Music has always been a form of therapy to dark pop artist Valencia James. So, when depression came knocking, it was only natural for her to channel her feelings into writing. The result was “Dreamers,” a powerful track about finding your strength again and always holding onto your dreams. James hopes to encourage her audience find their sense of purpose and surround themselves with positive people. Listen to “Dreamers” HERE.
You describe your genre as “dreamy dark pop.” What does that mean to you?
Valencia James: Dreamy dark pop is a way to describe my sound of my music. I think most of my songs reflect a bit of darkness in the melodic notes mixed with a bit of a dreamy landscape. It doesn’t mean my songs are all dark, but it really describes the overall feel of the melodies and production.
How would you differentiate your sound from other pop artists out there?
I guess people have told me that I have a very unique way of expressing myself in my melodies etc… I used to think that meant there was something wrong with me, but now I’ve come to realise that it’s something to embrace. I also like to mix other genres into the “pop sound” probably more sub consciously than anything, but I grew up listening to all sorts of styles of music including classical, R&B, rock, hip hop, world, (Irish, Arabic, etc…). So I guess I tend to include all of those styles into my melodies and even production.
Talk about your new single, “Dreamers.” You’ve mentioned that you wrote “Dreamers” after a bout of depression. Would you say that music helped you to cope during this time?
Definitely. I believe music has always helped me cope through many different difficult times in my life and this being one of them. Whenever I’ve been through depression or anxiety, I go straight to writing and I usually end up writing more “positive” sounding songs to bring good where maybe it felt lacking.
How did you inspire yourself to learn how to dream again?
I really just started to remind myself of all the things that I wanted to do and started to go after those things again. Writing also helped me express everything that I was feeling and helped give me the strength again.
What do you hope that your audience will take away from this song?
I hope people can listen to the song and feel a bit like a child again, when any dream felt like it was attainable. I hope they remember that we were all made with something incredible to do on this earth and that it’s time to start doing whatever that is.
What message do you have for people who think their dreams are unattainable or don’t have hope for the future?
I would say get yourself around people that believe even more in you than you do for yourself. There’s nothing like having someone speak life into you and believing in you even when it’s difficult for you to. And, there is always something incredible to live for if we just search for it and decide to wholeheartedly go after it. There’s always more ahead than what’s behind.
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Valencia James Wants You To Keep On Dreaming In Her Inspiring New Single, “Dreamers.” Photo Credit: Carli Jeen.
