With My Shades On… The Pop Shines Bright
Dina Valenz’s latest release is an eclectic and infectious collision of pop, EDM, and country. It seems the only known cure is just one more cue.
“Dina brings out a new harder club goddess edge. Taking a gamble on changing things up to reflect an expansion of range, proved a good one.” - Music Emissions
(SAN, PEDRO, CALIFORNIA) FEBRUARY 10th, 2015 – It’s almost always sunny in singer-songwriter Dina Valenz’s hometown of San
Pedro, California… Maybe that’s why the pop shines so bright in her latest release, With My Shades On. But... it’s not the weather. The brilliant result of Dina’s new power-pop EP is the culmination of an intense period of her songwriting, a stylistic metamorphosis, and a newfound collaboration with L.A. electronic dance music producer Jay P.
With My Shades On is a six-track EP follow-up to Dina’s critically acclaimed 2013 debut release entitled Miles and Miles. While With My Shades On still features Valenz's trademark “straight from the soul” songwriting, the new album has a decidedly different flavor and style. “I’ve always been confident in my abilities as a songwriter, but I feel bolder now with this new groove and sound.”
With My Shades On is an eclectic mix of songs with lyrical glimpses into Dina’s personal life experience that - as a songwriter - she composed purposely to resonate also with fans. The title track, about moving on in a relationship, also has deeper meaning for Valenz herself, as she explains… “In the music industry’s ups and downs, you sometimes want to give up, but deep down, you love it. You just put your shades on and go out and do the show.”
Other key tracks on With My Shades On include the addictive, heartfelt cross-over ballad, “I Can’t Forget You” and the empowerment anthem, “Fighter.” “Fighter” is a song that that is close to me, because I’ve literally lived it,” explains Dina. Within this entire EP, Valenz displays her uncanny knack to firstly pen, then perform songs in almost any genre as exemplified by her countrified track, “Showing Him Off.” As in her debut album, Dina once again called upon the skills of her long time mentor - award winning and critically acclaimed jazz vocalist/lyricist Mark Winkler. “Mark has been a big influence on me – took me under his wing – and really helped develop my songwriting craft over the years,” offers Valenz.
Dina’s performances started on the playground as a kid with a guitar but have progressed to the likes of House of Blues in Hollywood, Genghis Cohen and Skinny’s Lounge in Southern California. The EP Release will be March 6th, 2015 at Molly Malone’s in Los Angeles at 8:30pm in the evening. However, don’t worry, everyone will be thereWith My Shades On, because the pop’s bright when Dina plays!
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Dina Valenz - Artist Bio
Emerging as a fresh and dynamic artist and performer in her home region of SoCal, multi-talented singer-songwriter Dina Valenz has, over the past few years, enthralled her growing legion of fans in a variety of prominent venues from theHouse of Blues Hollywood, Genghis Cohen and Skinny’s Lounge to the 600-seatAladdin Theatre in Portland, Oregon, where she opened for renowned pop/country artist Matt Boydston.
Widening her sphere beyond prominent regular performances in outdoor music settings – including a recent stint at the Long Beach Town Center Live Music Series – the San Pedro raised, L.A. based vocal dynamo has been a popular attraction on the festival and fair circuit. In 2014, she did three shows at the San Diego County Fairand also appeared at the Los Angeles County Fair and Orange County Fair.
While Dina’s well received and critically acclaimed 2013 debut EP Miles and Miles drew upon key influences like Alanis Morissette, Sheryl Crow and Jewel, she does an explosive and exciting 180 on her latest EP With My Shades On. Miles and Miles was produced by her mentor, veteran contemporary jazz singer-songwriter Mark Winkler, and the set was arranged by another renowned performer, pianist/keyboardist Jamieson Trotter.
On the new EP, she brings her bright and sassy vocal style and clever songwriting to a fun and colorful synth-pop realm, creating a whole new, hipper and more youthful vibe with L.A. based hip-hop and EDM producer Jay P.
After a particularly prolific period of songwriting, Dina teamed up with Jay P and has since developed an exciting partnership that has taken her artistry to an exciting new level. “I’ve always been confident in my abilities as a songwriter, but I feel even bolder now with this new groove and sound.” she says.
“I feel like I’m in a great place in my life and these songs reflect my strength, confidence and ability to overcome personal and professional challenges. Many producers who create the sounds Jay does tend to overwhelm the artist with their production, but he has the unique ability to transform the songs rather than change them, with my voice, personality and individuality as the driving force.”
Dina’s musical destiny began taking shape at age 12, when she picked up the guitar for the first time. She remembers practicing every day after school until her mother forced her to go to bed. “Ever since then,” she says, “my guitar and I have pretty much been inseparable,” and she remembers spending many of her lunch hours at school playing and singing for “tips” from her fellow students that included Skittles and lunch tickets.
She later participated in every performance and talent show she could sign up for. During her senior year, Dina performed her first solo acoustic show, where she had the opportunity to play six songs in a row. “I got all my friends out to see me and I was hooked!” she says.
Dina is still hooked (while continuing to write killer hooks!) on the joy of performing for audiences, on singing and playing her guitar and writing more songs which she plans to license to TV and film as her solo career continues. An all-around creative talent, she says, “I’ve done a little of everything, from acting to singing in bands and a capella – and none of those experiences are as meaningful to me as writing and singing my own songs and performing them for audiences who connect with where I am coming from.
The most important things I look for in a song are ‘how does this make me feel ?’ and ‘What is the story?’ The best part of the creative journey has been discovering my true self in the process. This is always going to be what my life is about.”
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