Drawing inspiration from acoustic and indie music, Valerie Warntz brings her own style to the modern music scene. Started 3 years ago with raw demos, she self-developed and returned in 2017 with new fresh country-pop sound captured in her Christmas release The Xmas Story which got attention of music lovers and tastemakers all around the world, followed by successful EP Crazy Dreams and VEVO channel still gaining thousands of views. Check our Exclusive Interview with Valerie below!

Exclusive Interview:

Exposed Vocals: So, almost one year ago, you released The Xmas Story EP, which considered to be debut somehow, but we didn’t hear much about it. How did you came up with the idea of writing Christmas EP and its structure?

— Well, I wrote it back in 2016 and I cannot clearly remember how exactly this idea came into my mind. I guess I just wanted to make winter and its celebrations more magical because they are definitely not my favorites. Also I have always been fond of acoustic music with country-folk vibes. I decided to test myself if I could do something thematic. Writing conceptual holiday EP was much harder than Crazy Dreams EP, I gotta say, but it was very interesting challenge for myself.

Exposed Vocals: At the moment, this is the one and only album you put covers in: Last Christmas and Shake Up Christmas. Why did you choose those two?

— Obviously, Last Christmas is such a legendary song which symbolizes Christmas worldwide. From the very beginning of working on the record, I had no doubt this cover is gonna be on my EP and be an opener. Shake Up Christmas is the song which means a lot for me: I remember listening to it when I was around 12 years old and was just taking my first steps in songwriting on my native language. It always brought New Year mood and gave me chills when I was a little girl, and still does. That’s why I decided to show some respect to this special song by covering it.

Exposed Vocals: Seems like you pay attention to every detail in you work, isn’t it? Is there any secret meaning behind number 7 which means seven songs on the tracklist?

— Definitely. This is exactly how I always work: do my best to reach perfection in everything. Atmosphere is surely important, especially in thematic release such as Christmas album. And yes, 7 is my favorite number. I’m not gonna say I tried to do exactly seven songs… This is just how it happened to be. And I’m happy it did.

Exposed Vocals: Exciting! Apart from this, we know that you also tried yourself in producing music for other artists, such as AiratKhis or The Iridescent. How does it feel to write music for anybody else? Is it harder or something?

— I love it. This is kinda more that just work for money: this is creative opportunity to improve the recording, make it perfect by literally touching it. I feel so proud when I work with artists and they are satisfied with the result: I always carefully consider their ideas and do my best to make the song more interesting.

Exposed Vocals: You are extremely talented, Valerie. Is there anything you can’t do?

— Thank you very much! Yeah, believe me, I’m absolutely horrible in cooking. Tea and noodles are the top of my cooking skills. *laughing*

Exposed Vocals: Before we finish, I want to ask you some quick questions. Are you ready?

— Always!

Exposed Vocals: Okay. What is your favorite song from The Xmas Story?

— Ah… Winter Story.

Exposed Vocals: Top-3 songs from The Xmas Story?

— Winter Story
Magical & Enchanting
Last Christmas

Exposed Vocals: Less favorite song from The Xmas Story?

— I love them all, for sure. But I listen to Oh, Winter rarely that others, don’t know why.

Exposed Vocals: Been a pleasure to chat with you, Valerie. Good luck with your awesome music! Go, girl!

— Thank you!