Circuit Sweet Interview, Feature, News

Gavin Brown Takes On Aradia | Interview Special

September 18, 2021
Courtesy of Aradia Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/AradiaMusic/

Aradia Interview Special

Gavin Brown

Brooklyn, NY based singer Aradia has just released her latest EP Soar and it is a  collection of inspiring and upbeat songs that is guaranteed to lift your spirits during these increasingly uncertain times. We caught up with Aradia to hear all about Soar and its creation as well as hearing all about what she has coming up next, her New York hometown, her musical upbringing, and who her influences are as an artist. 

Your new EP Soar is out now. How did the creation and recording of the EP go?         

I spent the bulk of the last year, year and a half working on the EP. There was a lot of recording and producing which I do myself and then going back and finetuning and partnering with Tony Black, who does my mixes and masters to really land on what my specific sound is, so his feedback was critical throughout the process to really get to the point where I was happy with where everything was.

Is the EP title how you want people to feel when they hear your music?

Yeah, the title of the EP is the the title track, but it’s also indicative of my overall theme and vibe always, aiming to be encouraging, inspiring, motivating to my listeners.

How would you describe the vibe and meaning behind the songs that feature on Soar? 

I’d say that it starts out with a sort of sad but hopeful vibe you know, this sort of feeling of reflecting on the state of the world and the way that we interact with each other, with the world around us and sort of seeing the dark side of that, but through the first song and then the rest of the songs on the EP, it goes from that to a real celebration of life and being ready for the next chapter for what’s ahead. Just keeping positive regardless of what’s happening around you.

What has the reaction to your new music being like so far? 

So far, it’s really positive. I’m really thrilled by the responses from playlisters and folks like yourself, really excited about getting interviews like this. Listeners have been uplifted, everyone’s going through kind of a hard time right now on one way or another and it seems like it’s kinda what folks wanted to hear or needed to get sort of pick me up in their mood.

What inspires you to make the music that you do?

I really am, to the people around me, the biggest cheerleader. I want everyone to know that it’s possible to be their best selves and to live a life that they may not have believed was possible or have been told is impossible. That’s the way that I feel in my everyday life that has inspired me consistently to create songs that reflect that message.

Who are the biggest influences when it comes to creating your music?

Deborah Harry and Blondie are one of my biggest influences. Bat For Lashes, Twin Shadow,  Roosevelt and classics like Depeche Mode, Erasure and Duran Duran, definitely some  Def Leppard thrown in for good measure too . 

Have you got plans for releasing more music this year? 

Definitely. I’m planning to release at least one single between September and October and for sure in October or November I will be releasing another five song EP off my second series either Motivator or Reveller, so there’s three series and I am still deciding which one I’m gonna release first. 

The one that you don’t choose, would that be released next year? 

Yeah, definitely and by that time, it’ll be 2022 scary enough! 

Have you got plans for a full-length album, maybe for next year too? 

Definitely. I’m still kinda feeling out what makes sense when it comes to my fanbase and what the industry is doing when it comes to independent artists releasing albums. I’m not sure whether it makes sense or if I should just keep releasing EPS.

What was your musical upbringing like and how does that inspire you as an artist today?

I started playing classical music when  I was eight, it was flute and piano and I had lessons and I played in the orchestra and all that stuff. I started playing guitar when I was 15 and I had been messing around with synthesizers since I was 11 or 12 years old and learning to create my own sounds with analog dials and modelers. I played classical music into my days in college when I was performing with a baroque trio but I was also playing in bands, it’s all a huge influence on me and my songs are very structured. I think that comes from my classical training. It’s kind hard to get it outta my head but my early time in working with bands has a lot of influence on how I go about my music, even though I’m a solo artist, I learned a lot through my experience as a teenager playing with with rock bands and all that just taking into account what I might be missing by not having other people around me contributing to the music the way that band members would. I just make sure I go out and get feedback as often as possible.

Have you got plans to play bring these songs to life on the live stage when things start opening up again? 

Yeah, definitely, I keep thinking it’s gonna happen and, you know, more covidness happens. So on September 18th, I’ll actually be playing a livestream show. It’s a small, independent label on the west coast that inviting me to play. I’m really excited about that and I’m just kinda keeping tabs on everything. My intention is to book shows in advance of things opening up, so I at least have things slated and if they have to get rescheduled or canceled or whatever, that’s fine, I’d rather have things on the calendar, so I’m putting it out for sure. It’s  just kind of a waiting game at this point.

How much does your hometown of New York inspire you music?

Oh, a ton! I would say that I’ve written probably 70% of my material, literally just walking around Manhattan, every time I’m in the city. Brooklyn inspires me in one way. Manhattan inspires me in another way, but walking around Manhattan for some reason has always done that,  people watching and it just allows me to clear my head and the inspiration will just hit me right there.

What are your favorite New York places for music, live music venues, bars, and are there any you could recommend to us?

Yeah, definitely. The Delancey is a really great venue, it’s been around forever. Harp Bar is a good place to catch shows in Brooklyn as well and there’s a really cool arcade that also has live music and actual vintage and modern arcade games called Wonderville. That’s also another really cool place to catch music.

What artists and albums sum up New York as a city for you and its vibe? 

The Strokes, the last three albums. Every time, even I was living in Seattle when their album, I think it was Angles came out and every time I heard it, I was like, man, this really just brings me back to Brooklyn where I grew up and just the vibe there and the feeling of dirty streets and hipster bars and things like that. It continues to ring true since I’ve been back here.

What has have been some of your most memorable memories in your music career so far?

Definitely playing the New York City marathon. I’ve  a lot of shows over the last few years and playing that event was so enormously inspiring, seeing the runners either run over and get excited about the music or cheer from the other side of the street as they were passing. I could tell that they were really feeling the lyrics and the music which was extremely inspiring for me because it was the clearest opportunity I ever had to inspire people with my music. That was not long before COVID, it was just a few months before COVID, so I continued to draw on that memory of that experience to keep me going while I’m in this continued holding pattern that we’re all experiencing.

Aradia is appearing on a forthcoming livestream today 18th September, details of which can be found at the following links- 

https://www.instagram.com/p/CSukCmFJOKB/?utm_medium=copy_link

https://www.facebook.com/outer.space.entertainment12/

Thank you so much for spending time with Circuit Sweet

Words: Gavin Brown

https://www.instagram.com/aradiamusic/

https://www.facebook.com/AradiaMusic/

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