Most songwriters get hung up on one specific genre or style, sometimes two or three at most, but this has never been the case for the multi-genre, international award-winning songwriter Glenn Valles. Born and raised in Mumbai, India, vivid imagery characterizes his songwriting be it country, pop, rock, hip-hop/rap, EDM and more. His father Edmund played piano in his home and his mother Clothilda loved to sing while rustling up some delicious meals. The Valles family would sit around the dinner table and talk about events of the day, while the radio would always be tuned to their favorite station. In his growing years, his uncle, a natural storyteller, would share tales of cowboys and the west that pushed Glenn’s undying love for country music forward. Glenn picked up his first guitar during his teen years. His brother Dexter, taught him to play a few chords and after his college graduation, his knack for writing meaningful, imagery-loaded songs took off. Listening to Glenn’s songs is like watching a 3-minute movie. However, his skilful creations and undeniable talent tend to stay behind the scenes. It was Celvita, Glenn’s wife (and muse) who encouraged him to chase his dream as a songwriter and so for nearly 15 years now, he has solely focused on his passion and setting his spirit free through writing and crafting music. With “Urban Cowboy” he chooses to go after the classic Southern twang to breathe life into his latest country original. For over a decade, he’s been winning international songwriting awards, contest after contest, in different genres validating his skills as a very innovative songwriter. His most recent victory was in April 2022, when he won the 23rd Annual Great American Song Contest award for ‘Outstanding Achievement in Songwriting’ in his category. Already in the process of recording his next hit in the blues/hip-hop/rock genres, there is no question of Glenn’s creative gift in all his musical productions.
With our constant advancements in science and technology, Glenn wrote “Urban Cowboy” to explore the idea of an old rancher’s reaction and adaptation to our modern society. It merges old and new in a country tune that delivers something timely, relevant, and unique to the genre’s expected storytelling. Specifically, the urban cowboy reflects on how the urban lifestyle is blending its way into the country life more and more, as continuous advancements make way for more tech-savvy ways of living. The way Glenn puts it, “the World Wide Web has cast its net and lassoed him away” from his traditional way of life on the plains. However, in the end, the message is that you can take the man out of the country, but you can’t take the country out of the man, as his heart and soul will always remain on the range no matter how time continues to bring about change.
Naturally, the “Urban Cowboy” visual encapsulates a cowboy getting pulled into the digital age, but never fully letting go of his country roots, tending to his cattle and fixing fences around his open land of plenty. The visual represents this well with the smooth transition between the traditional spurred cowboy boots, leather tassel chaps and Stetson to the corporate suit and shoes business attire, who are really one and the same under the surface. For Glenn, while “Urban Cowboy” is not based on a true story, his songwriting is in some ways reflective of his own life experiences. Glenn never let his 9-5 corporate work overtake his pure love for music. Similar to the urban cowboy, he keeps navigating the world to find the right voices to align with each of his artfully-crafted musical themes to date, regardless of the wide-cast net his creations hold. With this kind of sticktoitiveness with his art, it is a guarantee that his voice and video will be well received across international markets.
