Singer songwriter Shana Llorando, AKA Valere, has just released her latest single Like That. She brings blossom to our generation of music with her diversity and versatility of sound. Valere enriches R&B with her broad spectrum of soul, synth and electronic melodies. With her track record of awards, including The University of Auckland’s 2015 Songwriter of the Year Award, she had a very positive launch into her music career, and continues to make music for all. Her sound is smart and catchy, with a minimalist, yet multi-layered, feel to her instrumental arrangement. Her vocals are stunningly moody, high and heartfelt.
Like That is an intimate song, touching on themes of love, its journey, its hesitancy, and its perplexity. The track is well-produced, has great mixing, and an abundance of layered instruments that build, fold and grow throughout. The beat is relaxing and intricate. It is reminiscent of Low-Fi hip-hop with its mellowness, yet Valere’s style has many more layers and effects that add volume. You can tell she draws inspiration from late 90’s and early 2000’s female R&B singers such as JoJo or Ashanti, yet she definitely has a very unique voice of her own. Valere’s vocals are clean and soothing.
This young artist has a lot of self-expression, and an impressive musical journey she shares while creating. For a track that is written, recorded and produced over one day, it’s very impressive; now downloadable and stream-able on all major platforms!
Valere is Otautahi based songwriter and producer Shana Graham whose intricate rhythms, rich melodies and new wave sounds mesh into music that’s ‘kinetic, yet warmly intimate’ (NZ Musician Magazine). An APRA Songhubs Sphere alum and International Songwriting Competition semi-finalist, Valere’s debut album colours garnered spots on ZM, BaseFM and various Spotify playlists including The Local List NZ. A recent signee to Enemy Love Records, Valere is gearing up to release her fourth project early next year with new singles even sooner.
Photo Credit: Hayden Graham