Valley Maker

Valley Maker is the songwriting project of South Carolina-based musician and PhD student in Human Geography, Austin Crane. His new record, When The Day Leaves, will be released on February 19th, via Frenchkiss Records.

When the Day Leaves is an uninterrupted sequence of reflections about the generational limbo of being awed by and worried for this world. The anxiety of uncertainty—always part of life but now seemingly omnipresent—can be vexing, a reality these songs acknowledge. But these songs also affirm that life is an endless opportunity for renewal, for trying again. In 2019, Crane and his wife, Megan, decided it was time to leave Seattle. South Carolina natives, they headed east to Columbia, SC, rejoining a deep community of friends and moving into a century-old home in need of big love. Driven as it is by departure, When the Day Leaves marks the arrival of Valley Maker as a trustworthy narrator for these shaky times. Following the move, Crane decamped to the Pacific Northwest for a three-week session with producer Trevor Spencer at Way Out studio in the woods outside of Seattle. He stayed in the studio's loft, the record's collaborators (Amy Godwin, Chris Icasiano, Morgan Henderson, among others) sealing themselves off in the horse barn-turned-recording space as winter’s mist closed in. The time commitment is a crucial component of When the Day Leaves. For 46 minutes, you feel like you’re sitting with Crane in an intricate, unified sound-world of his design.