Northern Valentine

Formed in 1997, Northern Valentine is a Philadelphia, Pennsylvania based ambient / drone-rock collective – anchored by Robert Brown, Amy Brown, Matt Primak and Jeffrey Bumiller. Their music builds on thematic improvisations that are set to original films and visuals that the collective has created.

Coaxing sounds from electric and acoustic sources, they weave meditative drones and soundscapes with post-rock instrumentation to create a tapestry that Phil McMullen [Terrascope Online] describes as “soulful and affecting, like gazing into a scrapbook of memories”. 

After a string of self-released albums that were sold at performances and are now largely out of print, their ambitious field recording project – “Leopard’s Mouth” (2005) – was rereleased in 2008, by their long time friend and musical collaborator, Ben Fleury-Steiner, on his Gears of Sand label. It was followed by an album that Robert recorded with Austin, Texas based guitarist, P.D. Wilder – “Northern Valentine & P.D. Wilder” (2008). 

They then partnered with Silber Records and released two albums – “The Distance Brings Us Closer” (2008) and “Fin de siècle” (2012) – three Eps – “Stars Whisper” (2008), “Ribbons” (2012), and “Juno” (2012) – and a handful of songs on compilations.

After touring for eight years throughout parts of the United States and Iceland, they took a break in 2015. Matt began releasing music as Scary Font, and started the label, Fitness Cassettes - which released music by Jeffrey's other musical project, Scream Time, in 2021.

In 2023, Northern Valentine reemerged with two new albums – “The Infinite Bleed” (2023) and “Dance of The Ragged Spirits” (2023) – as well as a reissue of one of their self-released albums – “The Unblinking Eye” (2006). 

In 2024, they reissued their first album – “Pictures from the Lake” (2004) – as an expanded edition that celebrates the album’s 20th anniversary and features previously unreleased music. They also debuted some new music in Philadelphia at their first live performance since 2015.

Contact: northernvalentine (at) gmail (dot) com