Valentina is a bit of a secret weapon in the world of indie electronica. The English-Italian artist (surname Pappalardo) has sung on Hot Chip’s return-to-form album, last year’s A Bath Full of Ecstasy, and done backup with lo-fi disco producer Kindness on tour, as well as contributing to rapper Kano’s 2019 album Hoodies All Summer. Her breakthrough moment was in 2011 on Joe Goddard’s big electro-pop summer heater, Gabriel. But instead of turning into a dance music diva, Valentina released 2013’s Wolves EP, a pack of ghostly, Kate Bush-leaning songs.
Now she’s back, with a gauzy electronic-pop sound that suggests Arthur Russell, Tirzah and Jamie xx, and feels more than fitting for the current moment. Her new EP, You Know Where My Happiness Went, is self-produced – she took on the role after breaking up with all the boyfriends who used to do it for her, apparently – and has the undone peculiarity that can only come from having to make it up as you go along. Valentina wrote it while couch-surfing, following the end of a five-year relationship, and, with no equipment, recorded her vocals directly into her laptop, which gives them a submerged quality.
In fact, much of the EP sounds as if she is coming to life after self-imposed quarantine. Like most DIY musicians, what’s next for 2020 remains up in the air, but Valentina is one step further ahead than most: she says that her EP’s title track is about “learning to be alone” and “getting to know and like yourself”, something we all could do with facing up to right now.
You Know Where My Happiness Went is out now