CHASING HARMONY is out now!
Image: Supplied.
Ontario-based musician 347aidan recently unveiled his third EP, CHASING HARMONY. We caught up with the musician to chat about the release, using his music to share stories of mental health, working with his collaborators and so much more!
Could you tell us a bit about your background in music and what led you to pursuing a career in music?
I started making music when I was about 11 or 12. The main reason I started recording was because I had all these stories in my head that I wanted to write out and tell but when I was just writing them down, it wasn’t satisfying me in what I wanted to tell. So I started turning the stories into songs and I fell in love with it.
Your new EP CHASING HARMONY explores themes of mental health, recovering from depression and growing up in a modern world. How important was it for you to use this EP as a vehicle to highlight these themes and share stories of mental health?
We don’t get to choose our mental health and really there’s no way to fix it, maybe stun it. For me, a way to really stun what I’m feeling and escape is to make music and I put that into this EP.
Sometimes I like to read my Youtube and Soundcloud comments because I get this open look of how people feel when they listen to my music. Sometimes I read their words and hope that it is true that I am able to help them with their mental health and help them escape for a little when they listen like I do when I make the music.
Were there any parts that you found particularly difficult when creating the record, having such a personal and intimate conceptual nature?
No, there was nothing difficult in the making. The only part that felt difficult was waiting for it to drop. There was a long time between making them and dropping them. That period of blank space was pretty stressful because it felt like I was losing the connection to the songs but when it dropped, the connection felt stronger than ever.
How did you arrive at the sound and sonic realm your music exists within?
With the EP, I just made what I felt at the time and with all my music, whatever sounds I’m making is a reflection of where my head is at.
Which song off the EP would you play to someone, who had never heard your music, to make them an instant fan?
It really depends on the person. If my mom came up to me and she never heard my music, I’d play her SUPERSTAR because I could see it appealing to everyone. I probably would get stressed out if I didn’t know them.
Could you tell us a bit about your creative process when writing and recording this particular collection of songs?
I was living in my parents basement and I had a studio down there where I made all my music. Most of these songs were probably made at 6am after making music the whole night. A lot of these are the last song I made in a night which is cool because it’s really when the music connects most with me.
How did the EP evolve and change as you were creating it, and were there any tracks left on the cutting room floor that you think might have a life in the future?
The concept of the EP never really changed, but the songs shifted around a bit. Some songs were left out and I don’t know if they'll ever have a life in the future. I’m more focused on the songs I’m making now instead of past ones. The songs aren’t any less good, just made from a different time in my life.
You worked with renforshort on IDONTWANNATALKTOYOU!. How do you think her contribution helped shape the song?
It shaped it a lot. I always knew I wanted someone on that song as soon as I made it. She made the song feel so much more powerful and added it to sonically and added a whole new energy around it too.
If Chasing Harmony was a piece of pre-existing visual art, which artwork would it be?
I don’t know if there’s a specific painting, but I do associate the project with painting in my studio in my parents basement that was right in front of my setup. It’s a painting of a rainforest with a blue figure chasing a pink figure and I always thought it was cool. I don’t think it has a direct correlation to the EP but it was a painting I loved and sat right in front of me for the whole project creation.
What’s one line from the EP you find at times can be stuck in your head? Or a line that you come back to?
The first lines when the beat switches up on SUPERSTAR “I was surfing all these channels on my parents old TV, way too young to be thinking ‘bout what my life could be”
Your songs have been massive hits on TikTok. Which videos have impressed you most?
I love the ones of people just having fun and even making their own trends. Those are the coolest ones to see because it’s great seeing people just having fun to my music.
RAPID FIRE
Biggest influences?
My family, Mac Miller, Donald Glover, Odd Future.
Dream collaboration?
Kanye West.
Album that has had the most impact on you?
Faces - Mac Miller or My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy - Kanye West.
How do you define your musical style in 3 words?
Can’t be described.
Best song of 2021 so far?
WUSYANAME - Tyler the Creator, YoungBoy Never Broke Again, Ty Dolla Sign.
If you could create the soundtrack for any film, which one would it be?
Baby Driver.
Hannah Montana or Miley Cyrus?
Miley Cyrus.
What was the first song you loved to sing?
Hello - Adele.
A song you would love to cover on tour?
Agony - Yung Lean.
Album you would listen to on repeat on a road trip?
Faces - Mac Miller.
First concert you went to? -
Twenty One pilots.
First album you ever bought?
Slim Shady LP - EP - EMINEM.
Would you rather be a Spice Girl or a Backstreet Boy?
Backstreet Boy.
Guilty music pleasure?
Nope, music is music.
If you could support any artist on tour, who would it be?
Doja Cat.
An artist you think has had the most influence on the music industry?
Michael Jackson.
What advice would your current self, give your future self, for a year from now?
Don’t trip.
The moment you knew you wanted to be a musician?
When I made my first song.
CHASING HARMONY is out now!
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