In the late seventies and early eighties, while living in self-imposed exile in Los Angeles, Brazilian maestro Marcos Valle formed a close musical partnership with North American soul legend and producer extraordinaire Leon Ware.
Valle & Ware’s collaborations resulted in some of the most celebrated songs from their respective oeuvres. Among others, they wrote “Rockin’ You Eternally” and “Baby Don't Stop Me”, (the latter co-written by Laudir De Oliveira from the band Chicago) from Ware’s 1981 album, and the disco-boogie work-out hit “Estrelar” from Valle’s self-titled 1983 album.
In 1979, together in an LA Studio, Valle and Ware recorded a demo which would remain unfinished for 44 years, as Valle recalls:
“This demo tape Leon and I recorded… I found the tape on a shelf in my house, it must have been there for over forty years! I showed it to Daniel [Maunick]. He really loved it and we decided to develop the song for my new album. The demo had the groove, most of the instrumentation and Leon’s vocal. But the lyrics weren’t finished...”
In 2024, with the help of Maunick’s studio wizardry, Valle restored and sampled the original demo track, adding Portuguese lyrics alongside Leon’s vocal hook, as well as extra keyboards and percussion.
Traversing time and space in a way that might not have been possible before the emergence of new technologies, Daniel Maunick utilised AI stem-separation to remove the placeholder vocal ad-libs, which Valle replaced with his new lyrics.
With the original music treated with the care and reverence it deserves, this stirring soul masterpiece, conceived over four decades prior, retains all the visceral sensuality and authenticity of the golden era from which it emerged.
Leon Ware passed away in 2017, leaving behind a phenomenal body of work, including the countless hits he produced for other artists including Michael Jackson, Quincy Jones, Minnie Riperton and Marvin Gaye.
Reflecting on his partnership with Leon Ware, Marcos Valle reminisces:
“To be honest, it was love at first sight… As a partner, as a musician and as a friend. Immediately Leon and I knew that we had to write something together - it was very natural. It was a lovely partnership that I value very, very, very much. I miss him a lot, and I’m so happy that we have this new song together.”
With a new album entitled Túnel Acústico coming this year and tours across Europe and America, the octogenarian epicurean maestro Marcos Valle shows no signs of slowing.
Marcos Valle & Leon Ware - “Feels So Good” will be available as a limited edition (500 units), vinyl-only 7” release, exclusively from Far Out Recordings from the 2nd August 2024.
credits
released August 2, 2024
Vocals: Leon Ware
Vocals & Keys: Marcos Valle
Additional Vocals: Patricia Alvi
Percussion: Ian Moreira
Additional Percussion & FX: Daniel Maunick
Produced & Arranged By Daniel Maunick
Co-produced & Arranged By Marcos Valle & Leon Ware
Executive Producer: Joe Davis
Mixed by Daniel Maunick @ The Sugar Shack, Carluke, Scotland.
Mastered by Caspar Sutton Jones @ Gearbox Records
Artwork and Design: Alessandro Renaldin
The renaissance man of Brazilian pop. Marcos Valle is one of the very greatest and most important composers, arrangers, writers and performers in Brazilian history.
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