensia '98", Valensia still had a lot of fans in the Netherlands. A fan meeting took place near the Carré theater in Amsterdam
and they were presented with a promotional copy of "Valensia ´98." The fans started gathering on the Internet
and, finally, in June 1999, in cooperation with Valensia himself, the Official Valensia Website at www.valensia.com went online.
Valensia's mother Jacqueline died, in November 1999. This had quite an impact on him. So, his next album "Gaia II" (released on the new record label Marquee) had a song dedicated to his mother, "Requieme pour Jacqueline".
Since then he has released several quality albums with little commercial success. For this reason he is still struggling to find a good company record. Meanwhile he records his albums in his own home studio. He is a respected artist in Japan. He is known also because of his complex music (arrangement-wise), and also for his guitar skills (among other instruments). Valensia has also released albums with the bands V (with Robby Valentine) and Metal Majesty (with his brother David on drums).
In 2008 Valensia appeared on the Dutch TV program De Reunie. He has been working on a new album which will be released on Spring 2010. A single entitled "One Day My Princess Will Come" was to be released on February 24, 2010. However, the release was cancelled.
The Hague
The Hague is the capital city of the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. With a population of 500,000 inhabitants , it is the third largest city of the Netherlands, after Amsterdam and Rotterdam...
), better known as simply Valensia, is a Dutch singer, composer, producer and multi-instrumentalist
Multi-instrumentalist
A multi-instrumentalist is a musician who plays a number of different instruments.The Bachelor of Music degree usually requires a second instrument to be learned , but people who double on another instrument are not usually seen as multi-instrumentalists.-Classical music:Music written for Symphony...
.
Early life
Valensia grew up in WaalwijkWaalwijk
Waalwijk is a municipality and a city in the southern Netherlands.It is a member of the Langstraat.It has a population of around 38,920 and is located near the motorways A59 and N261...
and used to spend a lot of his time at the family's beachhouse in Dénia
Dénia
Dénia is a city in the province of Alicante, Spain, on the Costa Blanca halfway between Alicante and Valencia, the judicial seat of the comarca of Marina Alta...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
. When he was a little kid, he used to play guitar and sing at the beaches in Dénia. He had also written a lot of songs and was even offered a record contract, but his parents decided he was too young for the music business and refused the offer. Several years later, in the Netherlands, Valensia used to play in some bands, usually on keyboard or guitar.
Gaia era
Valensia met Robby ValentineRobby Valentine
Robby Valentine is a Dutch singer and multi-instrumentalist who started his professional career in the eighties, and is the frontman of his band Valentine.-Biography:...
(another Dutch singer) at an airport, as they were both listening to Queen
Queen (band)
Queen are a British rock band formed in London in 1971, originally consisting of Freddie Mercury , Brian May , John Deacon , and Roger Taylor...
´s Bohemian Rhapsody
Bohemian Rhapsody
"Bohemian Rhapsody" is a song by the British rock band Queen. It was written by Freddie Mercury for the band's 1975 album A Night at the Opera...
. After that, Valensia started sending demos to several record companies and producer John Sonneveld noticed him. Then Valensia signed a record deal with Mercury Records
Mercury Records
Mercury Records is a record label operating as a standalone company in the UK and as part of the Island Def Jam Motown Music Group in the US; both are subsidiaries of Universal Music Group. There is also a Mercury Records in Australia, which is a local artist and repertoire division of Universal...
and in 1993 his first album "Valensia
Valensia (album)
Valensia is a 1993 album by Dutch singer Valensia. It is Valensia's debut album.-Track listing:# "Tere"# "The Sun"# "Scaraboushka"# "Nathalie"# "Tango Tamara"# "T'Kylah II"# "T'kylah"# "Megalomania"...
" was released.
Influenced by Kate Bush
Kate Bush
Kate Bush is an English singer-songwriter, musician and record producer. Her eclectic musical style and idiosyncratic vocal style have made her one of the United Kingdom's most successful solo female performers of the past 30 years.In 1978, at the age of 19, Bush topped the UK Singles Chart...
and Queen, Valensia's self-titled first album (known as "Gaia" in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
) contained the hit single "Gaia" that, out of nowhere, reached #2 in the Dutch charts and stayed in the charts for several weeks. "Gaia" had success in other countries too. The album itself spent almost 20 weeks in the album charts and had good critiques. Four singles were released: Gaia, The Sun, Nathalie and Tere.
He was quite a success in the Netherlands, but he was an even greater success in Japan. Valensia noticed that, so a mini-album called "The White Album
The White Album (Valensia album)
White Album is a 1994 mini-album by Dutch singer Valensia. It was only released in Japan.-Track listing:#21st Century New Christmas Time — 4:47#The Ex — 3:32#A View to a Kill — 4:44#The March of Scaraboushka — 2:33...
" was released in Japan only, in 1994, including a Valensian-styled Christmas song ("21st Century New Christmas Time") and a version of Duran Duran
Duran Duran
Duran Duran are an English band, formed in Birmingham in 1978. They were one of the most successful bands of the 1980s and a leading band in the MTV-driven "Second British Invasion" of the United States...
's "A View to a Kill
A View to a Kill
A View to a Kill is the fourteenth spy film of the James Bond series, and the seventh and last to star Roger Moore as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. Although the title is adapted from Ian Fleming's short story "From a View to a Kill", the film is the fourth Bond film after The Spy Who Loved...
."
K.O.S.M.O.S and promotion issues
Valensia's second album "Valensia II" (also known as "K.O.S.M.O.S.Kosmos (album)
K.O.S.M.O.S is a 1996 album by Dutch singer Valensia. It was the first Dutch Surround Sound CD ever made, and also the most expensive Dutch album ever produced.-Track listing:# "The Barely Acceptable Truth Of Knowing "...
") was the first Dutch surround sound
Surround sound
Surround sound encompasses a range of techniques such as for enriching the sound reproduction quality of an audio source with audio channels reproduced via additional, discrete speakers. Surround sound is characterized by a listener location or sweet spot where the audio effects work best, and...
CD ever made. It was, again, a success in Japan, but his Dutch record company didn't want to promote it. Due to this fact, it received less attention than it perhaps deserved in the Netherlands.
K.O.S.M.O.S (Valensia often refers to it as "Costmost") was the most expensive album in the history of the Netherlands. Valensia said that people often forget that his first 2 albums were produced by "the best Dutch producers" (as Valensia himself said): John Sonneveld and Pim Koopman
Pim Koopman
Wilhelmus Frederikus Koopman was the drummer and percussionist of the Dutch Progressive rock band, Kayak.-Biography:...
(KayaK
Kayak (band)
Kayak are a Dutch progressive rock band formed in 1972 in the city Hilversum by Ton Scherpenzeel and Pim Koopman. In 1973, their debut album "See See The Sun" was released, including 3 hit singles. Their main popularity was in the Netherlands, with their top hit reaching #6 on the Dutch charts in...
's drummer).
Three singles were released: "Kosmos", "Thunderbolt" (only in Japan) and "Blue Rain" (only in the Netherlands).
For his next album, the record company ordered him to write songs in an Alanis Morissette
Alanis Morissette
Alanis Nadine Morissette is a Canadian-American singer-songwriter, guitarist, record producer, and actress. She has won 16 Juno Awards and seven Grammy Awards, was nominated for two Golden Globe Awards and also shortlisted for an Academy Award nomination...
-style, because they thought the public wouldn't like Valensia's style of music. At the request of the Japanese record company, "Gantenbrink" (the only real Valensian song on the album) was added. Ironically (or sadly), Valensia's new album "Valensia '98" (full name: "Valensia '98 Musical Blue Paraphernalian Dreams Of Earth's Eventide Whiter Future & Darker Present Soundspheres From New Diamond Age Symphonian Artworks To Yesterday's Westernworld Rockcraft Under The Raging Nineties' Silver Promise Of The Happy Hundreds On The Break Of The New Millennium's Hazy Misty Dawn") also known as "Millennium" or "Valensia III," was never released in the Netherlands.
Though his Dutch record company refused to release "Valensia '98", Valensia still had a lot of fans in the Netherlands. A fan meeting took place near the Carré theater in Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
and they were presented with a promotional copy of "Valensia ´98." The fans started gathering on the Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
and, finally, in June 1999, in cooperation with Valensia himself, the Official Valensia Website at www.valensia.com went online.
Later career
In the summer of 1999, "V" was released. V was a cooperation between Valensia and Robby Valentine. Valensia's style have always had a mysterious atmosphere around it, but "V" sounded absolutely different. With a Beatle-esque ELO-esque and Queen-esque style, the sound of "V" was quite naive and happy.Valensia's mother Jacqueline died, in November 1999. This had quite an impact on him. So, his next album "Gaia II" (released on the new record label Marquee) had a song dedicated to his mother, "Requieme pour Jacqueline".
Since then he has released several quality albums with little commercial success. For this reason he is still struggling to find a good company record. Meanwhile he records his albums in his own home studio. He is a respected artist in Japan. He is known also because of his complex music (arrangement-wise), and also for his guitar skills (among other instruments). Valensia has also released albums with the bands V (with Robby Valentine) and Metal Majesty (with his brother David on drums).
In 2008 Valensia appeared on the Dutch TV program De Reunie. He has been working on a new album which will be released on Spring 2010. A single entitled "One Day My Princess Will Come" was to be released on February 24, 2010. However, the release was cancelled.
Valensia albums
- ValensiaValensia (album)Valensia is a 1993 album by Dutch singer Valensia. It is Valensia's debut album.-Track listing:# "Tere"# "The Sun"# "Scaraboushka"# "Nathalie"# "Tango Tamara"# "T'Kylah II"# "T'kylah"# "Megalomania"...
(1993) - The White AlbumThe White Album (Valensia album)White Album is a 1994 mini-album by Dutch singer Valensia. It was only released in Japan.-Track listing:#21st Century New Christmas Time — 4:47#The Ex — 3:32#A View to a Kill — 4:44#The March of Scaraboushka — 2:33...
(1994) - K.O.S.M.O.SKosmos (album)K.O.S.M.O.S is a 1996 album by Dutch singer Valensia. It was the first Dutch Surround Sound CD ever made, and also the most expensive Dutch album ever produced.-Track listing:# "The Barely Acceptable Truth Of Knowing "...
(1996) - Valensia, The Very Best Of (1997)
- Valensia '98 (1998)
- Gaia II (2000)
- Luna LunaLuna LunaLuna Luna was a German rock band from Recklinghausen, Germany formed in 1989.The founding members were Frank Niggemann , Stefan Kahé , Markus Schroer , Lambert Stallmeyer , Wolfgang Bahne and Bettina Hagemann...
(2001) - The Blue Album (2002)
- Queen Tribute (2003)
- Non Plugged (2004)
V (Valensia/Valentine)
- V (1999)
- Valentine vs Valensia (2002)
- Nymphopsychoschoziphonic (not released)
Metal Majesty
- Metal Majesty (2003)
- This Is Not A Drill (2004)
- 2005 (2005)
External links
- Valensia's official webpage
- http://www.sol.dti.ne.jp/~rei-shi/Surf to the Valensia Website (in JapaneseJapanese languageis a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
)] - Paraphernanial Dreams
- Valensia's Message Board