robert // gtr, samples amy // kbd, drm, vln, flt, gtr marc // bass, drm, gtr jeffrey // gtr, clinkers matt // kbd, drm
Influences
windy and carl, robert fripp, mono (japan), einstürzende neubauten, my bloody valentine, boards of canada, fuxa, burger/ink, spacemen 3, ghost (japan), to rococo rot, mogwai, pink floyd, sigur rós, godspeed you black emperor!, lab report, noises, machines...life in general
Northern Valentine is husband and wife, Robert and Amy Brown, and friends who join us from time to time. We have been writing and recording music since 1997 and have collaborated with a number of different musicians over the years.
We are based out of our home studio in Philadephia, Pennsylvania and we have been known to take “field trips”, with portable recording equipment bussed out to remote and natural settings; from abandoned buildings and ruins to fields and forests. All of our recordings are available on our website (northernvalentine.com), through our CD-R label, Baresongs Music.
We love to play live shows and share music with everyone, so spread the word and invite us over to your place. We have played clubs, bars, living rooms, restaurants, classrooms, etc. No venue is too large or too small. Depending on who plays with us during live shows, performances range from quiet and meditative drones, to loud and fuzzy instrumental rock, often within the same set.
We can be available to play shows in other countries outside of the US, so feel free to ask if we would be willing to travel for a show.
For booking, cds, distribution, interviews, questions, etc...email Robert at: northernvalentine(at)hotmail(dot)com
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 is available through our CD-R label, Baresongs Music. It features 46 minutes of music and was mixed and mastered at Baresound One in Philadelphia and Slap Studio in Philadelphia.
This is a combination of our first two eps, which are individually out of print. 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 is available through our CD-R label, Baresongs Music. It features 48 minutes of music and was mixed and mastered at Baresound One in Philadelphia.
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 is available through our CD-R label, Baresongs Music, and it features 52 minutes of live, instrumental music. It was mixed and mastered at Baresound One in Philadelphia.
Adrift (Live 2007-2008)
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, in honor of our March 2008 tour with For a Minor Reflection.
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 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.
Copies of Adrift were available on our March 2008 tour, and will be available at our shows up through August 2008.
As of 4/25/08, we have about 20 copies of Adrift left.
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 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 on Gears of Sand Recordings as part of the "Suchness" series.
You can pick up a copy of Leopard's Mouth at CD Baby
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 on this release spans from 1977-2008; including material from our childhood years, as well as public sessions in Virginia, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia...and out in middle of the international waters of the Atlantic Ocean.
A Faint Light Still Glows will be released in Spring 2008 and features a little over 60 minutes of music. It is available on our CD-R label, Baresongs Music, and was mixed and mastered at Baresound One in Philadelphia.
Two long guitar explorations by Robert. Layers of electric guitar, echo and ebow give way to ambient and natural sounds as the songs travel over 53 minutes.
The Unblinking Eye was released in 2006 and is available on our CD-R label, Baresongs Music. It was mixed and mastered at Baresound One in Philadelphia.
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 at our live shows and ships free with other CD-R releases from our catalog.
Our debut collaboration with Ben Fleury-Steiner. Improvised, dark drones and gentle noises drift over a 60 minute psychedelic journey.
The Distance Brings Us Closer was released in February 2008 and is available on Gears of Sand Recordings. It was mixed and mastered at The Gears in Wilmington.
We're very involved in our songs and we usually have a story behind each of them. We create, assemble, design many of the elements of our artwork and packaging for each release and, when possible, we include little trinkets and mementos from our recording sessions and field trips with each CD-R that we release.
You can also purchase some of our music, and music from many other great artists at Dark Holler Mailorder
WE'VE PLAYED AT:
The M Room (Philadelphia) - Garfield Artworks (Pittsburgh) - The Fire (Philadelphia) - Velvet Lounge (DC) - Twisted Branch Tea Bazaar (Charlottesville) - Cake Shop (NYC) - 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)
...AND SHARED A STAGE WITH:
For a Minor Reflection - Revenge of Shinobi - The LK - Insect Factory - The Soundscapes - White Hills - Lunch With Beardo - 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
PRESS/COMMENTS:
Timothy Gabriele (Origivation Magazine - September 2007 Issue)
"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."
delawareonline.com (Wilmington, DE)
"a husband and wife team sure to serve up a heapin' helpin' of atmospheric rock."
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."
don't forget about our show in lynchburg tonight! it's a FREE SHOW! no reason to miss this, & you can even buy some cool records from these groups:
SUNDAY, MARCH 23rd (tonight!) @ the STARLIGHT CAFE (512 5th st, downtown) - NORTHERN VALENTINE (4 piece from philly!) - FOR A MINOR REFLECTION (4 piece from iceland!) - THE LATE VIRGINIA SUMMERS (that's us - w/ joey wright!)
music begins around 730...the kitchen might even stay open if you get there & buy some food (no pressure, though)!
Yeah, it was a blast meeting/talking/and playing with you guys. Thank you for all the positive feedback, Ben and I are headed back to pittsburgh tonight, so I think we might do a Northern Valentine triple feature on the cd player. You guys compliment each other really well it was great to hear you guys live, we'll be in touch, a good weekend to all!
Adrift (Live 2007-2008)
