Valley Maker

When the Day Leaves


by Michael Haddad

The songwriting project of Human Geography Ph.D. student Austin Crane, Valley Maker explores place from an angle unlike most other artists. Exploring the mixed emotions felt from a move from the pacific northwest to his childhood home state of South Carolina, Crane touches on topics from the excitement of renovating a new home, to the difficulty of leaving friends, and aging. Recorded at a studio outside Seattle, the album’s production is exceptionally warm with woodwinds, horns, and subtle samples beefing up the mainly acoustic tracks.