Valentina Magaletti is a drummer-composer and multi-instrumentalist with an inventive approach to drums and percussion. Her versatile technique, which can incorporate anything from vibes and marimba to contact microphones and found objects, results in a style that is forever evolving. Feeling just as comfortable performing behind a delicate ceramic kit as she does hammering out motorik rhythms, her creative take on percussion has resulted in a diverse discography and many interesting collaborations. She’s released music on labels such as AD93, Editions Mego, The Trilogy Tapes, Longform Editions, Latency, Fire Records, Soundway and many more.

While studying drums, early exposure to both prog and bebop styles engendered an appetite for experimentation. With each new project, Valentina is developing fresh nuances and searching for new ways of teasing out sound from her signature instrument. For Magaletti, playing the drums is akin to an unfolding narrative: stories that eschew spoken language in favour of rhythm, pulse, and vibration.

Current projects include duos with electronic artists Nídia and upsammy, inventive post-hardcore group Moin, heavy dub combo Holy Tongue, jazz pop trio Vanishing Twin, among others. Her list of collaborators feels endless: members of Radiohead, This Heat and Wire, Cate Le Bon, Floating Points, Jandek, Pat Thomas, Deb Googe, Thurston Moore, Lafawndah, Mica Levi, Sampha, Kamasi Washington and Nicolas Jaar, to name a few. In 2017, Valentina participated in The Can Project, standing in for the late Jaki Liebezeit, at London’s Barbican Centre.

She has performed widely, with engagements at Unsound (New York, Krakow, Toronto), Le Guess Who?, Rewire, Atonal, Roskilde, Glastonbury, Wysyng Art Centre, Festival International Musiques Actuelle, Museum of Modern Art Moscow, Nuits Sonores, LAX Art, MUTEK Montreal and many more.

 

Press Links

Guardian Profile 2024

Pitchfork Review: Estradas 2024

Basta Now: The Wire Interview 2024

Bandcamp Daily Feature 2021