Aldous Byron Valensia Clarkson (born April 13, 1971, in

The Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...

),Biography at the Lion Music webpage
/ref> better known as simply Valensia, is a

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

composer, producer, singer and

multi-instrumentalist A multi-instrumentalist is a musician who plays two or more musical instruments, often but not exclusively at a professional level of proficiency. Also known as woodwind doubler, doubling, the practice allows greater ensemble flexibility and mor ...

Early life

Valensia grew up in

Waalwijk Waalwijk () is a Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality and a city in the southern Netherlands. It had a population of in and is located near the A59 and N261 motorways. The villages of Capelle, Vrijhoeve-Capelle, Sprang (the former mun ...

and used to spend a lot of his time at the family's beachhouse in

Dénia Dénia (; ) is a historical coastal city in the province of Alicante, Spain, on the Costa Blanca halfway between Alicante and Valencia (city in Spain), Valencia, and the capital and judicial seat of the Comarques of the Valencian Community, ''c ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. As a child, he played guitar and sang at the beaches in Dénia. He had also written a lot of songs and was even offered a record contract, but his parents decided he was too young for the music business and refused the offer. Several years later, in the Netherlands, Valensia played in local bands, usually on keyboard or guitar.

Career

1992–1995: ''Gaia'' and ''The White Album''

Valensia met Robby Valentine (another Dutch singer) at an airport, as they were both listening to

Queen Queen most commonly refers to: * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a kingdom * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen (band), a British rock band Queen or QUEEN may also refer to: Monarchy * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Q ...

´s "

Bohemian Rhapsody "Bohemian Rhapsody" is a song by the British rock music, rock band Queen (band), Queen, released as the lead single from their fourth studio album, ''A Night at the Opera (Queen album), A Night at the Opera'' (1975). Written by Queen's lead si ...

". After that, Valensia started sending demos to several record companies and producer John Sonneveld noticed him. Then Valensia signed a record deal with

Mercury Records Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. Mercury Records released ...

and in 1993 his first album '' Valensia'' was released. Influenced by

Kate Bush Catherine Bush (born 30 July 1958) is an English singer, songwriter, record producer, and dancer. Bush began writing songs at age 11. She was signed to EMI Records after David Gilmour of Pink Floyd helped produce a demo tape. In 1978, at the ...

and Queen, Valensia's self-titled first album (known as ''Gaia'' in

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

) contained the hit single "Gaia". The song reached #2 in the Dutch charts. "Gaia" had success in other countries too. Four singles were released: "Gaia", "The Sun", "Nathalie" and "Tere". Soon after the debut album, a mini album called '' The White Album'' was released in Japan only. The mini album was released in 1994. It contained 5 tracks, including a Christmas song ("21st Century New Christmas Time") and a cover of

Duran Duran Duran Duran () are an English pop rock band formed in Birmingham in 1978 by singer Stephen Duffy, keyboardist Nick Rhodes and guitarist/bassist John Taylor (bass guitarist), John Taylor. After several early changes, the band's line-up settled ...

's "

A View to a Kill ''A View to a Kill'' is a 1985 spy film, the fourteenth in the ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions, and the seventh and final appearance of Roger Moore as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. Although the title is adapted from ...

1996–1998: ''K.O.S.M.O.S'' and ''Valensia '98.''

Valensia's second album ''Valensia II'' (also known as ''K.O.S.M.O.S'') was the first Dutch album recorded in

surround sound Surround sound is a technique for enriching the fidelity and depth of sound reproduction by using multiple audio channels from speakers that surround the listener ( surround channels). Its first application was in movie theaters. Prior to ...

. The album was produced by John Sonneveld and

Pim Koopman Wilhelmus Frederikus "Pim" Koopman (11 March 1953 – 23 November 2009) was a Dutch musician best known as the drummer, percussionist and occasional lead singer of rock band Kayak. Biography Born in Hilversum, Koopman co-founded Kayak in 197 ...

(the drummer of

Kayak ] A kayak is a small, narrow human-powered watercraft typically propelled by means of a long, double-bladed paddle. The word ''kayak'' originates from the Inuktitut word '' qajaq'' (). In British English, the kayak is also considered to be ...

). Three singles were released: "Kosmos", "Thunderbolt" (only in Japan) and "Blue Rain" (only in the Netherlands). Valensia's third album was released in 1998. The official name of the album is ''Valensia '98 Musical Blue Paraphernalian Dreams of Earth's Eventide Whiter Future & Darker Present Soundspheres From New Diamond Age Symphonian Artworks to Yesterday's Westernworld Rockcraft Under the Raging Nineties' Silver Promise of the Happy Hundreds on the Break of the New Millennium's Hazy Misty Dawn. It is'' also known as ''Millennium, Valensia '98'' and ''Valensia III.'' The album was only released in Japan.

1999–2008: ''Gaia II'', V and Metal Majesty

In the summer of 1999, ''V'' was released. V was a cooperation between Valensia and Robby Valentine. Valensia's mother Jacqueline died, in November 1999. His next album ''Gaia II'' (released on the new record label Marquee) had a song dedicated to his mother, "Requieme pour Jacqueline". In 2008 Valensia appeared on the Dutch TV program De Reünie. A single entitled "One Day My Princess Will Come" was to be released on February 24, 2010. However, the release was cancelled.

2014–2019: ''Valensia VI - Gaia III - AGLAEA - Legacy'' and ''7EVE7''

On 24 September a new album titled ''Valensia VI - Gaia III - Aglaea - Legacy'' was released. Valensia refers to this as "my farewell album". An official music video "The Cabinet of Curiosities" appeared on YouTube. Being just a temporary farewell, Valensia released a new album called ''7EVE7'' in 2019.

2022–present: ''Air Twister''

In 2022, Valensia re-emerged with the soundtrack for the

Yu Suzuki is a Japanese game designer, producer, programmer, and engineer, who headed Sega's AM2 team for 18 years. Considered one of the first auteurs of video games, he has been responsible for a number of Sega's arcade hits, including three-dimensi ...

video game '' Air Twister''. The soundtrack features 19 tracks. Some tracks are completely new, other tracks are new renditions of known Valensia compositions, including his hit song "Gaia" from his debut album, '' Valensia''. Suzuki told in several interviews he was a long-time fan of Valensia and was able to get in touch with him on Facebook to pitch him on creating music for the game, to which he agreed.

Discography

Studio albums

*'' Valensia'' (1993) *''Valensia II - K.O.S.M.O.S'' (1996) *''V III - Valensia '98'' (1998) *''Gaia II'' (2000) *''The Blue Album'' (2002) *''Queen Tribute'' (2003) *''Valensia VI - Gaia III - AGLAEA - Legacy'' (2014) *''Eden and the Second Serpent'' (2017) *''The Secret Album'' (2017) *''7EVE7'' (2019)

Soundtrack albums

*'' Air Twister'' (2022)

Mini albums

*'' The White Album'' (1994) *''Luna Luna'' (2001) *''Non Plugged'' (2004)

Compilation albums

*''The Very Best of Valensia'' (1997)

Remix albums

*''Gaia II.0'' (2015)

Extended plays

*''Phantom of the Opera'' (2000)

with V

*''V'' (1999) *''Valentine vs Valensia'' (2002) *''V III - Nymphopsychoschoziphonic'' (Unreleased)

with Metal Majesty

*''Metal Majesty'' (2003) *''This is Not a Drill'' (2004) *''2005'' (2005)

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1971 births Living people Musicians from The Hague Dutch rock singers 21st-century Dutch male singers 21st-century Dutch singers