Growing up in Miami, Ayleen Valentine was always drawn to alternative culture. She idolized Ben Gibbard, sunk into Lil Peep’s raw, woozy reimagining of emo, and admired Imogen Heap for her ability to write and produce her own music. It makes complete sense, then, that all those influences can be felt within her full-length debut, little rainbows after death. There are distinctly alt-rock moods (“the fool,” “ask nicely”), but then there’s the gritty hip-hop that she meticulously recreates (“CS-80”) and the fearless love ballads that take root in her appreciation for singer-songwriters (“sex symbol”).
Read more: 9 bands commonly mistaken as emo who really aren’t
Here, Valentine unraveled the many artists who informed her forward-thinking songs in celebration of her new album.
Death Cab For Cutie – “What Sarah Said”
Ben Gibbard is one of my favorite songwriters of all time. His writing has influence all over this album, but especially on “the fool.” I wanted to create an electronic piano ballad with blunt storytelling and metaphors like they use in “What Sarah Said.” I also like the way their drummer plays really intricate grooves that scratch your brain, and I wanted to incorporate a similar feeling, but instead with electronic samples.
Lil Peep – “White Tee”
Funnily enough, Lil Peep actually sampled the Postal Service in this song, which is a Death Cab For Cutie side project. Peep had a very distinct sound, and part of why is the way he processes his vocals. It’s so imperfectly perfect. Essentially, he stacks a bunch of the same vocal melody on top of each other and drenches it in reverb. I tried recreating that effect in different hooks throughout the album, but my favorite song that I did that on was “CS-80.” The whole song is processed that way. I recorded like 10 tracks of the same exact vocal part, and tried to intentionally sound bad because the pitchiness makes the effect more noticeable. There was no vocal tuning at all on this song because the imperfections is what made it cool to me. It’s my favorite song on the album by far.
Imogen Heap – “Closing In”
I wholeheartedly believe that this album was so ahead of its time. Imogen Heap is probably my favorite producer ever, and she writes and produces all her music by herself, which is super inspiring to me. This song is a whirlwind of textures and sounds that blend so beautifully together. The bass melody and tone are my favorite parts of this song. The way she writes bass and drum parts has definitely influenced my production throughout the years.
Mitski – “I Bet On Losing Dogs”
I don’t know how to describe my love for Mitski in words, but I will try. Obviously, she is an incredible songwriter, but there’s so much more subconsciously going on. The way she performs this song is so numb and emotionless almost. When I listen to this song, I feel like the world is spinning around me while I stand still. She has perfected the art of vibe. I think the overall feeling and energy of a song are more important than everything else. I tried to remember that while making each song on the album. “Does this feel like how it sounds?”
Daft Punk – “Instant Crush”
Julian Casablancas is incredible. This song is incredible. It’s similar to Mitski, in the sense that it’s also just such an atmospherical song. Just incredible storytelling and melodies overall.
Rosalia – “G3 N15”
Honestly, Rosalia’s entire artistry inspires me. My goal for this album was to be open-minded to other genres and feelings — to be playful. The first time I listened to Motomami, I was super impressed by her decision to not stay in one sonic box, and I realized not being afraid to leave the box is very important to me and my sound. I’m happy that I ended up committing to that and not being afraid to try out new things.
Elliott Smith – “Waltz #1”
Elliott Smith was one of the first musicians to make me really dive into the lyricism of a song. He was so brutally honest and vulnerable in every single song he wrote, and that’s a very scary thing to do. The first song on the album was a challenge for me to be as vulnerable as possible, even if it makes other people uncomfortable. Feelings are feelings, and sometimes you just have to say them like it is. Elliott was a master of expressing raw and real emotion. I try to carry that with me every time I write a song.
WILLOW – “Split”
I started getting into Willow Smith around the time I started this album, and her heavier stuff is so, so good. <COPINGMECHANISM> was pretty much the only music I was listening to, and to this day, I haven’t gotten sick of it, which is rare. She’s also another artist who isn’t afraid to leave the box and try new sounds. I love her new era of jazz, too. Her vocal ability is so impressive and hard to do. I never got into belting and hitting high notes, but she does it so tastefully, and that inspired me to try belting on “ask nicely.”
underscores – “Where Did You Fall”
underscores is inspiring for so many different reasons. Her visual and sonic world is like nothing I’ve ever seen before. She really homed in on her sound and what is cool to her. You can tell she’s spent time listening to so many different kinds of music and really appreciates the details. Her music has ear candy all over the place, and that perks up my producer ears. I wanted to have moments similar to that on my album. I wanted musicians and music lovers to be like, “Oh wow, how did she get that sound on this song?” or, “Damn what is that noise?”
Coldplay – “Shiver”
Coldplay is in my top 10 favorite bands of all time, but this song specifically hits a certain place in my heart. The arrangement from section to section is so seamless. It’s constantly building to reach some kind of sonic explosion, and when it dies down, it builds again. I have really bad attention issues, so I like songs like this that keep me engaged the whole time. I feel like you can tell when you listen to my music that I have attention problems because there are unexpected random sections that jump out at you. This song is a perfect example of how that is executed in a way that makes sense.
