Wolfgang Valbrun

Wolfgang Valbrun is a producer and singer-songwriter working between liquid funk and retro soul. Born and raised in New York, he is now based in Paris, France. He works across studio production and live performance, and began releasing solo material on Jalapeno Records in 2023.

Valbrun’s entry into the European scene traces through his vocal work and band experience. He was the lead singer of UK soul/jazz outfit Ephemerals, and he has recorded and toured with French producer GUTS and Dutch electronic act Kraak & Smaak. Those credits sit alongside his solo output and regular appearance schedule as a live artist across Europe.

As a producer his music sits at the intersection of retro soul songwriting and liquid-leaning drum & bass textures. His solo releases on Jalapeno—starting in 2023 with the single “Cyclone” and the project/album Flawed By Design—pair warm, song-led arrangements with programmed rhythmic detail. Later solo material includes the track “Denying the Truth” and the single “Shadows,” which received a Sam Redmore remix; those releases underline his emphasis on vocal-led hooks within electronic production.

Musically Valbrun favours layered vocal takes and classic soul instrumentation delivered inside electronic frameworks. Production hallmarks in his work include prominent lead vocals, chord-driven arrangements, and a preference for polished low-end that supports melodic lines rather than overwhelming them. On the rhythmic side his tracks lean toward liquid funk aesthetics: punchy, cleanly edited drum programming, tight percussion in the upper mids, and sub-bass that follows the song’s harmonic motion. Atmospheres are built with electric piano/keys and long, sustaining pads that leave space for the vocal to sit forward in the mix.

His role in recordings and onstage reflects both his singer-songwriter background and his studio work. With Ephemerals he fronted a band known for soul and jazz-inflected arrangements; with GUTS and Kraak & Smaak he moved between live vocal contributions and collaborative studio sessions. As a solo producer he packages those vocal and instrumental sensibilities into single-artist releases on Jalapeno and commissions remixes, as demonstrated by the Sam Redmore rework of “Shadows.”

Specific connections in Valbrun’s catalogue are concrete: lead singer credits with Ephemerals; recording and touring collaborations with GUTS and Kraak & Smaak; a 2023 start to his solo run on Jalapeno Records with “Cyclone” and Flawed By Design; and subsequent releases “Denying the Truth” and “Shadows” (Sam Redmore remix). He continues to perform live as a solo artist across Europe.