Tender Forever is the pop electronica project of Franco-American musician Vito Valera. Valera has released four albums with

K Records K Records is an independent record label in Olympia, Washington, founded in 1982. Artists on the label included early releases by Beck, Modest Mouse and Built to Spill. The record label has been called "key to the development of independent mu ...

and now works on multimedia projects where they reside in

Olympia, Washington Olympia is the capital city of the U.S. state of Washington. It had a population of 55,605 at the 2020 census, making it the state of Washington's 23rd-most populous city. Olympia is the county seat of Thurston County, and the central city ...

Background

Valera was born in Maurrin, France in 1977 to Spanish parents. They moved to the US because they felt that France was "very old fashioned and uptight".

Music

Valera began creating music as a student at the University Michel de Montaigne of Arts in

Bordeaux, France Bordeaux ( ; ; Gascon language, Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde Departments of France, department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the Prefectures in F ...

. They first served as the lead singer of The Bonnies, a cover band of songs by 1960s girl bands. Later they were involved with a band called Garrison Rocks. In 2003, they started ''Tender Forever.'' Valera said that the name refers to: "Something I am trying to be and maybe it´s part of me, but more like an ideal." Their debut album, ''The Soft and the Hardcore,'' was released in 2005. The album includes both acoustic folk rock and synth-based R&B. It features a song about taking a shower after sex. Two years later, Tender Forever released ''Wider'', an album about love and heartbreak. Most of the instruments and vocals were performed by Valera. The instruments included: "synthesizers, mostly, but also a wooden spoon, chopsticks, an 'old crappy drumset from 1981', a saucepan, 'some rice', and more." Their next album, ''No Snare'' (2010), was darker compared to their earlier work.'''' In 2012, Tender Forever raised money to pay for renewing their American work visa. They also released the EP ''Where Are We From'', which was called "a puzzling enigma of a release". They use many instruments including guitar, bass, keyboard, their computer, wooden utensils,

glockenspiel The glockenspiel ( ; or , : bells and : play) or bells is a percussion instrument consisting of pitched aluminum or steel bars arranged in a Musical keyboard, keyboard layout. This makes the glockenspiel a type of metallophone, similar to the v ...

, and

maracas A maraca ( , , ), sometimes called shaker or chac-chac, is a rattle which appears in many genres of Caribbean and Latin music. It is shaken by a handle and usually played as part of a pair. Maracas, also known as tamaracas, were rattles of d ...

. Tender Forever's musical style has been described as unique and "deconstructed rhythm ‘n’ blues filtered through a laptop" that "offers a great deal of sonic adventurousness". Valera, performing as Tender Forever, has toured in the US and Europe with

MEN A man is an adult male human. Before adulthood, a male child or adolescent is referred to as a boy. Like most other male mammals, a man's genome usually inherits an X chromosome from the mother and a Y chromosome from the fa ...

Rae Spoon Rae Spoon is a Canadian musician, composer, producer, performer, and writer from Calgary, Alberta. Their musical style has varied from country to electronic-influenced indie rock and folk punk.Mirah Mirah (born Mirah Yom Tov Zeitlyn) is an American musician and songwriter based in Brooklyn, New York. After getting her start in the music scene of Olympia, Washington, in the late 1990s, she released a number of well-received solo albums on ...

, Lovers, and others. Tender Forever's performances have been called high-energy, "playful", and "programmed for enjoyment".

Multimedia Projects

Valera has worked on big scale multimedia projects, including collaborations with film maker Ted Passon, artist Nick Lally, producer Christopher Doulgeris, musician

The Blow The Blow is an American electro pop band, comprising Khaela Maricich and Melissa Dyne. Maricich and Dyne write, compose, produce and perform all the music. It was formed as a solo project by Maricich in 2002, and she was joined by Jona Bechtolt ...

, and singer songwriter

Mirah Mirah (born Mirah Yom Tov Zeitlyn) is an American musician and songwriter based in Brooklyn, New York. After getting her start in the music scene of Olympia, Washington, in the late 1990s, she released a number of well-received solo albums on ...

. Most recently, they performed at the

Time-Based Art Festival The Time-Based Art Festival (TBA) is an annual interdisciplinary art and performance festival presented each September in Portland, Oregon by the Portland Institute for Contemporary Art (PICA). History TBA is modeled on similar European and Aust ...

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

, the

Whitney Museum of American Art The Whitney Museum of American Art, known informally as "The Whitney", is a Modern art, modern and Contemporary art, contemporary American art museum located in the Meatpacking District, Manhattan, Meatpacking District and West Village neighbor ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, the

Centre Georges Pompidou The Centre Pompidou (), more fully the (), also known as the Pompidou Centre in English and colloquially as Beaubourg, is a building complex in Paris, France. It was designed in the style of high-tech architecture by the architectural team of ...

, La

Cité Internationale Universitaire de Paris Cité internationale universitaire de Paris () or the Cité universitaire (CIUP or ''Cité U'') is a university campus, a private park and foundation located in Paris, France. Since 1925, it has provided general and public services, including ...

, and La Gaîté Lyrique in Paris. They received the RAAC (

Regional Arts & Culture Council The Regional Arts & Culture Council (RACC) is an organization that administers arts grants in Multnomah, Washington, and Clackamas Counties that also do advocacy in the Portland metropolitan area in Oregon, United States. It evolved from the city� ...

) Grant to complete a collaborative project called ''MAZED'' with Peter Burr and was invited to the

Henry Art Gallery The Henry Art Gallery ("The Henry") is a contemporary art museum located on the campus of the University of Washington, in Seattle, Washington, United States. Located on the west edge of the university's campus along 15th Avenue N.E. in the Un ...

to lecture on reenactment and public source content. they are currently working and teaching at

Evergreen State College The Evergreen State College is a public liberal arts college in Olympia, Washington. Founded in 1967, it offers a non-traditional undergraduate curriculum in which students have the option to design their own study towards a degree or follow a ...

Discography

Albums

*''The Soft And The Hardcore'' (2005,

) *''Wider'' (2007,

) *''No Snare'' (2010,

) *''Where Are We From'' (2011,

)

Compilation appearances

*''My Love'' (

Justin Timberlake Justin Randall Timberlake (born January 31, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, actor, record producer, and dancer. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Prince of Pop", ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' honored him as the b ...

cover) on ''Reprises Inrocks no. 1'' (2007,

Les Inrockuptibles ''Les Inrockuptibles'' (), abbreviated as ''Les Inrocks'', is a French cultural magazine. Started as a monthly in 1986, it became weekly in 1995. As of 2021, it returned to a monthly format. In the beginning, rock music was the magazine's prim ...

)

Collaborations

*remix of

's song ''Make It Hot'' on '' Joyride: Remixes'' (2006,

)

References

External links

Where Are We From EP Review on PopMattersPerforming ''Well I Can Take It'' and ''My Love''
(

cover) fo
La Blogothèque

Interview with SSG by Nick HildenInterview with StarMag - TPS Star then performing "Got to Let Go" from the album ''No Snare''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tender Forever American indie rock musicians K Records artists American lesbian musicians French LGBTQ musicians 1977 births Living people Musicians from Portland, Oregon 21st-century American women musicians