The journey is just beginning for Valencia, an indie pop duo who spent most of last year acquainting us with their warm, wistful sound. The twosome ended 2020 in style with their latest single, “No Caller ID,” which beautifully captures the heart and dynamism of the group. As we venture further into 2021, we decided to take a moment to catch up with Valencia and discuss new music, their creative process, and plans for the future.
Photo courtesy of Valencia
Photo courtesy of ValenciaMelodic Mag: Could you introduce yourselves and your roles in the group?
Valencia: Yes, hello! We are Jadeyn Madsen and Lou Courts, and together we make up Valencia! We both sing and create the music for the group.
MM: What was it like when you first met each other? Could you tell there was potential to create music together?
V: We never forced or put pressure on ourselves with writing music together, let alone starting a duo together, but I think it evolved naturally into this because of our relationship and where we were musically at the time we started Valencia.
MM: How did you land on your group name?
V: We both wanted to have a group name that we felt connected to in some way. The name, Valencia, is actually Jadeyn’s family name, and once we thought about using that, we felt it fit perfectly with our aesthetic.
MM: Your bios on social media refer to you as a ‘British-American pop duo.’ How have your backgrounds inspired your sound and the way you create?
V: Obviously, being from different backgrounds and countries, we definitely had varied influences. But luckily, we had a lot of cross-over in our taste and in music (and also introduced each other to new music, which is great), and I think it’s actually helped us create a sound that is unique to us, especially in our more recent unreleased songs, which we are really excited to share!
MM: You both studied at the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston. Did being there reinforce your passion for music, or were there times when you questioned if music was really what you wanted to do?
V: Being at Berklee gave us the opportunity to really explore which type of sound we liked and what we wanted to pursue for ourselves. You’re exposed to so much variety and hundreds of musicians all making different types of music, so it’s an amazing environment! We never questioned our passion being at Berklee, and it just reinforced that music was definitely what we wanted to do.
MM: For your latest single, “No Caller ID,” you teamed up with the notable Alex Angelo. Could you explain how this collab came together?
V: We were actually sending our song, “Out of Line,” out to some playlists and sent it over to Alex for his Spotify playlist. He loved the track and suggested a collaboration, which turned into “No Caller ID.” We love working with Alex and the sound we’re creating with him. We’re already working on a new release together!
MM: I love your cover of “If The World Was Ending” on YouTube. That song holds a lot of value for people, especially during these times. What are some songs that you have been listening to lately, that have inspired or comforted you during the pandemic?
V: Thank you!! It’s really been a mix of music, depending on our volatile moods! I (Jadeyn) have been listening to a lot of Noah Cyrus acoustic stuff, and then we’ve been putting together a more upbeat dance playlist with Disclosure, Rufus Du Sol, and Diplo, too. Then going back through the old Frank Ocean stuff too, but it’s super varied. We’ve got a couple playlists on our Spotify profile and that has a mix of all the stuff we listen to.
MM: If you had to pick a favorite Valencia track (released or unreleased), which would you pick?
V: It would be an unreleased track for both of us. For Louis, it’s “Not at my Best” (produced by Alex Angelo) coming soon, and for Jadeyn, it’s a new one called “So Sober.” We actually played both of these on our latest livestream, which you can find on our YouTube!
MM: Plans for 2021?
V: We’re developing a lot of new material that we want to release this year, and we feel like we’re really honing in on our sound. We also have some livestreams planned, which you can keep up to date with on our socials. We’ve had some great press already this year with Clash Magazine, and would love to see our music gain some editorial playlisting on Spotify, too!
MM: What are your hopes for Valencia? Where would you like to see yourselves in five years?
V: We just want to keep making music we enjoy, and be really successful from it!
MM: To wrap this us, is there anything else you would like to add?
V: If you haven’t already, check out our new single, “No Caller ID,” and follow our socials for more music coming soon!
Thank you so much for speaking with us, Valencia! We look forward to all of the new music, and are excited to see where 2021 takes you.
Keep up with Valencia: Instagram // Facebook // Website // Spotify // YouTube // TikTok
