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’Butterfly Sunflower’ LP breathes West Coast vibe

Richie Valley has been busy.
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Recording and performing artist Richie Valley has launched two music videos, a new LP, and a new website richievalley.com. The west coast vibe “Butterfly Sunflower” LP is his fourth and newest release of easy listening jazz. (Submitted by Richie Valley)

Richie Valley has been busy.

On the heels of his successful LP Apollonian, the North Cowichan musician has recently launched two music videos, a new LP, and a new website (richievalley.com).

His latest LP, Butterfly Sunflower, is his fourth release of easy listening jazz and follows the aforementioned Apollonian (2021), Sticky (2010), and Zoom Zoom (2009).

SEE RELATED: Serenity Now! Richie Valley debuts third LP dubbed Apollonian

Butterfly Sunflower’s first track, ‘In Search For the Lost Harmonic’ is the soundtrack for the first video, which is set in Cowichan’s beautiful Marie Canyon in winter.

“Richie creates fleeting and delicate guitar string harmonics while searching for the perfect sound. The video is enhanced with natural Cowichan River sounds. Distant and close up river and wave action background audio is in the recording,” according to a press release announcing the new music.

(The second music video runs to Valley’s fifth track, ‘Farther than Skwets’.)

Co-written by Richie Valley and Brian Richardson, the album’s title track, “Butterfly Sunflower”, “is a beautiful, slow, luxurious and flowing relaxation piece. Recorded live at midsummer sunset ‘Summer Solstice Jam’ captures the essence of the vibrant solstice,” according to Valley.

Richardson also co-wrote the multi-textured “Summer Solstice Jam”.

Music lovers looking for a little more than just the music will love the story behind the album’s sixth track: “Quail”.

Valley himself calls it, “one of the more unusual” tracks on the album.

“A handheld audio recorder in a thin plastic bag was placed in a country courtyard, with millet sprinkled all around,” he explained.

“Thirteen quail arrived to feed. They created the unique background sound of “Quail”. They were just inches away, and twice bumped the device while feeding.”

Butterfly Sunflower features 14 songs in total: 11 guitar compositions, two keyboard tracks and one string song to make up 42 minutes of that mellow west coast vibe Valley is known for.

Valley is currently accepting bookings for fully vaccinated socially distanced public events indoors. He plays blues and other genres in addition to jazz, and he can bring in other vaccine compliant musicians as needed.

To learn more and hear the west coast vibes of Richie Valley, visit richievalley.com.



Sarah Simpson

About the Author: Sarah Simpson

I started my time with Black Press Media as an intern, before joining the Citizen in the summer of 2004.
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