Lost Valentinos Serio
February 19, 2009 Posted by admin at 10:18 am
“It is the sixteenth century. From all over Europe, great ships sail west to conquer the New World, the Americas. The men: eager to seek their fortune, to find new adventures in new lands. They long to cross uncharted seas and discover unknown countries, to find secret gold on a mountain trail high in the Andes. They dream of following the path of the setting sun that leads to El Dorado and the Mysterious Cities Of Gold.”
Present day. A band of five spirited and able men of ancient blood and true hearts: Jono Ma, Nik Yiannikas, Simon Parker and the Brothers Santamaria. Young adventurers seeking a new treasure. Their quest: walking the path of their forefathers in search of new Cities of Gold. Their art: Conquistadisco. They are known as Lost Valentinos.
Their journey begins on the island of New Holland in the year 2007 AD. Banded together in a studio in the port city of Sydney, they record their tales of adventure, quest, hope and despair. Many days, months and years had led to this culmination of honed talents and refined ideas, and many characters and successes were encountered on the way…
Since their inception in 2005, Lost Valentinos have conspired with legendary journeyman Kimberly Isaac Moyes (of the exalted duo The Presets), and the notorious twosome Nicholas Littlemore and Peter Mayes (of PNAU and Empire of the Sun fame), on their debut and sophomore offerings respectfully. Both bodies of work received widespread acclaim, gained them valuable knowledge, and saw them forge the second ever franco-australien relationship with avant-garde curators of Music, Kitsuné (the first being made by the frontiersmen known as Cut Copy).
But it was only upon their chance encounter with one of Music’s greatest shamans that their path was illuminated. His name was Ewan Pearson, and he was known as the Silver Fox. Quests with the likes of The Rapture, Tracey Thorn and M83 have endeared the Silver Fox to his peers, and made him respected and revered amongst his enemies.
And so it was in that year that Jono, Nik, Simon, Andrew and Pat (known as the Coyote, Jaguar, Asp, Piranha and Condor respectively), accompanied by the great shaman, took their first steps on the trail to find their riches. Their debut full-length body of work, Cities of Gold, documents these adventures.
The Bismarck chronicles the first stage of the journey – the tale of the conquistadors’ tumultuous journey through uncharted waters. Serio tells of the second – the warm embrace of a safe landing ashore; it is a halcyon summer anthem brimming with optimism and sunlight.
Lost Valentinos have walked in the footsteps and heard the whispers of the adventurous lost souls before them: Francisco Orellana, Gonzalo Pizzaro, Philipp von Hutten, Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada and Sir Walter Raleigh. Yet, unlike their precursors, these new conquistadors returned with great riches.
Not the fabled gold that their Incan ancestors spoke of through the language of Quipu, or ‘talking knots’, but the precious discovery of knowledge and experience, gained in the communion of ancient and new technologies. Lost Valentinos are here with new riches, new tales, told in a new language.
Serio will be released on iTunes on the 28th of February and in limited edition CD single format on the 28th of March on etcetc, through Universal Music Australia. Taken from their forthcoming debut album Cities of Gold (produced by Ewan Pearson), due out mid 2009.