After establishing themselves with a wealth of riveting releases these last few years, Swedish outfit AURA are back once again to unveil their alluring new single 'SMALL DROPS'.
Lifted from their newly unveiled studio album 'COMMUNICATIONS', which is available to stream now, 'SMALL DROPS' makes for an incredibly rich and riveting return for them. With its sweeping textures, breezy atmosphere, and spellbinding vocals layered throughout, they continue to shine as one of the more immersive names on the rise right now.
So with the new single available to stream now, we sat down with them to find out more about their origins and what has been inspiring them most recently.
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What was the first instrument you fell in love with?
One was the piano we had in our apartment. Two was a guitar I got when I was around 10 years old. Three was a drum set that I borrowed and of course I always loved to sing.
What kind of music did you love when you were younger?
All the great bands from 1960 and 1970… = The Beatles, Kinks, Animals, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, Genesis, Yes and some more easy bands like Supertramp and Stones…
What was the first album you remember owning?
I think it was RUBBER SOUL (Beatles), LET IT BLEED (Rolling Stones), EASY RIDER (soundtrack) and later on ATOM HEART MOTHER (Pink Floyd) and of course ABBEY ROAD.
What is the one song you wished you could have written yourself?
A song like YESTERDAY would be amazing, WISH YOU WERE HERE with the fantastic guitars and the flow in Genesis THE CARPET CRAWLER with great drums, piano and vocals.
Do you have any habits or rituals you go through when trying to write new music?
No, the songs just come to me. Sometimes when I'm walking I can hum a song that fits the tempo I'm walking in. If I've written the lyrics first, it's much easier. Then I hear how the melody should be. Benny Andersson (ABBA) taught me one trick: Play, play and play… and suddenly you play something you never had heard before and YES, you made a new song.
Who are your favourite artists you have found yourself listening to at the moment?
That was tricky because I don't listen so much to new music. I think many songs are the same and there's too much plagiarism and copies nowadays so I still listen to Pink Floyd. I liked Coldplay in the beginning but the latest album is the same… same. ABBA-s new and latest album had a few very nice songs and of course The Beatles is always there.
If you could open a show for anyone in the world, who would it be?
It would be great to have Paul McCartney, David Gilmour, Peter Gabriel and all my dear friends that support me all the time.
What do you find is the most rewarding part about being a musician?
You are never alone. The music is always your company. And every time we meet in the band AURA and try some new songs and it works. That's magic. And the next step is when you play live and you feel and can see the audience is with you and like the music.
And what is the most frustrating part?
There are too many artists that don't have so much talent, but they have contacts, family in the music industry and so on. It's not fair, but that's how life is.
And what is the best piece of advice you have received as a musician?
Never give up. Go on with what you´re doing, maybe try it another way, change some parts that can be better. Listen to other people when they come up with good ideas.
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AURA's new single 'SMALL DROPS' is available to stream now. Check it out in the player below.