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Ok, so first off I must iterate the fact that this particular run down is in no particular order, nor is it a definitive list of the best British record labels of all time (as if such a breakdown could ever be truly quantified). It is simply a list of some personal favourites within the British...MORE>>
I absolutely love Valentina. She makes very pretty music which I really enjoy to listen to no matter what the musical mood. She is the lead vocalist, who has a very sultry and soothing voice at a pitch which is easy to sing along to.
The English soul singer uses the piano as one of her main accompanying instruments which, again, goes ridiculously well with her voice. The drums are absent in almost all of her songs, but they aren't missed. The acoustics and the piano are all that Valentina needs.
One song which is a great example of this woman's potential is Heart of Glass. It begins with an understated piano solo which quickly lowers in pitch and is joined by her vocals. For the verses, both these elements bends and shape to match each other. The
amount of feeling that's put in the vocals seems to transcend the speakers and move into our world. As cheesy at that sounds, it's true. It's quite profound.
The choruses are sung with male backing singer(s) but have that indescribable element with a great backing melody by what sounds like a choir. This 'choir' factor is what gives Valentina that extra edge to stand out from the pack. It's something which needs to be experienced rather than described.
Another song, The Dulcimer Song, is the one which has a backing beat courtesy of a bass drum. It brings about connotations of the jungle (for me anyway, that could just be my skewed mind) and the essential backing singers bringing emphasis to some parts brings about an calming sensation.
Valentina has definitely surpassed some barricades to get to this stage. Her blog
describes how she “recorded in hallways and bedrooms”, and has even been padlocked
out of one of the studios. “I'm brilliantly skint, have had tonsillitis about 6 times
in the last two months...(or swine flu, either way, not nice) and have even been
a bit bloody homeless for some of that time!”. This is a story of one woman with
a passion for making beautiful music no matter the cost. I'd just like to say thank-
