Though named for a popular British toy company, Chad Valley is more than just a plaything Oxford, UK’s Hugo Manuel. Also the frontman for the group Jonquil, Manuel has turned a couple of lo-fi solo EPs into a fully realized project of lush, summery synth-pop. Like Jonquil, Chad Valley features Manuel’s distinctive falsetto as it mines the sounds of the tropics and of the 80′s, but here he tends more toward Balearic beat and psych-tinged electro-pop created by a table full of electronics rather than with a full band. Recently, Manuel released the official Chad Valley debut, Young Hunger, recorded this time in a proper studio to add a more polished and produced sheen. This past October, he performed songs from Young Hunger, live in the Cutting Room Studios in New York City during the Morning Show as we were preparing for our CMJ broadcast. Check out the blissful melodies he creates here:
Full Performance: