Nacho Valenciaga - Smooth Deluxe! (2025)

After years of swimming against the tide in an ocean of bottomless algorithms, soulless playlists and devious promises, Nacho Valenciaga is back. But not to stay – maybe to simply, elegantly, say goodbye. ‘Smooth Deluxe’, his new album, is not exactly a comeback. It’s a grooved farewell. A melodic conclusion. Or maybe just an elegant way of saying: “I’m done with your game.”

Started in January 2025 and recorded at a human pace, the album is a compilation of songs written and recorded without haste, without goals, in studios where the machines still hum and faders are still moved by hand. No pre-made loops, no plug-ins promising a sound of a million streams. Just Rhodes, basslines with weight, reverbs with soul – and one clear intention: to sound like the 70s, when “standard” meant taste, not TikTok.

‘Smooth Deluxe’ doesn’t chase likes, comments or editorial playlists. It just wants to sound good. Elegant, minimalist, warm. Like a straight bourbon served as the Titanic sinks. Because yes – Valenciaga admits it – he’s tired. Tired of producing in the void. Tired of promoting to bots. Tired of playing in a league where mediocrity is the norm. Tired of pretending everything is fine when everything else smells like reheated plastic.

With a production that’s polished to the bone, ‘Smooth Deluxe’ offers a collection of songs that are easy on the ear and hard to forget. Not because they’re catchy, but because they’re honest. It’s music for people who remember that emotion doesn’t come with autotune, and that the silence between two well-placed notes is worth more than twenty inspirational quotes on a beat.

Nacho Valenciaga isn’t giving up – he’s simply done bowing to the present. He’s not looking for followers, only accomplices. And if this album gets buried under the daily avalanche of forgettable releases, so be it. At least it proves that someone, amidst all this noise, dared to sound human.

In any case, it is beautiful, melodic smooth jazz! © Patrick van de Wiele