Teaming up with the dreamy vocals of Kcdeeya, AIR APPARENT's newest release 'Wonderland' is a glitchy indie-pop anthem. The song takes its inspiration from C.S Lewis' infamous novel Alice in Wonderland, and we caught up with AIR APPARENT to find out what inspires him...
Cooking
There’s a shocking amount of similarity between music-making and cooking. In many ways, both involve taking basic ingredients, putting different amounts of them together, preparing them in a certain way, and ultimately creating something new to consume. I’ve been cooking a lot more during the pandemic, and on some days I can’t be bothered to look at my computer screen for longer, so I look to cooking to feed myself and my creative impulses and often times, some new musical ideas will pop into my head.
Other creators
More recently, my biggest source of inspiration has been this online community called the Asian Creative Network. It’s an international Facebook group filled with Asian creatives sharing their work, supporting each other, and expressing Asian identity through creative output. Through them, I've found a songwriting partner, a video production team (who I worked with on for a couple of my music videos), and several other collaborators! On top of this, they are constantly flooding my FB newsfeed with cool things they are creating all the time, which is incredibly motivating.
Watching other artists perform
I’ve watched a few livestreams over the past few months. Seeing people in their own spaces jamming and creating awesome music always makes my head start overflowing with ideas. After concerts, I often find myself pacing around in a room singing new melodic ideas out. Sometimes I’ll pick up an instrument and start twiddling around with it.
Reading
I love reading fiction that transports me into new places. I think a good work of fiction can really help open new possibilities in your brain. I’ve found myself dream differently on nights following reading an engaging book in bed. Some recent examples of work I’ve really enjoyed include The Lowland by Jhumpa Lahiri and Severance by Ling Ma.
Dreams
A lot of people use the word “dreamy” to describe my music. While I don’t necessarily always remember my dreams, I’m fascinated with the idea of dreams because of how real they can feel (and how they can often inform reality). I would describe it like looking into a mirror except instead of seeing the direct reflection of your own reality, there’s a whole other reality on the other side. Dreams inspire me on a conceptual layer in my music — I like to toy with the concept by introducing unexpected elements or experimenting with genre, the way one’s brain mashes up real and fictive universes while one sleeps.
Listen to new track 'Wonderland' here: