Based In - Ottawa, ON
Genre - Alternative rock
For fans of - Tool, Radiohead, Built To Spill, Smashing Pumpkins
Firmly rooted in 90s alt rock, Valvehead’s bombastic sound balances pop sensibilities with iconoclastic harmony, melodramatic dynamics, introspective lyrics, and bold production. Live performances are loud and chaotic, yet unmistakably tight. The group has been compared to Smashing Pumpkins, Tool, Built to Spill, and Abandoned Pools. Valvehead is the passion project of Canadian musician Cyrus R.O., and features Drew Young on guitar, Mike Lenz on bass, and Pierre Voisine on drums.
The group began performing in early 2022 under R.O.’s name. R.O. cut his teeth in the late 2010s in Halifax, NS where he performed with hard rock group Dali Van Gogh, as well as his own 4-piece, the aptly named Cyrus R.O. Quartet. During this period, R.O. released the singles Black Sheep, Ford Mustang, and Space Flunky. His 2020 debut album Deconvolution began as a project for an electronic music class at Dalhousie University. Inspired by the project’s use of creative production techniques, Deconvolution emphasized texture and relied heavily on electronic elements.Prompted by the onset of the Covid 19 pandemic, R.O. moved back to his parents’ home in Cape Breton, where he began work on his 2021 sophomore album, You are an island and so am I. The album was built around more traditional rock instrumentation, but retained a unique identity in its elaborate arrangements and idiosyncratic composition.
Also in 2021, R.O. was accepted to a graduate program in theoretical physics at Carleton University, in Ottawa. Prior to moving, R.O. connected with bassist Mike Lenz, who offered to play with R.O after listening to You are an island and so am I. The pair joined forces and went on to recruit guitarist Drew Young and drummer Pierre Voisine. The quartet performed their debut show in June of 2022 to a packed house at downtown Ottawa’s Avant Garde Bar, alongside Ottawa natives Sparrow’s Valley and Monostrat. Since then, they have performed on various stages across the national capital region and in neighboring cities.
As their live sound crystallized and R.O.’s writing became more focused on the modernized 90s alt sound, the group wanted to become its own entity, separate from R.O.s other work. In February, 2023, they adopted the name Valvehead. Within days of announcing the name change, the group released its first single, Manufactured Emotion. The single has been featured by various reviewers and playlisters internationally. Shortly after the release, the band was nominated for Newcomer Of The Year at the 2023 OMIC Capital Music Awards, and booked to open for Elyzabeth Diaga's Queens of Rock at Clarence-Rockland festival this June 30th.
On June 8th they released their second single Corrosive to a packed house at LIVE! on Elgin. The single has received glowing press coverage from Q-Alt and Class of Sounds among others. and will be featured in OEM II, a compilation of experimental Ottawa artists curated by the hosts of long-running CKCU radio program Hexon Bogon. With a tour of Ontario planned for the fall and a debut full length slated for release in mid 2024, it's sure to be a happening year for Valvehead.
CONTACT
booking@valvehead.ca
(902)266-8836
DISCOGRAPHY'
Manufactured Emotion - Single, Feb 2023
You are an island and so am I - Album, June 2021 (Released as Cyrus R.O.)
DECONVOLUTION - Album, May 2020 (Released as Cyrus R.O.)
PAST DATES
December 3rd, 2023 - Doors Pub, Hamilton - with Green Harbour and Gas Leak
December 2nd, 2023 - The Atria, Oshawa - with Lancaster and Empire de Mu
December 1st, 2023 - Bar Cathedral, Toronto - with Broken Wolves and Bad River
November 26th, 2023 - Pop Surreal single release party at Rainbow Bistro - with Pretty Good and February Hate Club
November 6th, 2023 - Avant Garde Bar - with Walk me Home (Boston) , Finely Tuned Elephant, and Caveman Techno
August 25th, 2023 - Avant Garde Bar - with Alex Gage’s Flagship, Broken Wolves, and Not My Enemy
Jul 8th, 2023 - Avant Garde Bar - with Monostrat and Circle the City
Jun 30th, 2023 - Clarence Rockland Festival - with Elyzabeth Diaga
Jun 8th, 2023 - Corrosive single release party at LIVE! On Elgin, Ottawa - With Baby Richman and Not My Enemy
Apr 21st, 2023 - L’hemisphere Gauche, Montreal - With Pontesable and Proximity to Temptation
Apr 20th, 2023 - The Rainbow, Ottawa - With Pink Cloud Summer and Holy Christopher
Feb 23rd, 2023 - Skylounge, Ottawa - With various artists in support of Gnarfunkel
Feb 6th, 2023 - Avant Garde Bar, Ottawa - With Sparrow's Valley (Ottawa), in support of NS touring act Voodoo Sometimes
Jan 28th, 2023The Painted Lady, Toronto - With Toronto act Angel Apricot
Jan 14th, 2023 - Live! On Elgin, Ottawa - With Out By Lucy (Ottawa), in support of Futura Free (Ottawa)
Dec 11th, 2023 - Live! On Elgin, Ottawa - With just fine and Pink Cloud Summer
Oct 22nd, 2022 - Avant Garde Bar, Ottawa - With Major Moody and Leeny Jones
Sept 24th, 2022 - Live! On Elgin, Ottawa - With The Rebel Wheel and Finely Tuned Elephant
July 22, 2022 - Montgomery Scotch Lounge, Ottawa - (Solo performance) With Emma Bayash
July 16, 2022 - Mill Street Park, Manotick - (Solo performance) OMIC City Sounds concert series with Rachel Beausoleil
July 9, 2022 - Barfly, Montreal - With Hole in Heaven and John Hubcap Band
June 10, 2022 - Avant Garde Bar, Ottawa - With Monostrat and Sparrow's Valley
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