‘valery’ is a haunting avant-pop study of identity, androgyny and belonging from Parsa Sabet. The Iranian, Paris-based artist has made something very special here, wrapped up in the tension between acceptance and self-definition and the refusal to sit in a pre-defined box. On the inspiration behind the track and the character of ‘valery’, he says: “Valery is someone who plays with limits, someone who wanted to leave but never really found a place to belong. It’s simply about the feeling of not belonging. Valery represents the depth of an anti-systematic behaviour that I like very much, and have seen around me and in me.” Musically, it’s an experimental and hazy piece of R&B that relies on warped electronic textures as much as it does guitars and huge pop hooks. There are notes of Prince, Frank Ocean and Bon Iver hidden within the unique track. Parsa Sabet has a big 2026 planned.