We recently connected with Sean Valy and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Sean thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

Every song or album I’ve created could be considered meaningful. It starts with a concept or idea that is usually inspired and brought to my attention through the life around me. One of the recent songs I’ve worked on is a single called ‘Heart of the Sun.’ Last year when I was traveling through Florida, I came across A man who was living in a hole on the beaches of Madeira. It was late at night when my brother, sister, and I were walking down the gulf coast. The moon was reflecting off the surface of the sea as we walked up to a colossal sized hole dug into the sand. The man below had long hair and was shirtless. We offered him a drink and intended to walk away until he invited us to sit in his hole with him. This sounds a bit absurd but we jumped in the hole and for two full hours we talked about life, love, hardship, and death. At the end of our conversation, we asked to take a picture with the man so we would remember the moment, but he respectfully declined to take a photo. He proceeded to walk us out of the hole and said he was going to go for a swim. I felt concerned for the man since it was late at night and the ocean was looking a bit intimidating but he stated that “whatever is to come is meant to happen.” I watched the man swim out to sea, his head bobbing in the waves as the moon shined down on him. What happened next is unknown. As we walked off the beach that night I couldn’t help but feel inspired to write about the conversations we had with a man whom we had never known. Sometimes you experience moments that later become meaningful. It all depends on how you perceive each one that passes. In the end, the song ‘Heart of the Sun’ was made. I took the demo to my producer WAVMAGE and together, we worked to finalize the sound through instruments and recordings. ‘Heart of the Sun’ is set for release in July 2023. If you are interested in hearing the sounds that came from those meaningful moments, keep an ear out in July. 

Sean, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

When I was 15 years old, I realized that I wasn’t going to be pursuing sports anymore. I had bigger plans for myself. Music encapsulated my mind, body, and soul. I was quickly becoming addicted to recording music, writing, rehearsing, singing, and pretty much anything else that came along with that creative process. I performed at local open mics and was throwing myself at the general public through social media postings daily. Most days that went by, you could find me with friends recording songs, or study YouTube videos of how to write catchy hooks. That is, until most of my friends moved away to college to peruse degrees in fields of study they could hardly care less about. I saw the world differently. I couldn’t picture myself stepping foot into a 4-year university when I had my mind set on making a career out of music. Well, I can tell you now that at 29 years old, I haven’t reached a point where music pays the bills. I haven’t reached fame, nor have I flown on a private jet to my sold-out stadium concert. Even though I was persistent, progressive, talented, and driven, fame never came knocking. As I grew through my 20s, a new reality set in. Working a day job had become the normal grind but music was still in me, So I never gave up. I never quit and now, I have continued to create the best music I possibly can. I could never actually stop making songs. I decided when I was 15 that I would always make music because the truth is, music was my way of coping with the world around me. The idea of fame has become less of a desire and the idea of what success means to me has shifted. In all the years of making music, I’ve had so much small success that I almost do consider myself to be famous. It just comes down to my perspective of what success means. I’ve had my songs played on radio stations around the world. I’ve performed on stages in front of hundreds of people at a time. I’ve made amazing albums with my producers and built an amazing, loyal fan base that gives me feedback and support for every song I make. I’ve shot professional music videos with my brother. I can say that I reached some form of success through my music at this point. It may not be Hollywood fame but I’ve lived a hell of a life doing something I’ve loved doing ever since I was 15. The only thing I can do is keep trying. Keep being original. Keep making the music that I love to make. The rest is up to the universe. 

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

The most rewarding part of being an artist for me is completing a song that started from nothing but an idea. There’s something special about taking your thoughts and turning them into structured sentences that co-exist inside this little world that you are creating. Instrumentation creates the groves and melodies while the vocal creates the story to follow. Mixing everything down into one gives me a chill that I can’t describe. A lot of people get chills from back scratches but I get chills from hearing my completed song for the first listen-through. Art is a special thing and can bring joy to those who embrace it. 

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

I have gotten a lot of questions over the years from non-creative people. The most common one is why haven’t you given up yet? Or, What’s the point if you’re not even making money from this? They can’t seem to understand why someone who isn’t making a living off of art continues to create it. The reason we don’t just stop creating is because it’s not that simple to just give up on something that you have put so much time and effort into. People who have been in love and had their hearts broken should understand that. Not only that but it goes even deeper. Creativity lives within the deepest parts of one’s soul. Being creative is not just a choice but a way someone’s DNA is built. Sure you may stop creating from a creative funk but there will always be a spark inside that needs to release out at one point or another. I think that’s why they say some people are right-brained and some are left-brained. It’s in my DNA baby! 

Contact Info:

• Website: https://seanvaly.com

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/seanvaly/

• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/seanvaly

Image Credits
Christopher Patrick, Sean Patrick