Valley
Lost in Translation (Capitol)
Trilingual, effortlessly cool pop artist Paris WYA told us about her love for a Valley gem...
Paris WYA: My favorite album is Lost in Translation by Valley. I first heard it the summer after my freshman year of college, when I was interning in Singapore. On a day off, my friend and I went to Universal Studios, and while we were waiting in line for a ride, he put on "Have a Good Summer (Without Me)." A few lines in, I felt this overwhelming sense of nostalgia, even though it was my first time hearing it. It felt like home. I made him replay it over and over, we must have listened twenty times in a row. That same night I played the entire album front to back, and I couldn't get enough.
There's something about the production that feels so immersive, the synths, the layering, the emotional pull of it all. It's grand and cinematic, but still really intimate. It reminds me of that sense of childhood freedom I had growing up in Shanghai, everything feeling a little bigger, a little more magical. "Either Way, I'm Going Your Way" has that same quality, emotions feel heightened, and the world feels a little shinier.
What I connect to most is how the album captures love and loss in a way that feels both specific and universal. It lets you project your own story onto it. For me, it made the little things in life feel more meaningful, like even the smallest moments were part of something bigger. Sonically and emotionally, it definitely influenced my upcoming EP MANNEQUIN. I've always been drawn to music that feels like a world you can step into, something dreamlike but still grounded in real emotion, and this album does that so effortlessly. I also love that it felt like a quiet discovery. Not everyone around me knew it, which made it feel like mine. It's one of those albums that makes you want to romanticize your life a little more.
Paris WYA's MANNEQUIN EP is out May 1.
