Photo credit: Senny Mau
San Francisco’s very own fast-rising DJ and producer, AIR APPARENT, releases a new take on his recently released indie-pop anthem, today, and shares “All By Yourself (feat. Krysta Youngs & Julia Ross) — CAZZETTE Remix.” The club-ready, driving beat brings a throwback, nostalgic vibe to the song that expands on the original and brings a rhythmic and yet ethereal energy to the track, while keeping it sensual and escapist.
“With a dreamlike vocal performance from Krysta Youngs, “All By Yourself” succeeds in exploring the untapped potential of self-reliance. AIR APPARENT’s early 2010s-inspired production allows us to enter his personal realm while also encouraging us to find our own. It’s a noteworthy addition for the rising star’s already impressive discography,” Sounddigest says, describing the studio version of the track. Taking it a step deeper, the remix allows the energy of the song to become more impulse-driven and breaks away from the mundane so that dancing and the lights can take over, like the sweet spot of a rave that feels like total freedom.
What’s your story as an artist?
My name is Neil and I produce as AIR APPARENT. I grew up in an Indian-American home in suburban Atlanta surrounded by a mixture of influences (Atlanta hip-hop, Bollywood music, Hindu spiritual music, and the wondrous 2000s sounds of R&B and pop-punk). I found music production by accident, and have found it to be the purest form of self-expression for my emotions and identity.
What do you want your music to communicate?
I like to keep things feeling dreamy – I like music as both an escape and as a therapeutic experience. I create soundscapes to help people feel like they’re in another world while feeling very real emotions. I think it can help someone come to terms with situations out of their control. If I was trying to communicate a single thought, it’s something like: “life is fun, but it can also get rough. and when things get rough, know everything will eventually be okay!”
What are some sources of inspiration for your storytelling?
A lot of places. Sometimes other musicians (Japanese Breakfast, EMÍA, Arooj Aftab, Frank Ocean), sometimes fiction books involving magical realism (Min Jin Lee, Jhumpa Lahiri), sometimes movies (Edgar Wright, David Fincher), and more often than not, the lovely humans in my life (family, friends, my brother).
Who is an artist that you look up to more than others today?
I’m really inspired by Michelle Zauner of Japanese Breakfast. I recently finished her memoir Crying in H-Mart which I found heartbreaking, memorable, and sincere. I’m amazed by the depth of her self-reflection, her creative output, and her ability to express herself creatively across various mediums (writing, artist project, scoring video games, etc) while interweaving her identity in a clear way through it all.
What’s the record or artist that made you realize you wanted to be an artist?
I think it was probably James Blake’s album Overgrown. Not only was it an inspiring album to listen to, I felt like there was truly nothing like it (much like all of James Blake’s music). At times, the songs felt more like vignettes or impressionist soundscapes than complete stories. Genre as a concept fell to the side and was replaced with heavy beats and ambient melodies and vocal layers reverberating all around, with piercing synths accentuating emotional moments throughout. I felt fascinated first as a listener, but then I started thinking about how he might have achieved some of the different sounds therein, and that got my gears turning about how to construct and curate my favorite sounds into something wholly original.
Tell us about your latest release and how it came about
The original song was written virtually with Krysta Youngs and Julia Ross who I have been fortunate to have worked with before! I started with the beat, channeling some of the influences I had been listening to (2010s summer indie rock and indie pop). I chopped a vocal sample over it to come up with a melody starting point, and that ended up actually transforming into the melody for the chorus. We went back and forth over email focusing on getting the vibe just right. We focused on an empowered feeling of growth following a broken relationship when you’re able to tell someone they’re no good for you while making it clear to them that they’ll have to find solace alone.
On the new remix, we channeled another vibe representative of the 2010s: the classic electronic dance sound. When I reached out to CAZZETTE, I thought it would be a cool chance to lean into that nostalgic sound they have helped shape in so many ways with iconic songs like “Beam Me Up”. I was thrilled to hear they were excited to play around with the sound, and really love the direction they took it in. I sent them the stems a while back, even before the single was out, and they sent back a version that slapped super hard. We tweaked it together, communicating virtually via email, and eventually closed in on a final version!
What inspires your sound?
Everything! Lately: walking around San Francisco, music from other eras (like the early 2010s), my morning coffee
What’s your favorite tune of yours?
I think my favorite is Dance. It’s a bit different from any of the other songs I’ve put out in my opinion, and I liked going in with the intention of creating a groovy/pop song and it working out!
Where are some things you really want to accomplish as an artist?
I’d love to play more live shows (maybe even a festival someday), collaborate with some more of my heroes, and produce for other artists!
Favorite lyric you ever wrote?
“I’m not afraid, one look is all it takes / I just believe you ’cause you make it all okay”
Was there ever a moment when you felt like giving up?
As an artist, you have a lot of these moments. At many points, I’ve put out music I’ve been really proud of and haven’t heard much in terms of a reaction from fans or friends. Those moments can be hard because it feels like whatever I meant to communicate may not have resonated or come across well enough. But what I’ve come to realize is that some of this is inevitable – sometimes the people you expect to like something might not like it, but others may like it. And it’s quite possible that people may like it in the future, and some songs age better than others. Lastly, none of these situations to me are reasons to not continue putting out music and being true to one’s self as an artist.
What is the best advice you’ve ever gotten?
Focus on loving the process of creating, not the numbers!
Where do you think the next game-changer will be in the music industry and entertainment scene?
I think if someone can help figure out how to help creators monetize successfully without creating more work that takes away from time spent doing what they love (creating), there may be a lot of opportunities to create value exchange between musicians/artists and fans. I think NFTs are a step in the right direction, for example, but I don’t think they’re at a point where they make sense for musicians and fans at large yet (both because of the business model and because they are really hard to understand and explain).
