Staff Reviews

Chad Valley - Imaginary Music

Review by Lee Adcock

No matter where you turn, a solid sapphire wall blocks your path»

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Hugo Manuel is better known by his musical alias Chad Valley. A product of Oxford’s prolific creative community, Chad Valley has amassed a catalogue that spans four studio releases, numerous collaborations and dozens of remixes. His 2010 debut — a self-titled exploration in swirling synths and sunburnt melodies — laid the groundwork for 2011’s Equatorial Ultravox, which gave his downtempo productions a decidedly more pop-leaning twist. It was with Equatorial Ultravox, and his 2013 album Young Hunger, that Chad Valley’s profile sprung forward, strengthened by a string of key touring slots supporting the likes of Erasure, CHVRCHES, Active Child and Passion Pit, and by his collaborations with El Perro Del Mar, Glasser, Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs and Twin Shadow. After releasing 2015's sparkling Entirely New Blue and continued touring extensively, as he now releases his third full-length album in 2018. Imaginary Music includes the previously released singles Up Again and LA in August, both of which bolster one of the strongest batches of material Chad Valley has yet delivered.
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