Tender Forever | |
---|---|
Birth name | Melanie Valera |
Born | 1977 |
Origin | Maurrin, France |
Genres | Pop |
Occupation(s) | Musician |
Instruments | Vocals, Guitar, Keyboard, Ukulele, Drums |
Years active | 2003-present |
Labels | K Records |
Website | http://www.tenderforever.com/ |
Tender Forever is the pop electronica project of Franco-American musician Mélanie Valera. Valera has released 4 albums with K Records and now works on multimedia projects where she resides in Olympia, Washington.
Valera began creating music in Bordeaux, France. She uses many instruments including guitar, bass, keyboard, her computer, as well as more impromptu instruments such as wooden utensils. Valera, performing as Tender Forever, has toured in the US and in Europe with bands MEN, Rae Spoon, and others.
Valera has worked on big scale multimedia projects, including collaborations with film maker Ted Passon, artist Nick Lally, producer Christopher Doulgeris, musician The Blow, and singer songwriter Mirah. Most recently, she performed at the Time-Based Art Festival in Portland, Oregon, the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City, the Centre Georges Pompidou, La Cité Internationale Universitaire de Paris, and La Gaîté Lyrique in Paris. She received the RAAC (Regional Arts & Culture Council) Grant to complete a collaborative project called MAZED with Peter Burr and was invited to the Henry Art Gallery to lecture on reenactment and public source content. She is currently working and teaching Electronic Media and Graphic Design at The Evergreen State College in Olympia, WA.