Wolfgang Valbrun

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Wolfgang Valbrun is a singer-songwriter born and raised in the state of New York, whose musical career has flourished in Europe, particularly in Paris where he moved as a teenager.His early musical education came from his mother and spanned a wide spectrum, from Bob Marley to Bobby McFerrin, Billy Joel to Elton John and Charles Aznavour to Grace Jones, all infused with a touch of Kompa, the Haitian musical flavour that has informed many Caribbean music scenes.

Guided by elder cousins, he veered away from the American rock that once defined his taste and immersed himself in the world of soul, jazz, hip-hop, and Brazilian music. Artists like Erykah Badu, The Roots, Seu Jorge, and Gilberto Gil left a lasting impact on his musical journey. Wolfgang’s horizons expanded to embrace a rich diversity of genres, leaving an indelible imprint upon his young artistic soul.

 

As high school drew to a close, Wolfgang sought a change of scenery. He spent a year in Venezuela where the salsa, merengue, cumbia, and calypso charmed and further shaped his musical senses. Returning home he auditioned to join the Parisian funk band “Marvellous”, where he met Thierry Lemaitre with whom he has written and played ever since.  Wolfgang then met fellow future bandmates James Graham and Adam Holgate through playing live with Marvellous alongside UK soul act The Tastemakers.

 

In a moment of fate, the Tastemaker’s band leader Hillman Mondegreen pitched Wolfgang to join her new project ephemerals as the lead singer and Wolf took his chance to show his talent to a worldwide audience. ephemerals debut album Nothin Is Easy was classic soul with a modern twist, with Mondegreen’s songs a perfect vehicle for Wolf’s distinctive voice which brought a key element of emotion and power to the band’s music.

It was an instant hit, especially You Made Us Change which was reworked into a worldwide airplay hit that has streamed in the hundreds of millions and led to Wolf performing live at Victoires de la Musique (the French equivalent of The Brit Awards).

 

A performance at Glastonbury found Wolf a new fan in the form of French hip hop and funk legend GUTS. He recruited Wolfgang to tour with GUTS live band leading to Wolf co-writing and performing on tracks for his Stop The Violence record. Having willingly provided the vocals for so long for the projects of others, Wolf knew that the time was right to write and record under his own name and the  result is Flawed By Design - a collection of intensely personal songs inspired by love, loss, relationships, social unrest and personal growth.

 

The album was recorded in Fishpond Studio Bristol and Rockfield Studio Wales with Thierry Lemaitre, James Graham, Adam Holgate, Damian McLean-Brown, Charlie Fitzgerald, Rhii Williams and Matt Brown -  a brilliant team of musicians and co-writers, many of whom also form the core of Wolf’s touring band.