Though she entered the mortal realm on Valentine’s Day, Alina Valentina is not one to romanticize life on earth through rose-tinted glasses. She instead explores an alternate dark fairytale universe channeled through her misanthropic synthwave music. Using analog synthesizers, cynical poetics, and detached vocal delivery, she conveys camp sensibility from her lair in The Netherlands. Blending the nostalgic wonders of retro video games, sci-fi noir, and new wave/post-punk music, Valentina’s creations possess an enchanting and cathartic quality. Her sound reverberates the spellbinding mystery of Kraków Loves Adana, the hard-bitten attitude of Molly Nilsson, and the passionated Minuit Machine.