SINGAPORE — As a follow-up to the success of previous releases “El Invento”, “Visions”, “Head On”, and “Swing”, which have already racked up millions of streams, multi-platinum singer/songwriter José González has unveiled his eagerly anticipated new album ‘Local Valley’.
On what the album means to him, José shares, “Since my second album I’ve usually gone to my own songs for reference, similar to how I sense Beastie Boys did on ‘Check Your Head’ and their follow-up, ‘Ill Communication’. Local Valley is similar to my other solo albums in sound and spirit, a natural continuation of the styles I’ve been adding through the years both solo and with Junip. It’s more outward looking than my earlier works, but no less personal. On the contrary, I feel more comfortable than ever saying that this album reflects me and my thoughts right now.”
Alongside the album release is a video for “Line Of Fire”, a track which continues his long tradition of reinterpretation, on this occasion he has chosen one written for Junip, the band he formed with friends in 1998 and continues to maintain with co-founder TobiasWinterkorn.
A highlight of Junip’s self-titled 2013 debut album, the original version of “Line Of Fire” has proven equally as popular as other songs José has famously covered, featured on soundtracks including iconic TV series BreakingBad and TheBlacklist, and now with more than 60 million worldwide streams to date.
José’s stellar career can only be described as a dream. It’s easy to overlook the fact that, despite only three solo albums in 18 years, he has packed out distinguished venues from Sydney to Singapore and even sold out London’s prestigious, 4000+ capacity Royal Albert Hall a full three years after his last acclaimed collection, 2015’s ‘Vestiges & Claws‘.
José previous singles “El Invento”, “Visions”, “Head On”, and “Swing” heralding his latest album has already garnered over 12 MILLION streams to date, and with key album and track coverage from the likes of Pitchfork, Clash, NME, Fader and more, including praises from Uncut describing ‘Local Valley’ as “positive, engaged, almost rousing” and “Local Valley has no lows… an easy pleasure from start to finish” from MOJO.
Through his career, José has established a growing fanbase in Asia. Since 2016, he has performed at popular festivals across the region including Singapore International Jazz Festival and Neon Lights (Singapore), Clockenflap Festival (Hong Kong) and Legacy Festival (Taiwan).
With over a billion streams under his belt, recent bewildering events have only endeared him further to the public, with his songs providing a consistent source of comfort over the last 18 months, something reflected by a significant rise in those streaming figures. José’s warm, intimate voice and tender harmonies, underlined by a dextrously plucked Spanish guitar and muted percussion, deliver profoundly thoughtful lyrics largely revolving around ideas of civilisation, humanism, and solidarity. A sincere, artful performer whose singular approach to songwriting and sonics sets him worlds apart, José González is in a class by himself.
Watch the lyric video for José Gonzáles’ “Line of Fire” below: