Canadian-based Scottish artist, producer, and composer, Aether has unveiled his new single, “Airborne”, via Monstercat.
After being diagnosed with Retinitis Pigmentosa at 17, Aether has overcome numerous obstacles in pursuing his dreams. As a child, Aether set out to become a rapper but ended up falling in love with producing after his brother introduced him to FL Studio. He soon developed a deep connection to electronic music, using it as therapy and a coping mechanism.
Unfortunately, due to the steady deterioration of his vision, Aether was deemed legally blind and was no longer able to perform at night – a roadblock as an electronic producer when most gigs are built around nightclubs and late events.
As a result, the sound engineer dove head-first into composing from home, writing acclaimed soundtracks for video games such as “Röki,” “osu!,” and “Kingdoms & Castles.” He’s channeled his vast creativity into multiple projects, including his own fictional musical universe called “Aetherverse” where each release has its own story inspired by his real-life experiences.
Despite his continual battle with Retinitis Pigmentosa and no cure in sight, he maintains a positive outlook.
Check out “Airborne” below, and find out more about Aether via our Five Questions With segment.
Care to introduce yourself to our readers?
Hey, My name is Aether. I’m a freelance music composer and producer hailing from Scotland and currently based in Canada. I’ve worked on a wide variety of musical projects ranging from video game scores to mellow electronic hits.
Tell us about your music and writing style.
My music and writing style primarily revolves around two primary components:
Story: To this day, I’m yet to release a song that doesn’t have a meaning behind its writing. Every good song tends to be born from a story; whether it’s a personal experience or a fantasy, stories give the writer purpose for their music.
Melody: A strong melody can hold enough emotion to tell a story single-handedly. Listen to piano solos; it’s a perfect example. I try to blend beautiful melodies with a full sound spectrum ranging from interesting textural percussion to deep and driving basses.
How have you been keeping creative during the pandemic?
Honestly, writing music has carried me through this pandemic. Applying what I said above, the pandemic can be the story from which the music is born. This is true, as the overall theme of my album ‘Between Dreams’ explores being lost amidst the chaos of the present day.
If you were asked to suggest only one of your songs for someone to hear, which would it be?
This is the most difficult question because I cover so many styles. I think “Aurora” is the sweet spot as it’s very mellow. It has beautiful vocal chops, a lovely melody, rich bass, and gentle percussion, which captures all of my favourite elements in one song.
Canadian Beats is all about Canadian music, so who are your current favourite Canadian bands/artists?
The Weeknd’s latest “Dawn FM” album is absolutely incredible from start to end. I also really enjoy the unorthodox production of invention_. His style is always interesting because it’s unlike anything else I’ve ever heard. It’s very lofi yet very unpredictable.