when brains dance: A Sonic Translation by Lou Val
Lou Val is an artist whose music notoriously leaves his listeners wanting more. Since his largely successful deluxe EP Goûter+, Lou has pulled back the curtain more and more to expose his inner workings of what makes his sound so addicting. He gives us a warm welcome back behind this curtain with promises of a forthcoming project and our first taste of what's to come. Lou Val’s Green Room, which features his good friend and frequent-collaborator Johnny Yukon, offers us a melodic perspective to the brains beyond the microphone.Buoyant and catchy, Green Room features the production efforts of Samant Mathur, Zach Frampton, and Evan Alistair Crofton. Collectively, the artistic touches of this single pulled together to beautifully reel us back into the Lou Val cosmos.
Following closely behind comes a second single that delves into the world of the mind and where it goes when it yearns for someone. when brains dance poses an enticing question: what does it mean for brains to dance? Do they think in rhythm? Does one lead with desire while the other follows with reluctant passion? Lou tells us a story of finding a diamond in the ruff, someone whose adoration he can’t possibly risk losing to another. Exploring the unspoken exchange that happens between two people silently admiring each other, Lou Val gives us a melody of potential. The start of a fling, he shares, where there’s a hesitation that is overcome by an undeniable sense of attraction is one of the most exciting transactions that happens from human to human, brain to brain. With the possibility of intimacy dangling in between them, the two admirers find themselves stepping together in this dance of the minds that Lou Val sonically translates for us.
With the production talents of 2AAB, when brains dance immediately lures you into this tangling of the minds, with a sound as unique and seductive as the brain dance itself. Lou Val decorates this song with accents of his Nigerian roots, incorporating Pidgin English in the song’s hook in a way that pleasantly sits in your ears, despite whether you may understand it or not. Even moreso, Lou dug up inspiration from a Nigerian soap opera, inspired by the relationship of an evasive woman who catches the attention of a successful man, despite the man’s time and ego in demand. Using this to aid in his sonic storytelling, Lou Val puts his signature talent of weaving layer upon layer of intention and real-life experiences into his art to deliver a carefully-crafted song of infatuation and desire.
Featured in his forthcoming project Pivot//, when brains dance and Green Room give us a taste of Lou Val’s ability to enthrall us in more than just a song, but an atmosphere of sound and feeling. Pivot// will be a document of Lou Val’s trials and tribulations and the creative feats that he has been able to conquer from adjusting to such. Pivot// literally marks a pivotal time period in the ever-growing artist’s career. Balancing the project with love songs and life lessons, Lou Val is giving us his personal guide to adapting to the terrain of growing up, the daunting reality we are constantly living, but only few are able to transcribe. Lou Val’s Pivot// leads us through an unknown territory of sound, and all those eager enough to trespass may find themselves in the wonder that is adaptation.
Stay tuned to Lou Val for announcements regarding Pivot// and other updates.
Written by Amy Moore