DJLarge

Into the Aether: Scottish artist Aether faces a continual battle with Retinitis Pigmentosa, which has rendered him blind and unable to perform at night. He never stops working though. Aether started DJing and producing when he was introduced to FL Studio in 2009.

“It was on version 8 at the time,” he says. “That’s the software I started on and stuck with even through to this day. I was writing drum loops in my later years of high school, which gave me a head start on the college course I’d end up studying. In 2015, I graduated college with a higher national diploma in sound engineering, and it was here that I made the conscious decision to buckle down and try to make something of myself. I made a deal with my Dad, who I was living with at the time, to give me 2 years rent-free to try and make something of myself in the music space. He was very doubtful at the time and understandably so, but he saw the passion in my eyes and, for whatever reason, agreed to my proposal. Eighteen months later, I started scoring my first video game and released a lot of electronic music that ended up accumulating millions of streams online. From this point, I’ve been very fortunate to produce music full-time.”

Today, he says that his sound can vary from song to song.

“I’ve worked on everything from medieval soundtracks to contemporary romantic piano pieces to ambient soundscapes to bass-driven electronic hits,” Aether says. “I feel like I’m most notably known for very mellow electronic music with intricate drum work and beautiful pianos and textures.”

Aether says that it was tragic to witness the collapse of the live scene when the pandemic hit.

“I know live shows are a huge part of the culture and experience for many heavier and upbeat genres, so seeing tours and shows canceled has impacted a lot of the scene,” he says. “Even though shows are slowly returning, the hesitancy of many people is still understandably high. The flip side to this is that music streaming has shot up a lot.”

His latest release, on Monstercat, is “Airborne.”

“’Airborne’ was written as a reminder that you can always aim to achieve your goals no matter how unrealistic they may sound at first.” he says. “If you take it step-by-step, you may be surprised by just how much you can do. Once you start making progress, just keep riding the wave, enjoy the journey, and that’s when you’ll be airborne! Monstercat has been so lovely. They genuinely make you feel like you’re part of a family when you work with them. They’re always so keen to answer any questions you have, and they just have such a strong passion for the music they release. It’s an honour to be surrounded and work with such great people.”

Aether has plenty planned for 2022.

“I have a lot of things going on: there will be another video game released featuring my music, more music with Monstercat, and another ambient album,” he says. “So yeah, lots to look forward to!”

Into the Aether: The “Airborne” single is out now.

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