In The Spotlight: Aerial East
We recently sat down with Partisan Records’ latest signee Aerial East to discuss her upcoming record, moving to New York, and the beauty of simplicity.
Since releasing her debut album ‘Rooms’ in 2016, Aerial East has been quietly working on new music — heartfelt, intimate tunes which touch upon feelings of alienation and empathy, from the wistful perspective of a Texan outcast.
“I recorded a lot of different demos of some of the songs that never really felt right”, East notes after explaining that many songs from upcoming LP ‘Try Harder’ were already written by her first album’s release. “When I signed the record deal, got some money, and was able to properly get into the studio, that’s when I was able to start working on the record regularly.”
‘Try Harder’ has been in various stages of recording, mixing, and mastering for almost two years. It’s abundantly clear that the final product means a lot to East, especially since its original release date was pushed back due to the pandemic: “I’m excited for it to come out! Y’know, everything feels so strange right now. It’s sad to be putting music out and not being able to play any shows, but I’m glad that it’s coming out and people are gonna be able to hear it and hopefully I’ll feel some change or something.”
The culmination of a lifelong ambition, dating back to penning little songs at the tender age of three, East’s current reality and ever-growing world of opportunity is something she speaks fondly of. “I’ve been making music in different ways for a very long time. I was writing songs when I was in high school, but I come from a military family and my parents are very working class; they’re not artists and there were no artists around, so my only access to culture was popular culture and whatever I was making didn’t fit into that.”
“I didn’t really see it as a possibility, my being a musician, but then I moved to New York when I was 18 and immediately discovered this world of artists and possibility.” East recounts one of the first shows she saw in New York - Sharon van Etten at Zebulon - and how it felt like a seminal moment in her new life.
East continues to speak about the amazing privilege, both to be able to work with talented people whom she respects, and to have a label supporting her as well as a whole team of people who believe in what she does. “I just wanna make something that I think is beautiful, something that feels true to me, that’s my goal. I think that when you are true to yourself then other people can connect to that, so that’s what I really try to do.”
When asked about her musical influences, East lists Kate Bush, Joanna Newsom, and Dolly Parton as pillars of inspiration, though she often tries to “mute the external noise” and find out what feels right to her. Aside from music, East explains that she found herself drawn to other mediums in the form of Agnes Martin’s art whilst making the record. “Her whole work was just about straight lines and there was something so nice about the subtlety of it, that she’s meditating on these very simple lines and that was taking up her whole world.”
“I was trying to make the record very intentional by stripping things away that were unnecessary and only having sounds that I felt were [important].”
After such a long time in the making, it’s natural that East is ready for the world to hear what she’s been working on. She ponders over which tracks she is most proud of, before settling with a sweeping statement: “I’m excited about a lot of the record. I love all the songs!”
While lead track ‘Try Harder’ was a big song for her, she also mentions an old favourite ‘San Angelo’ which she has been performing live for many years. It means a lot to her and will feature on the record. Storytelling of a feeling that will resonate with the best of us, ‘Katharine’ is another song which East is excited to share. “You know how when you’re friends with someone and you just slowly and organically move apart until you’re not friends anymore, but you still think about them and love them?” This is undoubtedly a brilliant example of East’s ability to make touching and reflective music.
With the album scheduled for release in February, there is still much uncertainty regarding the future. “I’ve never gone on tour before and this was the first time that it seemed like I was going to, not that we had booked anything or started to do that at all, but the possibility was there. It was expected. Now I’m just gonna do an online concert, I guess.”
Online or physical, pandemic or no pandemic, the important thing is that Aerial East will be putting out a body of work that is well refined, a feat of pride, and truly beautiful. ‘Try Harder’ is out via Partisan Records on February 12th.
