BIO
Northern Valentine is husband and wife, Robert and Amy Brown, and friends who join us from time to time. We've been making music since 1997 and have collaborated with a number of different musicians.
We are from Philadephia, Pennsylvania and we love to play live shows, so spread the word and invite us over to your place. Depending on who plays with us during our live shows, performances can range from quiet and meditative drones, to loud and fuzzy instrumental postrock, often within the same set. We have played clubs, bars, living rooms, churches, restaurants, classrooms, etc. If we have to do so, we'll stand on our amps or sit on your lap to fit into the space...no venue is too large or too small.
We toured in Iceland in 2008 and realized how much we also love playing shows in other countries outside of the US, so please feel free to ask if we would be willing to travel for a show.
Northern Valentine - Icelandic Tour (June 2008)
We have also been known to take musical “field tripsâ€, with portable recording equipment bussed out to remote and natural settings; from abandoned buildings and ruins to fields and forests. If you have suggestions of interesting/unusual places to record, let us know and we'll see what we can do.
For booking, cds/downloads, distribution, questions, interviews, etc...email Robert at:
northernvalentine(at)hotmail(dot)com
All of our recordings and more information on us can be found by visiting our Northern Valentine website: http://northernvalentine.com
RECORDINGS
Click the album titles below to download some mp3s, and get copies of our recordings.
Pictures from the Lake (Baresongs Music)
Our debut release! Loops and drones open up to percussive guitar and acoustic elements. The music on this disc represents a few years worth of writing and composition of some of our more ambitious material. This includes some of our early "dialogue music", which provides instrumentation to conversations. Pictures from the Lake exposes the roots at the beginning of our musical journey.
Pictures from the Lake was released in October 2004 and features 46 minutes of music.
It was mixed and mastered at Baresound One in Philadelphia and Slap Studio in Philadelphia.
Forest in the Sky (Baresongs Music)
These songs represent further exploration of some of the natural and tribal themes hinted at on our first album. Forest in the Sky further combines meditative elements of electric and acoustic music to lull the listener into a trance.
Forest in the Sky was released in August 2006 and features 48 minutes of music.
It was mixed and mastered at Baresound One in Philadelphia.
The Unblinking Eye (Baresongs Music)
Two long guitar explorations by Robert.
Layers of electric guitar, echo and ebow give way to ambient and natural sounds.
The Unblinking Eye was released in 2006 and features 53 minutes of music.
It was mixed and mastered at Baresound One in Philadelphia.
Arasapha (Live 2006-2007) (Baresongs Music)
Arasapha contains live recordings from our "Winter Tour 2007" and some live material from 2006. It features Amy, Robert and Matt; performing two new versions of songs from previous albums - "Wings Over the Sun" and "Signal Fire"; the first recorded appearance of the distortion heavy crowd pleaser - "Sleeping Weapons"; a special appearance by guitarist, Jorn, who is featured on a slow-burning version of "The Desert Mile"; a solo, layered noise exploration on the improvised sequel - "The Desert Mile (pt. 2)"; and two new improvisations featuring Matt on drums, "The Gathering Serpents" and the 21-minute title track - "Arasapha".
Arasapha documents our live sound from 2006-2007 very well and catches some fine moments in time. It was recorded in Harrisburg at The Basement; in Brooklyn at Goodbye Blue Monday, and in Washington, DC at 611 Florida. It features 52 minutes of live, instrumental music. It was mixed and mastered at Baresound One in Philadelphia.
Adrift (Live 2007-2008) (Baresongs Music) out of print
Adrift contains live recordings from some of our live sessions and shows in 2007-2008.
This recording features new songs that were performed by Amy, Robert, Marc and, for the first time, Jeffrey. This CD-R was released in an edition of 50 hand-stamped cd-rs and recycled packaging.
It contains live versions of songs that you'll hear us playing through 2008 ("Silver Thread", "Along the River", "The Ride") as well as some chance moments of improvisation (like the 8-minute dronescape, "Gullfoss", from a show in Poughkeepsie, NY and "Black Sand", which features our friend, Ben Fleury-Steiner). Adrift was available only at our shows in March 2008 in the US, and in June 2008 in Iceland, in honor of our touring with For a Minor Reflection .
Adrift was recorded at Baresound One in Philadelphia, Mojo 13 in Wilmington, DE and The Cubbyhole Cafe in Poughkeepsie, NY. It was mixed and mastered at Baresound One in Philadelphia.
The Distance Brings Us Closer (Silber Records)
This recording features improvised, dark drones and gentle noises drifting over a 60 minute psychedelic journey in collaboration with our friend Ben Fleury-Steiner .
The Distance Brings Us Closer was mixed and mastered at The Gears in Wilmington, and was released on Silber Records on November 4th, 2008.
Northern Valentine & P.D. Wilder (Gears of Sand Recordings)
Loops of electric guitars, found sound objects and voices echo through this recording, which starts and ends with two new dronescapes from Robert (from Northern Valentine) and two new dronescapes from P.D. Wilder (from Hotel, Hotel). In the center of the recording sit two improvised collaborations recorded at two shows in Brooklyn, from when Robert and P.D. were on tour in January 2007.
This was released on Gears of Sand Recordings in October 2008.
Stars Like a Whisper (Silber Records) (digital ep)
This will be an electronic ep available for download. It documents some fine moments of 3 improvised dronescapes from two of our live shows in 2008.
It was mixed and mastered at The Gears in Wilmington. It will be released on Silber Records in November/December 2008.
RUSTED GATES // FIELD RECORDING SERIES
Rusted Gates (Volume 1) "Leopard's Mouth" (Gears of Sand Recordings)
1st in a 5 CD-R series of field recordings and improvisations designed to capture more of the spontaneous and experimental side of our music. Most of the material on this release is from our 2004-2005 sessions in basements, hallways, washing machines and an abandoned sanitarium...yes, that said washing machines!
Leopard's Mouth was originally released in February 2005 and features a little over 60 minutes of music. It was mixed and mastered at Baresound One in Philadelphia.
In April 2008, Leopard's Mouth was re-released on Gears of Sand Recordings as part of the "Suchness" series, in a limited run of 100 copies, with recycled chipboard packaging and beautiful artwork that was created using hand engraved dies and a genuine letter press.
You can pick up a copy of Leopard's Mouth at CD Baby
Rusted Gates (Volume 2) "A Faint Light Still Glows" (Baresongs Music)
2nd in a 5 CD-R series of field recordings and improvisations designed to capture more of the spontaneous and experimental side of our music. The material spans from 2005-2008; including material from public sessions in Virginia, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and somewhere in the international waters of the Atlantic Ocean.
A Faint Light Still Glows will be released in Fall-Winter 2008 and features a little over 60 minutes of music. It was mixed and mastered at Baresound One in Philadelphia.
COMPILATIONS
FDH Records Compilation - "The Spirit of 73" (FDH Records)
FDH Records compilation, released in conjunction with one of the 2007 Punk Rock Flea Markets in Philadelphia. It features 11 songs from a variety of artists, and includes a shorter version of "Sleeping Weapons", from our live recording, Arasapha .
The FDH Records Compilation is available for free at our live shows.
WE'VE PLAYED AT :
Viðeyjarkirkja (ReykjavÃk) - Organ (ReykjavÃk) - Kaffi Hljómalind (ReykjavÃk) - Glætan Bókakaffi (ReykjavÃk) - The Khyber (Philadelphia) - The M Room (Philadelphia) - Garfield Artworks (Pittsburgh) - The Fire (Philadelphia) - Velvet Lounge (DC) - Twisted Branch Tea Bazaar (Charlottesville) - Cake Shop (NYC) - Tritone (Philadelphia) - Eris Temple (Philadelphia) - Lit Lounge (NYC) - University of Virginia (Charlottesville) - Mojo 13 (Wilmington) - 611 Florida (DC) - Strangeland Records (Annandale/DC) - P.A.'s Lounge (Botson) - University of Rhode Island (Kingston) - The Corner Cafe (Lynchburg) - Goodbye Blue Monday (NYC) - The Foundry (NYC) - Chez Dänk / 1714 JPA (Charlottesville) - East Stroudsburg University (E. Stroudsburg) - Belvedere's Bar (Pittsburgh) - The Greenline Cafe (Philadelphia) - The Boot (Norfolk) - The Cubbyhole Cafe (Poughkeepsie) - O'Brien's Pub (Boston) - The New Hawaii (Southington) - Joe Squared (Baltimore) - Spazzatorium Galleria (Greenville) - 25-27 Space (Carlisle) - Der Maennerchor (Harrisburg) - Starlight Cafe (Lynchburg) - Badgerhaus (Raleigh) - The Brillobox (Pittsburgh)
...AND SHARED A STAGE WITH :
For a Minor Reflection - Revenge of Shinobi - The LK - Insect Factory - The Soundscapes - White Hills - Lunch With Beardo - Spindrift - Cloudminder - Andrew Drury - Hotel, Hotel - Ben Fleury-Steiner - Fantasy Mirrors - Mammoth Hunter - Florida=Death - Caterpillar - Hot Box - Dermaptera - 28 Degrees Taurus - Drip Drip - Empty Shapes - Ospreys - PD Wilder - The Graboids - Spin 17 - The Late Virginia Summers - Panda Riot - Aydin - The Venus Transmission - Piasa - Wether - Alchemy For Beginners - The Dog Armada - The Astronauts - Fred Gable - The Lookaways - US Funk Team - Muffin - Bed of Knives - Chimes and Gardens - Ophibre - Dirty Lenin - Happy Accident - The Fog - Most Colorful Wind - Pink Desert - The National Debt - Stares To Nowhere - Stockhausen Serves Imperialism - Lasers - Surgeon - The Bollocks Band - Seisure 17 - Howard's Dilemma - The Disconnect - Stay Six - Nostra Nova - The Spanish Prisoners - Baffle The Cat - Goonland - Narse - The Nice Jenkins - The Bosch - grrRoPoLis - Cavepainter - Field Shaman - Autocratic Forcefeed - Panophonic - The Depreciation Guild - K Bar T - Music For Headphones - Farewell Republic - Dean Cercone - Morpholino - The Freeways - The Abolition Band - Millions - Radio Eris - Pacific Before Tiger - FFFFs - MiTA - Von Hayes - Doctor Scientist - Petland - Stephen Bluhm - Cheyenne - Mumpsy - Spirit of Spain - Bigmouth Strikes Again - Dylan Gilbert - Robes - Controlled Storms - Goodnight Stars Goodnight Air - Lilt Marathon - So L'iL - The Afterlife Kids - Subscape Annex - Small Life Form - Lorien - Jez Godin - Appalachian Translator - Moomaw - Miwagemini - The Helper T-Cells - Moral Crayfish
PRESS/COMMENTS/REVIEWS :
Phil McMullen (Terrascope)
[The Distance Brings Us Closer] - "This is lovely. The lengthy opener ‘Born Yesterday’ is glacial in its movement; fans of Windy and Carl and Aarktika will smile knowingly and close their eyelids in satisfaction at the soothing, intense ambience of the sound. ‘Dies Solis’ ticks and burbles along like a slow train crossing a snowfield, while ‘Dimanche’ builds to a crescendo like a fish-gutting factory waiting for the fleet to arrive. The stand-out for me though is ‘Already Gone’, with it’s solitary keyboard “plink†lending inevitable references to Pink Floyd’s ‘Echoes’. This is minimalist ambience at its best. Heartfelt, soulful and affecting, like gazing at a scrapbook of memories."
Jon Gordon (Delusions of Adequacy)
[The Distance Brings Us Closer] - "These are soundscapes that notably lack some of the overindulgence that often spoils the intended effects of this type of experimentalism, and the results are some of the most effective pieces of aural sculpture I might've heard since the first SÃgur Ros album. Great swathes of white noise and guitar hydraulics, blizzards of reverberating electronics and a refusal to undercut the strength of this music by adding more populist elements make for a challenging and rewarding listen."
Read Full Review Here
Ray Miri (experimusic.com)
[The Distance Brings Us Closer // rating: 7.5/10] - "Like drifting in a bulbous cloud through an unpopulated, cotton-wool metropolis, Northern Valentine score the soundtrack to an imaginary Arctic dusk...elongated string melodies glide and evaporate in spectral fashion as crisply effervescent tones occasionally glisten within the drone laden expanse. Themes of glacial isolation, depressive darkness and ominous paranoia fuse delicately with a delicate romanticism and the silver lining of optimism in a soundscape that floats between dense and minimalist textures. ‘The Distance Brings Us Closer’ will have you cloud surfing for many enjoyable hours to come."
Read Full Review Here
Kenyon Hopkin (Advance Copy - October 29, 2008)
[The Distance Brings Us Closer // rating: ****] - Northern Valentine glides through definitive icy spells that are remarkably created by guitars and no post-production. These are also some of the most haunting ambient sounds put to tape, some of which play like the soundtrack for a crumbling and crashing ice sheet."
Read Full Review Here
Doug Wallen (Philadelphia Weekly - October 2008)
[The Distance Brings Us Closer] - "Yawning ambient drone...in the service of a heavily dreamy experience worthy of Flying Saucer Attack. Embracing the innate spontaneity of collaboration and improvisation, the band has evolved with every step over the years. If there's a through line, it's the unhurried approach and utter depth of each sleepy drone."
Read Full Feature Here
(babysue.com / lmnop.com - November 2008)
[The Distance Brings Us Closer // rating 5+] - "Unlike most husband and wife duos...these folks do not create cutesy pop music. 'The Distance Brings Us Closer' presents five tracks of atmospheric drone, recorded live in the studio with no post-production or overdubs. This is definitely an album that will create a mood. Everything has been heavily treated and/or drenched in effects to the point of becoming hypnotic noise. Intriguing stuff, rather heady and elusive..."
Timothy Gabriele (Origivation Magazine - September 2007)
"Like the pining drones of Windy and Carl, or the trance-like repetition of Seefeel, Northern Valentine inhabit an astral space that moves beyond the eardrum and sets its controls for the heart of the cerebral cortex. Their music goes beyond the temporal to peak at the eternal. Despite the psychedelic tinges of collective nostalgia, the experience of listening to a Northern Valentine record is deeply personal. You can hear the memories carved into each track and relate them to your own as well."
Download Full Interview Here (2.1MB PDF)
Brian John Mitchell (Silber Records)
"Northern Valentine...make post-rocking ambient music that is simultaneously glacial and warm, minimalist and dense, soothing and overwhelming. They follow the same aesthetics as bands like Labradford, Dirty Three, Windy & Carl, Aarktica, & Godspeed You Black Emperor...as the band members improvise off of each other on planned themes, creating a very live and blended spacious sound."
delawareonline.com (Wilmington, DE)
"a husband and wife team sure to serve up a heapin' helpin' of atmospheric rock."
comment posted online (Poughkeepsie, NY)
"noisier than expected...it was a great show."
comment after a show (Philadelphia, PA)
"sounded like Mogwai, but with two people."
comment after a show (Pittsburgh, PA)
"your set made me feel like I was back in the Fillmore East in the late 1960s. GREAT STUFF!"
C-Ville Paper (Charlottesville, VA - January 2008)
"distorted aural waves of psychedelia...hazy, lazy rock tunes."
comment after a show (Brooklyn, NY)
[regarding the song "The Desert Mile"]..."reminiscent of "Hex (or Printing in the Infernal Method) by Earth, only less doomy."
found on a blog, during a Google search
"Northern Valentine totally kicked ass! Their set and playing were tight and there was an energy there that I could feel right away and it never left me for the rest of the night. For about 30 minutes I wasn't on earth."
