Sweet Valley (music group) explained

Sweet Valley
Origin:Los Angeles, California.[1]
Genre:
Years Active:2012-present
Label:Roshis Garden
Current Members:Nathan Williams
Joel "Kynan" Williams

Sweet Valley is an electronic music duo consisting of Wavves member Nathan Williams and his brother, Joel "Kynan" Williams, who later on started his own project Magic Point. The band describes themselves as " a blood pact between two brothers, Nathan (of Wavves) & Kynan Williams, gone awesomely off the rails," or as "a Bermuda Triangle-like place, where cannabis crumbs, spilt beer, record dust and that mysterious shit you had to blow out of game cartridges all collect as if pulled by some gigantic junkyard magnet."[2] They originated, and are based, in Los Angeles, California.[3] The two began in 2012, when Nathan asked his brother to create music with him, now that they were living in the same home, "or else [Joel] would just be sitting around smoking my weed all day."[1] As of 2014, the group is also working on an additional project titled Spirit Club, which recently released a full album.[4] The band also makes remixes of songs of different genres available on an affiliated SoundCloud page, and since 2021 moved on Patreon.

History

2012–13: Stay Calm, Eternal Champ, Tour, Jenova, & SV

Stay Calm

On August 7, 2012, the group released their first mixtape,[5] Stay Calm, consisting of 9 songs, one of them only lasting for 30 seconds.[6] They had teamed up with Rihanna producer John Hill to create the album.The album was released through Fool's Gold Records.

Eternal Champ

On September 12 of that same year, Joel and Nathan Williams released a second album, titled Eternal Champ, which received a score of 6.6 on Pitchfork Media. This collection of 13 songs heavily employs sampling, from Lex Luger, to Three 6 Mafia.[7]

Tour with GZA

Only two days after the release of the Eternal Champ kicked off the first concert along the tour with Brooklyn-born Wu-Tang Clan rapper Gza. The tour also included Hip-Hop artist Killer Mike, and post-punk band Bear Hands.[8]

Jenova

Exactly three months later, December 12, 2012, watched the release of Jenova. This album contains a total of 17 songs, one of which, Hurricane, was played in the teaser released on YouTube for the album.[9] [10]

SV

On 11 July 2013, Sweet Valley released their fourth album through Fool's Gold. This album, titled SV, contains 12 tracks.

2014-15: So Serene, Ghetto Cuisine, F.A.N.G, & MNDR: Dance 4 a Dollar

So Serene

10 February 2014 was the release date of Sweet Valley's $1, 27 minute, 33 second long "song," So Serene.[11]

Ghetto Cuisine

Early April, 2014, rapper DaVinci released an album titled Ghetto Cuisine, produced by Sweet Valley.[12] Two music videos for songs off the album were released on the Fool's Gold Records website.[13] [14]

Remix of Dangerous

Later on in April 2014, Sweet Valley released a remix of Dangerous, a single made by Big Data in collaboration with Joywave.

F.A.N.G.

The Sweet Valley album F.A.N.G. was released on 16 May 2014. Very little is known about the album, due to a lack of information or promotion available from Sweet Valley affiliates. The meaning behind the acronym F.A.N.G. is not known at this time.

MNDR: Dance 4 a Dollar

Likely the most known and most anticipated EP ever created by Sweet Valley, the collaboration album with pop music singer MNDR was released 17 February 2015. The song Liars, with MNDR, was used in the 2015 film, Entourage.

Performance at SXSW

Sweet Valley performed at SXSW on March 18, 2015.[15] [16] [17] The team collaborated with rappers Soulja Boy and Juicy J to release the song "Big Blue," released on 6 May 2015.[18] [19] They also released a collaboration with GZA (with whom they also toured in 2013)[20] for a Converse CONS EP.[21] Little is known about upcoming projects and release dates, although a new release is possible soon according to some videos uploaded by Joel on Instagram.

2020: American Rapstar

In 2020, the movie American Rapstar was released, featuring a 36-minute long soundtrack by Sweet Valley, which was made available on streaming platforms in 2024.

Discography

Albums

Title! scope="col" rowspan="1" style="width:21em;"
Album details
Eternal Champ
Jenova
  • Released: 12 December 2012[23]
  • Label: Fool's Gold
  • Formats: digital download
SV
  • Released: 11 July 2013[24]
  • Label: Fool's Gold
  • Formats: digital download, vinyl
F.A.N.G.
  • Released: 16 May 2014[25]
  • Label: Fool's Gold
  • Formats: digital download
Eternal Champ II
  • Release: 20 April 2018 [26]
  • Label: Ghost Ramp [27]
  • Formats: digital download, vinyl
Sopranos S1
  • Release: 5 August 2022 [28]
  • Label: Roshis Garden
  • Formats: digital download
LAMENT CONFIGURATION
  • Release: 31 October 2022 [29]
  • Label: Roshis Garden
  • Formats: digital download

Collaboration albums

List of Collaboration Albums
Title Album Details
Ghetto Cuisine
  • Released: 17 April 2014[30]
  • Label: Fool's Gold
  • Formats: digital download
MNDR: Dance 4 a Dollar
  • Released: 17 February 2015[31]
  • Label: Fool's Gold
  • Formats: digital download, EP[32]

Singles

List of Singles
Title Album Details
So Serene
  • Released: 10 February 2014[33]
  • Label: Fool's Gold
  • Formats: digital download, vinyl
Hermano
  • Released: 28 November 2016[34]
  • Formats: digital download

Concert tours

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Battan. Carrie. Wavves' Nathan Williams and His Brother Talk Instrumental Beat Project, Sweet Valley. pitchfork.com. March 28, 2015. July 25, 2012.
  2. Web site: Sweet Valley. bandcamp.com. 28 March 2015.
  3. Web site: SV (@sweetvvalley) on Twitter. Twitter. 28 March 2015.
  4. Web site: Evan. Minkser. Wavves' Nathan Williams Starts New Band Spirit Club, Shares Two Tracks | News | Pitchfork. pitchfork.com. 11 June 2015. 7 October 2014.
  5. Web site: Ian. Cohen. Sweet Valley: Stay Calm | Album Reviews | Pitchfork. pitchfork.com. 11 June 2015. 6 August 2012.
  6. Web site: Sweet Valley - Valley Viking. YouTube. Fool's Gold Records. 28 March 2015.
  7. Web site: Cohen. Ian. Sweet Valley: Eternal Champ | Album Reviews. Pitchfork. 28 March 2015.
  8. Web site: Battan. Carrie. GZA Announces Tour With Killer Mike and Sweet Valley (Nathan Williams of Wavves' Beat Project). pitchfork.com. August 2012. 31 March 2015.
  9. Web site: Sweet Valley "Jenova" Teaser. YouTube. Fool's Gold Records. 31 March 2015.
  10. Web site: Sweet Valley - Hurricane. YouTube. Fool's Gold Records. 31 March 2015.
  11. Web site: So Serene | Sweet Valley. bandcamp.com. 31 March 2015.
  12. Web site: DAVINCI x SWEET VALLEY. foolsgoldrecs.com/. 31 March 2015.
  13. Web site: DaVinci & Sweet Valley - I Got That Line [Official Video]]. YouTube. Fool's Gold Records. 31 March 2015.
  14. Web site: DaVinci & Sweet Valley - Dog Meat [Official Video]]. YouTube. Fool's Gold Records. 31 March 2015.
  15. Web site: SV on Twitter: "Were playing sxsw http://t.co/Mu7NJYnprV. Twitter. 31 March 2015.
  16. Web site: SV on Twitter: "This was a good sxsw experience, I appreciate it austin ". Twitter. 31 March 2015.
  17. Web site: Fool's Gold Records on Twitter: "Our Austin party schedule keeps getting wilder! RSVP for #GreenLabelLive #SXSW2015 http://t.co/h9EV3wWGkM @greenlabel http://t.co/PTzBTfBrG2. Twitter. 31 March 2015.
  18. Web site: Hughes. Jason. Sweet Valley "Big Blue" (ft. Juicy J and Soulja Boy). exclaim.ca. 6 May 2015. 6 May 2015.
  19. Web site: Grebey. James. Sweet Valley Team With Juicy J and Soulja Boy for the Fluid 'Big Blue' | SPIN. spin.com. 6 May 2015. 6 May 2015.
  20. Web site: Battan. Carrie. GZA Announces Tour With Killer Mike and Sweet Valley (Nathan Williams of Wavves' Beat Project). Pitchfork.com. August 2012. 31 March 2015.
  21. Web site: GZA x Sweet Valley - 'Planetary Energy" by ConverseMusic. soundcloud.com. 11 July 2015.
  22. Web site: Sweet Valley - Stay Calm (File, MP3) at Discogs. discogs.com. 7 July 2015.
  23. Web site: Sweet Valley - Jenova (File, MP3) at Discogs. discogs.com. 7 July 2015.
  24. Web site: Sweet Valley - SV (File, MP3) at Discogs. discogs.com. 7 July 2015.
  25. Web site: Sweet Valley - F.A.N.G (File, MP3) at Discogs. discogs.com. 7 July 2015.
  26. Web site: Eternal Champ II, by Sweet Valley. Sweet Valley. 2018-12-19.
  27. Web site: Sweet Valley - Eternal Champ II. Discogs. en. 2018-12-19.
  28. Web site: Sopranos S1, by Sweet Valley. Sweet Valley. 2022-10-08.
  29. Web site: Lament Configuration, by Sweet Valley. Sweet Valley. 2023-01-09.
  30. Web site: Soderberg. Brandon. DaVinci / Sweet Valley, 'Ghetto Cuisine' Review. spin.com. 31 March 2015.
  31. Web site: Mndr & Sweet Valley - Dance 4 a Dollar at Discogs. discogs.com. 7 July 2015.
  32. Web site: WAVVES on Instagram: "SV X MNDR + FOOLS GOLD X GHOST RAMP. Instagram. 31 March 2015.
  33. Web site: Sweet Valley - So Serene (File, MP3) at Discogs. discogs.com. 7 July 2015.
  34. Web site: Hermano, by Sweet Valley . 2024-05-19 . Sweet Valley . en.