About

Richie Valley, summer 2022. Artist photographer L. Sly

About

• Biography
• Formative Years
• Professional Life
• Publication Summary
• Discography
• Music Videos

Biography

Formative Years

Richie was introduced to music at an early age. He first listened to piano in his mother's womb. Richie started to play piano from his mother's lap, and later grew tall enough to reach the keys standing up. He taught himself to play acoustic guitar at eleven years of age. Richie played guitar along with his mom (piano) during her music instruction at elementary schools. He taught himself twelve string guitar because of his love for the instrument. Richie played trumpet in a high school band and the high school marching band, in an extra-curricular stage band, and also for classical plays.

Professional Life

Richie first played professionally recording trumpet for a commercial radio jingle in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada. He was seventeen. Later as a member of the touring rock cover band Dennison Booth, he co-wrote trumpet and trombone arrangements with Keith Johnson. In later years Richie mixed sound professionally in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia and on Vancouver Island. In his hometown - Victoria, Vancouver Island - Richie played coffee houses, restaurants and other live performance venues. He self published his first album in 2009 and currently releases new content on a frequent basis.

Publication Summary

Richie Valley has an extensive, multi-genre song collection. He has self published over sixty songs on seven albums - and five plus music videos. The Cowichan Chill album release is pending. An untitled 2025 release is in development. Many other new songs have charts and or recordings but are not yet published.

Discography

This discography reflects Richie Valley music publications released on the website richievalley.com as of May 2024.

Discography: Type & Quantity

Richie Valley's discography includes 6 studio albums, 1 live album & 1 live single, and music videos.

Studio Albums

Richie Valley has self published six studio albums. These are 'All Acoustic Guitar' (2024), the eponymous album Richie Valley (2022), 'Butterfly Sunflower' (2021), 'Apollonian' (2020), 'Sticky' (2010), and 'Zoom Zoom' (2009) his debut album.

Live Albums

Cowichan Chill (2024) published by RICHIErichieRichie Music Publishing on the Salish Digital label is set for official launch on 1 July 2024.

Browse Cowichan Chill EP (2024)

Singles

Sometimes I Get the Blues was released as a single.

All Acoustic Guitar LP (2024)

Browse the tracklist here.

All Acoustic Guitar LP (2024)

Richie Valley LP (2022)

Richie liked this so much he put his name on it. An eponymous or self-titled long playing album.

Browse Richie Valley LP (2022)

Butterfly Sunflower LP (2021)

His fourth LP jazz release 'Butterfly Sunflower' has fourteen tracks and plays over forty-two minutes long:

The artwork for the album cover – an Admiral butterfly on a sunflower - is a one of a kind photo taken with film and printed with historic gum bichromate process in the darkroom of L. Sly.

Apollonian LP (2020)

Artistic Exploratory Release

His third LP jazz release 'Apollonian' has eight tracks and plays over forty minutes long. This is considered an "artistic" release because of its exploratory nature. Richie explores different progressions of chords, notes, patterns, and rhythms in considerable depth, along with flexible timing and song structures.

One approach used in the making of Apollonian was to press the record button, improvise, mix down, master and publish without change. This accounts for the larger silence gaps at the end of songs, where Richie was walking from the rehearsal area back to the mixing console.

An example of this is found in the title track 'Apollonian'. At 10:06 there is a possible ending. At 10:18 Richie throws in extra licks then starts walking back to the mixing console. At 10:44 we hear Richie play a few more licks before the recording ends.

A little known fact about 'Apollonian (instrumental)' and 'Stranded (instrumental)' is that they both used an unusual Behringer mixer setting. These and other songs on the LP are improvisational jazz.

Sticky LP (2010)

'Sticky' is Richie Valley's second LP. It was released as a CD, with laser engraved color discs. The first three tracks are keyboard driven signalling an emergence in Richie's style and creativity. Multiple genres are introduced in this LP. The album showcases Jazz, Pop, Blues, Rock, a Ballad, and Classical genres. 'Sticky' is one of Richie's most eclectic LP releases.

Richie Valley played the Sticky LP live in venues around Victoria, British Columbia, including the Breakwater Cafe where he played a regular gig. The Breakwater Cafe has a stunning panoramic view of the Salish Sea and Olympic Mountains.

Zoom Zoom LP (2009)

'Zoom Zoom' is Richie Valley's debut LP. It was released as a CD with eleven tracks. The genres included Jazz Alternative, Hawaiian Slack Key, a Ballad, Ambient, and a Lullaby.

Music Videos

In 2021 Richie branched out into music videos, and made five. 'Waveform' has a featured song in which the principal instrument is a piano. Three videos have acoustic guitar tracks. 'Holt Creek' uses a soundtrack produced by Brian Richardson of @DuncanHouseDogs.

All soundtracks use natural background sounds recorded at the exact location the video was shot in.

Pristine Natural Environments

Take a walk back in time. Richie Valley's videos are all shot in near pristine natural locations near water. The first five video locations are Holt Creek, Marie Canyon, Skwetz Falls, Bowen Falls and Rathtrevor Beach.

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