the valley: Archive

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Other People's Music #2 →

Our good friend Brian Miller from Lions & Vultures created “Other People’s Music,” which is an ongoing collection of short mixtapes. This is the second installment. Lions & Vultures presents: Pop Art / from Thom Fountain Download (.zip) “Pop art is the American Dream, optimistic, generous, and naive.” -Robert Indiana There is a negative connotation with pop music, that it is...

Aug 4th

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The influx of Wisconsin, and specifically Eau Claire, bands on the national scene tends to mostly lead to one place: Jagjaguwar Records. Jagjaguwar is the label that first picked up Bon Iver’s debut and has released all of Justin Vernon’s subsequent projects, as well as Peter Wolf Crier’s debut and soon S. Carey’s debut. We sent an email to Kevin Duneman, the GM of...

Jul 23rd

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Other People's Music #1 →

Our good friend Brian Miller from Lions & Vultures created “Other People’s Music,” which is an ongoing collection of short mixtapes. This is the first installment. Lions & Vultures presents: Summer Skin / from Brian Miller Download (.zip)

Jul 22nd

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Download Farms EP1 (Self-released) This week’s free download is Eau Claire/Hudson duo Farms’ debut EP. The recording is a different form of Ben Larson and Andy Todryk’s instrumental music, much more menacing and darker. Instead of the customary whirlwinds of drumming and headstrong melodies that have ignited so many parties in the basement of the Red Mountain house,...

Jul 21st

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Past Year Cedarwell This is the second song we filmed with Cedarwell, which will be featured on their forthcoming album.

Jul 16th

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After the release of the much-anticipated new video for “Stewardess” by The Daredevil Christopher Wright (which you can see on our news page here) we got in contact with SoFilms, the French company behind the cut. Despite the festivities of Bastille Day we received a prompt response from Franck, one of the members of the SoFilms team. Here’s a question and answer we did...

Jul 15th

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Jamie Yanda What Is Worship EP (Mine All Mine! Records) Today’s free offering comes from Madison label Mine All Mine!, which offers much of their catalogue for free download. Jamie Yanda, who fronts the Milwaukee experimental-rock group Arto, released a five song EP this Spring and then this single online. The two songs that appear in this download showcase the vast range of...

Jul 14th

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Wisconsin Built Karate (We Are the Willows) ...

Jul 13th

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Untitled Cedarwell I first met Erik when he was opening for The Daredevil Christopher Wright in his hometown of Sheboygan, Wis., a gig he knows quite well. Since this show over a year ago I have been following him closely, picking up his various releases and listening to the changes his songs have gone through from recording to recording and show to show. I was blown away that night in early...

Jul 12th

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Our friend Spencer Wells was up for the show this weekend and shot some absolutely breathtaking video. Be sure to look at all the stuff on his account, because this kid is seriously talented.

May 10th

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The Davy Sumner Ensemble

I’ve been trying to find ways to expand The Valley’s selection of music by capturing as many varieties of genre we can. When I first talked to my good friend Davy Sumner about a session I realized this would be it. This would be the one that blew the doors off of what we generally consider the classic ‘band’ and bridge the gap between pop and classical. I think Davy did just that. Despite what...

Apr 12th

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The Davy Sumner Ensemble - “Pro Gloria” Davy Sumner Vibraphone Colin Carey Vibraphone James Wesson Cello Naomi Hasan Violin Pat Kuehn Bass Tyler Coakley Bass Drum Anna Torgerson Bells Composed by Davy Sumner

Apr 12th

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The Davy Sumner Ensemble - “Phantas Magoria” Anna Torgerson Piano Naomi Hasan Violin James Wesson Cello Composed by Davy Sumner

Apr 12th

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Weed, Key In this first bonus video of the week, Will Anderson of Weed plays in the recesses of a studio dark room. Check out the rest of Will’s session here. In the spirit of Spring, The Valley is pulling out all the bonus videos we have yet to release! Check back all week for more new content from different artists.

Mar 30th

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Sky Lion

Sky Lion wasn’t at all what I was expecting. When they took the stage the night before our session they blew the roof off the small venue with heavy guitar licks, siring bass lines and powerful drumming. The next morning we were treated to similar intensity as the three members of Sky Lion were framed on the banks of the Chippewa River. Frontman Dexter Nelson’s interwove breathtaking...

Mar 23rd

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Sky Lion, Willows

Mar 23rd

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Sky Lion, Arctic Ode

Mar 23rd

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Icarus Himself

Working for a radio station wields a lot of frustration, but also an opportunity to listen to a plethora of new music. We received a package from Science of Sound Records out of Madison, Wis. and immediately I gravitated toward one particular album: Icarus Himself’s Coffins. Icarus Himself set up in Clancy’s, a bar in the downtown of Eau Claire that at the time was occupied by a few...

Mar 9th

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Icarus Himself, Scars

Mar 9th

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Icarus Himself, 35 to Life

Mar 9th

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Weed, Brighton

Feb 22nd

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Weed

Will Anderson (Weed) plays a brand of pop that seems to hide behind a wash of guitar effects, but permeates the mind. It’s the kind of music that will be stuck in your head for days after first listen. Will came back home to Eau Claire from his current home of Brooklyn and was nice enough to stop in and do a session with us. We headed to the Fine Arts Building and hunkered into the...

Feb 22nd

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Weed, Estate Sale

Feb 22nd

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Ben Teegarden

Collaborations between visual art and music seem to be on the rise in our area, with new events popping up every day. Students at UW-Stout have created a venue for this with Gallery 111, a new art space in Menomonie, Wis. Ben Teegarden, who I’ve known from the open mic circuit in Green Bay, has been active in the creation of the gallery, providing tracks for a benefit album and playing at the...

Feb 8th

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Ben Teegarden, All We Know Is Gone

Feb 8th

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Ben Teegarden, I’m So Glad I Took A Chance On You

Feb 8th

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Northern Howl, “Tent” Cinematography by Thom Fountain

Feb 2nd

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Northern Howl

Northern Howl came out of nowhere, and yet that seems fitting. All That’s Under the Night’s Sky, the band’s debut album, is more a friendly handshake than a high-five. It is a warm cup of cocoa while watching the snow fall in the streetlamps. Layers upon layers of melodies, harmonies and rhythms subtly slip into your subconscious, leaving you humming for the rest of the week. When I first...

Jan 25th

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Northern Howl, “Madigan” Cinematography by Thom Fountain

Jan 25th

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Northern Howl, “Ice Caps” Cinematography by Thom Fountain

Jan 25th

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Vacation Dad

I decided to separate the Vacation Dad video we took from the Farms session, because really they are far from being one in the same. Vacation Dad takes the intensity that has become Farms’ trademark and gives it a cheerier, playful mood. Andy’s reverbed exclamations seem distant, almost as if they are the plagues of work and money and solitude and all the things we endure throughout the day being...

Jan 19th

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Vacation Dad Cinematography by Daniel Lee Ruff Smith

Jan 19th

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Farms Cinematography by Daniel Lee Ruff Smith

Jan 11th

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Farms

This session is different. I mean, aesthetically that’s fairly obvious given the amps, the full drum set, the raw volume, etc. But outside of that, this session (I believe more than any we’ve done) encompasses who these artists are. It’s chaotic, unconventional, risky, and utterly enjoyable. A Farms show is more than music. The energy expelled by these two musicians is equal or...

Jan 11th

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Farms Cinematography by Thom Fountain

Jan 11th

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Farms Cinematography by Daniel Lee Ruff Smith

Jan 11th

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(Three Students Blogging) The Valley

Daniel Smith, Thom Fountain, and Liz Felder of The Valley What’s your favorite album of the year? DS: Merriweather Post Pavilion by Animal Collective. I think that Animal Collective is one of the most interesting and innovative bands that I’ve ever heard, and this past year they put out some of what I think is their best work. TF: I’d have to say We Are the Willows’ A...

Jan 6th

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(Twelve Drummers Drumming) Dave Powers

Editor’s note: For the twelve days of Christmas, we are going to be posting some quick interviews we did. Think of it as our gift to you and please remember, it’s the thought that counts. And we’re sorry we couldn’t afford Playstations for all of you. Photo by Liz Felder Dave Powers of Meridene What’s your favorite album of the year? Q-Tip’s Kamaal the Abstract (Advance) ...

Jan 5th

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(Eleven Pipers Piping) Adelyn Strei

Editor’s note: For the twelve days of Christmas, we are going to be posting some quick interviews we did. Think of it as our gift to you and please remember, it’s the thought that counts. And we’re sorry we couldn’t afford Playstations for all of you. Photo by Liz Felder Adelyn Strei of Feathe, Thresher Shark What’s your favorite album of the year? Probably Volcano Choir’s...

Jan 4th

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(Ten Lords A-Leaping) Joe Danielson

Editor’s note: For the twelve days of Christmas, we are going to be posting some quick interviews we did. Think of it as our gift to you and please remember, it’s the thought that counts. And we’re sorry we couldn’t afford Playstations for all of you. Photo by Liz Felder Joe Danielson of Casey & Joe What’s your favorite album of the year? My favorite album of the year is probably...

Jan 3rd

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(Nine Ladies Dancing) Paper George

Editor’s note: For the twelve days of Christmas, we are going to be posting some quick interviews we did. Think of it as our gift to you and please remember, it’s the thought that counts. And we’re sorry we couldn’t afford Playstations for all of you. Photo by Liz Felder Eric Christenson and Brian Johnson of Paper George What’s your favorite album of the year? EC: I’d have to say...

Jan 2nd

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(Eight Maids A-Milking) Alyssa Rieper

Editor’s note: For the twelve days of Christmas, we are going to be posting some quick interviews we did. Think of it as our gift to you and please remember, it’s the thought that counts. And we’re sorry we couldn’t afford Playstations for all of you. Photo by Liz Felder Alyssa Rieper of Feathe, Meridene What’s your favorite album of the year? Maybe Hometowns by The Rural...

Jan 1st

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(Seven Swans A-Swimming) Thresher Shark

Editor’s note: For the twelve days of Christmas, we are going to be posting some quick interviews we did. Think of it as our gift to you and please remember, it’s the thought that counts. And we’re sorry we couldn’t afford Playstations for all of you. Davy Sumner and Pat Kuehn, 2/3 of Thresher Shark What’s your favorite album of the year? PK: I’m going to have to go with...

Dec 31st

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(Six Geese A-Layin') John Nielsen

Editor’s note: For the twelve days of Christmas, we are going to be posting some quick interviews we did. Think of it as our gift to you and please remember, it’s the thought that counts. And we’re sorry we couldn’t afford Playstations for all of you. Photo courtesy of Amble Down Records John Nielsen of The Cloud Hymn What’s your favorite album of the year? Probably...

Dec 30th

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(Five Golden Rings) Jamie Yanda

Editor’s note: For the twelve days of Christmas, we are going to be posting some quick interviews we did. Think of it as our gift to you and please remember, it’s the thought that counts. And we’re sorry we couldn’t afford Playstations for all of you. Photo by Liz Felder Jamie Yanda of Arto What’s your favorite album of the year? Not that it came out this year, but Bear Vs....

Dec 29th

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(Four Calling Birds) Ian Jacoby

Editor’s note: For the twelve days of Christmas, we are going to be posting some quick interviews we did. Think of it as our gift to you and please remember, it’s the thought that counts. And we’re sorry we couldn’t afford Playstations for all of you. Photo by Thom Fountain Ian Jacoby of Laarks What’s your favorite album of the year? I had to look through my iTunes to see what came...

Dec 28th

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(Three French Hens) Johanne Swanson

Editor’s note: For the twelve days of Christmas, we are going to be posting some quick interviews we did. Think of it as our gift to you and please remember, it’s the thought that counts. And we’re sorry we couldn’t afford Playstations for all of you. Photo by Liz Felder Johanne Swanson of Feathe What’s your favorite album of the year? Land of Talk’s Fun and Laughter...

Dec 27th

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(Two Turtle Doves) Peter Miller

Editor’s note: For the twelve days of Christmas, we are going to be posting some quick interviews we did. Think of it as our gift to you and please remember, it’s the thought that counts. And we’re sorry we couldn’t afford Playstations for all of you. Photo by Liz Felder Peter Miller of We Are the Willows What’s your favorite album of the year? Dirty Projectors’ Bitte Orca....

Dec 26th

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(A Partridge in a Pear Tree) Trevor Ives

Editor’s note: For the next twelve days, we are going to be posting quick interviews we did with artists. Think of it as our gift to you and please remember, it’s the thought that counts. And we’re sorry we couldn’t afford Playstations for all of you. Photo by Liz Felder Trevor Ives, singer/guitarist of Meridene What’s your favorite album of the year? That is...

Dec 25th

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We Are the Willows - ‘Make the World Go Away’ (Eddy Arnold cover) Cinematography by Thom Fountain

Dec 14th