Valensia
| Valensia | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Aldous Byron Valensia Clarkson |
| Also known as | Valensia |
| Born | April 13, 1971 |
| Origin | The Hague, Netherlands |
| Genres | New-age, hard rock, symphonic rock, progressive rock, Pop Music |
| Instruments | Guitar, Piano, Bass |
| Years active | 1993–present |
| Labels | Phonogram, Polygram Polydor, Universal Music, V2 Records, Marquee Inc. |
| Associated acts | V, Metal Majesty, Vengeance |
| Notable instruments | |
| Valensia Unicorn | |
Aldous Byron Valensia Clarkson (born April 13, 1971, in The Hague), better known as simply Valensia, is a Dutch composer, producer and multi-instrumentalist.
Valensia grew up in Waalwijk and used to spend a lot of his time at the family's beachhouse in Dénia, Spain. When he was a little kid, he used to play guitar and sing 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 used to play in some bands, usually on keyboard or guitar.
Valensia met Robby Valentine (another Dutch singer) at an airport, as they were both listening to Queen´s Bohemian Rhapsody. 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 and in 1993 his first album "Valensia" was released.
Influenced by Kate Bush and Queen, Valensia's self-titled first album (known as "Gaia" in Japan) contained the hit single "Gaia" that, out of nowhere, reached #2 in the Dutch charts and stayed in the charts for several weeks. "Gaia" had success in other countries too. The album itself spent almost 20 weeks in the album charts and had good critiques. Four singles were released: Gaia, The Sun, Nathalie and Tere.
He was quite a success in the Netherlands, but he was an even greater success in Japan. Valensia noticed that, so a mini-album called "The White Album" was released in Japan only, in 1994, including a Valensian-styled Christmas song ("21st Century New Christmas Time") and a version of Duran Duran's "A View to a Kill."
Valensia's second album "Valensia II" (also known as "K.O.S.M.O.S.") was the first Dutch surround sound CD ever made. It was, again, a success in Japan, but his Dutch record company didn't want to promote it. Due to this fact, it received less attention than it perhaps deserved in the Netherlands.
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