Aurelia on Los Angeles
Having amassed a trove of accolades, including Grammy nominations and U.S. Top 10 Billboard releases from her songwriting for other artists, it’s no mystery that her own work is quickly becoming required listening for ‘audiophiles’ and ‘feeling junkies’ alike.
The intersection of Fiona Apple boss lady musicianship and Enya’s celestial plane of sonic magnificence are the closest coordinates for referencing this solo offering from Aurelia. With a sound that is equal parts perennial nostalgia/cosmic effervescence, America leaves the listener feeling as though their past and future selves are experiencing the track at the same time.
This record is all heart, and no chains… With a gospel choir break down nod to Madonna that sings Cherish Life, and a Golden Era Hollywood string outro, America is a 4 minute and 34 second hyper speed journey through a lifetime of wonder, yearning, breaking, healing, believing, searching, discovering, triumphing and ultimately arriving at a point of deep existential gratitude. And grateful we are for this humble and majestic masterpiece that translates as somewhat of a sonic blueprint for Aurelia.
Aurelia talks about her favourite places in LA
Downtown
Downtown L.A. is just vibe central! I was working in a studio there for a little bit, and there’s just this incredible sense of grit and authenticity. It doesn’t matter where you go there, nearly everyone you run into has the most amazing story and is so open and warm.
Santa Monica Pier
I have really special memories of Santa Monica Pier… A few years back I went to the Pier with some friends I was recording with at the time, and we recorded a bunch of sounds of me practising my martial arts. We ended up using them to create the beats for the ‘Are We Losing – Demo’ that I ended up releasing as my debut single.
Capitol Studios
Recording again… haha. I was living on a shoestring and a friend snuck me in to Capitol studios late one night to record piano. I was in the room John Mayer had set up in to start recording in the morning, and the engineer asked if I wanted him to run all the strings I had previously recorded through Frank Sinatra’s reverb chamber underground there… Needless to say I died a million times when I heard the strings coming through the speakers…
The Grove
I love love love The Grove Market… There’s nothing you can’t find there… Food, people, fountains, dogs… It has it all… Such a great vibe and definitely worth checking out when you’re in L.A.
Jetrag
Jetrag is the vintage shop to end all vintage shops… From the $1 piles of clothes out the front on the footpath to the museum vintage paradise inside, the place is like a shopping black hole that once you enter it’s pretty much impossible to leave.
Interview by Rob Lyon