“Into The Blue is the clearest portrait of who I am as an artist. It’s me through and through,” says multi-instrumentalist Aaron Frazer. Following his acclaimed 2021 debut, Into the Blue is expansive- a daring blend of soul, psychedelia, spaghetti western, disco, gospel and hip-hop, representing the impressive range of Frazer’s sonic talents. Frazer maintains the unmistakable falsetto and classic songwriting he’s known for, but plants Into the Blue firmly in the now with a hip-hop mentality at its core, weaving together genres and production techniques to form something new.
The opener, “Thinking of You,” is harmony-laden soul drawing inspiration from legendary Harlem trio Black Ivory over a bed of strings. “Lonely nights like this, still I feel your kiss,” Frazer coos nostalgically in his high register. Later, on “Time Will Tell,” he plaintively considers the end of a relationship, “trying to figure out // how love went from sweet to sour.” Into The Blue was conceived, like so many classic records, out of
heartbreak. Following the end of a long relationship, Frazer moved cross-country from Brooklyn to Los Angeles and embarked on a journey that’s reflected in the album’s themes of grief, loneliness, and searching for healing. “Into The Blue really means heading into the unknown. That has been the last year of my life and I’m still in the blue,” Frazer explains. “But there are also songs here that celebrate love and the giddiness of a new relationship and all that. That’s part of a breakup to me, processing the whole thing, remembering the things that were right as much as the things that were wrong.”
Venue
Manchester M1 5WW
UK