An Interview with Valley: Behind the Scenes of ‘Like 1999’ and More!
Written by Nia Mahmud
Valley is an indie pop band comprised of Rob Laska as lead singer, Karah James as drummer, Alex Dimaruo on bass, and Michael Brandolino on guitar. Just as focused on visuals as they are on lyrics and production, it often feels as if Valley’s music is custom made for everyone.
To a first time listener, Valley describes their music as “very nostalgic and pop culture oriented.” This is evident in many of their songs, with a few striking examples in Valley’s latest single ‘Like 1999,’ with the lyrics; ‘ten things I hate about you- honestly nothing’ and, ‘If you wanna come over, watch Friends and then get high.’ Their songs are painfully real and leave listeners longing to once again live in the early 2000s. Rob explained, “2020 and 2021 has made us very nostalgic for another time. So I feel that naturally came out in our music.” This is where ‘Like 1999’ and some of the next singles draw their inspiration.
Valley came together as a band completely by chance. Rob and Alex went to high school together while Karah and Michael went to a different school. Rob explained that they were, “two separate friendships, and we lived one suburban town apart. We didn't have any mutual friends.” Rob and Alex went to the recording studio of an older sister’s friend with the intention of recording a Fleetwood Mac cover. Rob recounted the story of the band’s meeting, explaining, “We show up to the studio and Karah and Nick are there recording. So we’re like, ‘what’s going on?’” It turns out that they were double booked in the studio. However, it turned out to be the best mistake that could have happened, as Rob describes, “we overhead each other's music, we liked it, and then a week later I went to an open mic night where Karah and Nick were playing. I fell in love with their music, and we became a band.”
Reflecting on how Valley met, Rob shared, “it’s so rare I think these days to meet in an organic way. Especially with covid, but even before I feel like bands and artists are more so connecting through dms and instagram and twitter- but we met just before that era.” One of the most interesting things about Valley’s origin story is the way it comes full circle, as Rob describes it, “Fleetwood Mac met the same way. Lindsay and Stevie were in a separate studio, the way they came together was kind of the same, so we’re very grateful because they’re one of our favorite bands.” Valley started with two people who wanted to record a Fleetwood Mac cover, and ended with them forming a band in the same way the musicians they were covering did.
Coming back to the present, Valley shared the behind-the-scenes of their songwriting process. Although it differs from song to song, Rob described the current songwriting process. Sometimes, a song idea will come from something seemingly random, like, “writing from a tweet that will inspire a lyric.” Right now, though, Rob would say that they’re mostly “getting together with a title, or this word that sounds really cool. And then we’ll just kind of work on it. A lot of our songs have happened that way.” Sometimes they’ll bring out a more fleshed out song or idea to the band and then work on it together. Rob says that no matter how they write the song, it involves teamwork, “we all write and contribute so much. It really is a team band effort.”
We asked which of Valley’s songs is their favorite at the moment, and Rob shared that ‘Like 1999’ is their current favorite. Not only because of the song itself, but “because it came out so organically.” They stayed in a cabin in the woods for a few weeks, Rob recounted the experience, “we basically went up there and just put our phones down. We wanted to write music together again because we hadn’t seen each other in so long.” At first, Valley hadn’t even meant to make a song that sounded the way it ended up. “We were writing this sad breakup song, and it was just kind of like pulling teeth. We weren’t really getting anywhere.” So they changed direction, setting a thirty minute timer to see what they could make in that time. In thirty minutes, they had written the chorus of ‘Like 1999.’ Rob reflected, “that was probably our favorite writing experience so far, because it just happened.” He compared this to something Chris Martin from Coldplay says, “songs just kind of fall out of the sky. If you’re there to catch it, then awesome, and you got one. And I really do believe it, that day it felt like ‘Like 1999’ just fell out of the sky. We just happened to be in the right place and we caught it.”
The pandemic has been challenging for all artists. Despite this, Valley approached the challenge head-on. Rob explained that they have been “adapting and learning how to sustain our career and sustain our momentum.” They’re still building their live show, and “ keeping our calendar full and trying to get excited for when we can tour again.” Despite the world shutting down, Valley’s work hasn’t. Rob explained, “we always find things to do. Like, we’re working on the next single right now, and then we’re working on the single after that, and we’re always sending ideas back and forth.” Still, Rob says “no touring has been the hardest part, we’re such a live band and we look forward to live music so much...that’s where I think Valley really comes to life.” Looking towards the future, Rob added that “there’s hope that we’re going to be touring in the fall and then possibly a headline in 2022.” In a world where, especially for artists, everything has been uncertain- Valley has cemented themselves as timeless.
When Valley dropped ‘Like 1999,’ it was because it went viral on Tik Tok. At the time, they were still learning how to use the platform. Rob joked that they felt like “the old people, ‘what are these kids doing?’” They were on the cabin trip they took to write ‘Like 1999,’ when they finished recording the demo. Their friend “Chris was up there filming content and taking photos.” He filmed a clip of them dancing around to the song, which Rob says is “as genuine as we can be, just dancing and having a fun time to the song.” They didn’t really expect anything out of the clip when they posted it, “we could get zero plays and that’s fine.” Immediately though, it started building in views until it hit a million. Rob explained that “there’s no method behind it, it just happened.” He added that Valley was a part of the initial wave of posting unreleased songs on Tik Tok and then blowing up.
The subsequent music video and late night mix came together just as naturally. Rob shared that, “I find we work really well under pressure. This was a great example of that, where we had twenty-four hours to figure out a video and it happened- thanks to our amazing team and creative collaborators.” Even with time constraints, “the video turned out very very fun and exactly what we wanted it to be. Fun, playful, a little bit 90s but also a little bit more 2000s.” The cherry on top for Valley was that “Boman got involved, who’s an amazing Tik Tok star! He’s just so talented.”
The late night mix also happened in a day. At first, Valley had the idea of remixing with other artists. Instead, they changed direction and decided to remix their own song! Rob shared that initially they called it “the sleepover version or soundtrack version.” To go about making the late night mix, they explained that they took the sounds from the original to make it “very dreamy, nighttime. I wanted fans to play it when they’re driving to McDonalds at 3am blasting music with their best friends.” Although it has the same lyrics, it’s definitely very different from the original. They used “more garage-y, fuzzy sounds. It’s a little more dirty sounding”
Recently, Valley did a remix of Elio’s song, ‘LA in Two.’ Rob explained that Valley has actually known Elio for a long time. Alex, Rob, and Elio went to high school together, they “came up together on the same music scene.” They’ve known each other for so long, Rob described the remix as a “full circle moment for both of us... we grew up together and now we're both doing this thing on a global level.”
After listening to their music, Valley hopes that listeners can find solace in their songs, “some form of self-acceptance and real relatability.” They strive for their songs to be perfect for in the car, or in the club, or in your room by yourself. Their goal is to “ make music for every faucet of someone's life. Because at the end of the day, that's how we consume our favorite artists. They’re a part of everything we do.” Valley wants to, one day, have a “song for every feeling, every moment.”
Valley’s short term goals are to tour again- especially in “Asia and Europe, we have a lot of listenership there.” Really, they are looking forward to touring anywhere they can. More long-term, Valley hopes that they can make music that will “sustain us for a long time.” They aspire to be like the bands they look up to that have had long-lasting careers, remaining timeless. They hope that “people will keep showing up until we’re old and gray.” Elaborating on this, Rob said, “this is our career now. I don’t work a part-time job anymore, no one does. We wake up and make music. And if I’m talking very honestly, we’re already kind of achieved our goal in that sense.” Of course, there are still accolades and accomplishments they want to reach, like playing arenas and headlining.
We’re so happy that we at Unfiltered got the opportunity to speak with Valley! Make sure to stream ‘Like 1999,’ the late night mix, and LA in Two. Watch the music video and the director’s cut to see another side of ‘Like 1999’! Keep your eyes and ears out for a new single, coming soon, as well as other new songs!