Life & Work with Valentin Thomas of Los Angeles

Today we’d like to introduce you to Valentin Thomas.

Hi Valentin, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I grew up in Uruguay, learned guitar early and got deep into Radiohead and The Beatles before anything else. I moved to Los Angeles to study music technology and interned at Melrose Sound Studios doing audio engineering, producing hip hop, pop and rock sessions, mixing and mastering for clients, and learning how to work with artists in the room. Alongside that I was composing and sound designing for short films and theatre. I started producing house music and became part of a DJ collective, throwing events across Los Angeles, playing shows in Miami, New York and South America, picking up international radio plays along the way. That period built the foundation for everything I’m doing now.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Early on it was about getting your name out any way you could, playing college bars for exposure, taking every gig available, saying yes to work that wasn’t always yours creatively. Learning every genre in the studio was valuable but it also made it harder to hear your own voice underneath all of it.
The other reality is that the landscape is noisier than ever. Hundreds of thousands of tracks uploaded daily, AI generated music, engineered virality. In the middle of all that I think what will actually stand out is originality, imperfection and intention. For me electronic music is where I found that balance. The experimentation of synthesis and sound design combined with the soul of songwriting, finding the sweet spot between club energy and emotional storytelling. That’s what keeps me excited and I think that excitement is the only thing worth following in this era.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
Right now I’m working across a few things that all feed each other.
On the composition side I recently sound designed In Motion: Machine Movements, a short dance film shot in New Delhi and released on Nowness. Working with machine sounds and shaping them into something expressive reminded me of musique concrète, the idea that any sound can become music if you listen to it the right way.
I co-founded Solymar Records with my friend Salgado, someone I met studying music production. The label explores minimal, deep and progressive house and techno, drawing from Latin American rhythms and the sounds of Chicago and Detroit. It came out of a genuine connection to the culture.
My recent releases Not Today and 5 North came out of live jam sessions with analog gear, exploring the soul of classic house and seeing where it goes. That process of experimentation, finding something real in the imperfection of a live take, is where the music feels most honest.
And then there’s Roamloop, a free platform I built for underground electronic music. Producers upload for free, DJs discover tracks through continuous radio stations by subgenre, and to download you leave a comment. Community is the core of underground electronic music and this is a tool built around that.

Can you talk to us about how you think about risk?
Honestly the biggest risk I’ve taken recently is trying to do too many things at once. Releases, a label, a platform, composition work. There’s a real chance that spreading across all of it means none of it gets the attention it deserves. I’m aware of that tension every day.
There’s also a subtler risk in the music itself. Moving between subgenres inside house music, minimal, progressive, deep, means you’re not the obvious choice for any single label or scene. It’s a longer route. But I think if you stay consistent in the things you’re actually passionate about, that specificity becomes the point rather than the obstacle. I’d rather take longer getting there with something real than arrive faster with something that isn’t mine.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.valentinthomasmusic.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/valentinthomasmusic/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/valentin-thomas-correa-mallmann-a89b36209/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@ValentinThomasMusic
• Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/valentinthomasmusic