Sometimes you must wander away – a very long way away – to find yourself… and you may know the place you call home for the first time upon returning. Although this is not a new concept, this seems to be what has happened in the experience of Valdis Stekelis, also known under the moniker Distant Voices. Based in London, he has announced he is gearing up for his debut album and today, we have the pleasure of introducing you to the first single – ‘Lights of The City’. An uber-rad track with upbeat tempo and high expectations as the author sets off across Europe on a quest for fun and discovery. We love it and so will you.
You may find elements of Coldplay, early Colin James, Tom Cochrane, The Last Shadow Puppets and many more artists here, but this music is uniquely Distant Voices. What a great announcement for the album to follow. Loud, swift, positive and loaded with youthful adventure.
Straddling several genres at the same time, Distant Voices‘ forthcoming album‘Long Road To Home’ is out at the end of March. This lead track is high-velocity rock n’ roll. The video was created by Alit Gonzalez.
The solo project of Valdis Stekelis, he wrote and began writing these tracks in 2019, finally finishing a year later due to the delayed realities of the UK lockdown. The band name itself was chosen during that period to reflect these unusual times, where live music (as we have previously experienced it) is a scarce occurrence and where we consume music with a less personal connection to the people making it.
Like the tracks on the album as a whole, ‘Lights of the City’ was inspired by Stekelis’ travels around Europe, based on events from that extensive journey. This lead track reflects the beginning of this trip with all its excitement and promise, but also a light sense of anxiety about what lies ahead.
This album was recorded at EAS Studios near London in collaboration with producer-engineer Ed Sokolowski, who has worked on albums by Melanie C, Fleur East, Hugel, David Archuleta and Lukas Rieger. Sokolowki mixed and mastered this album, as well as co-producing it with Stekelis. Joe Montague also contributes drums on multiple tracks.
“This is the first body of work completed under the Distant Voices name, which I am very keen for people to hear and hope that they will enjoy it. The album was inspired by events that happened during my journey around Europe in 2019 and, in fact, they appear chronologically in the track listing,” says Valdis Stekelis.
“There is a range of different feeling tracks on the album – from lively to melancholy and also psychedelic. They are tied together – both in terms of the subject matter and also due to the underlying elements of a retro feel with electronic flavour. It was a lot of fun to make and is truly inspired by events that really affected me at the time”.
As of February 17, ‘Lights of The City’ will be available everywhere digitally. The ‘Long Road to Home’ album will be released on March 26 and can already be pre-ordered from the artist via Bandcamp at https://distantvoices1.bandcamp.com/album/long-road-to-home
TRACK LISTING
01. Lights Of The City
02. Stranger Among Friends
03. Walk Along The Cobblestones
04. I Need A Friend
05. Nothing Really Happened In Vienna
06. Halfway To Rome
07. View From Lake Geneva
08. Last Night In Amsterdam
09. I’m Coming Home
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