23-year-old, Minneapolis native, Aibai, discusses her new single “Glow”
23-year-old producer Aibai offers her listeners an escape, filling their ears with ambient, cinematic soundscapes that create a daydream-like atmosphere.
Her sights were originally set on creating strictly electronic music, but has since shifted her plans towards the more ambient/indie department… “indietronica” as she refers to it as. Her single “Glow” is a great example of this. This comes as the first single off of her much-awaited EP, dropping March 27.
“Glow” immerses yourself in a glowing, positive environment. You get the feeling of being outside, sun-shining through trees in the forest. The message takes a different tone, however. “Lyrically, the contemplative song talks about readjusting into single life and wondering what it will be like, now that your love has gone” admitted Aibai.
Drawing inspiration from artists like Odesza, Clairo, and Rex Orange County, Aibai gives you a chilled-out, indie vibe perfect for the summer. We got a chance to ask her a few questions about Minneapolis, finding time to produce, and “Glow”. Check out the entire dialogue below!
Deviate: Aibai it’s great to have you! Super cool to meet you.
Aibai: Thanks for having me today! Great to meet you too.
Deviate: I’ve played “Imagery” too many times to count over the past week. You now have some new fans in Chicago!
Aibai: That song is truly one of my favorites. I’ve definitely played it on repeat for hours!
Deviate: What’s your production process? How do you think it’s transformed over quarantine?
Aibai: I typically can’t just block off a certain time/day to write a song, so I usually just wait until I feel inspired. This is usually at night. Then I start with some chords, or I find a cool new sound to use and build off of that. I like to also listen to some of my favorite artists for inspiration and ideas. I think that quarantine has helped me find more time to produce music. I used to be in college and work a full time job so it was hard to find time and energy to make a song. Now I just work, so I have a bit more free time, and with covid happening, I just stay home most of the time which allows me to work on music. I have had more time over the last few months to really find my own sound and develop as a producer, which has been great! But I would love for covid to be over so we can start having concerts again because I think it would be really fun to play live.
Deviate: You have a new track. In your own words, what is “Glow” about? You’ve already racked up a few thousand streams on Spotify, which is awesome.
Aibai: I created the music for Glow in the hopes that it would be a nice, calm, uplifting song that is easy on the ears. Something that I and my friends would want to listen to on repeat without getting tired of it. Lyrically, to me it means trying to move forward after a breakup, and trying to figure out what to do next, but knowing that everything will be alright in the end. Des (Swims) wrote and sang the lyrics, but that is how I interpret them.
Deviate: How did the collaboration with Swims come to fruition? His laid back vocals fit the tune perfectly.
Aibai: I used to work with him at the restaurant I currently work at. I had made the song and was thinking about what kind of vocals I had wanted, and I had came up with the idea that a guy with an indie voice would be cool! Des has his own music where he sings and plays instruments and I knew he was very talented so I decided to hit him up. He was down to sing on it which was great! His voice really did end up sounding great with the track.
Deviate: You had a busy 2020, dropping a handful of singles. Do you foresee an EP in the coming year?
Aibai: There will be an EP out march 27th! Glow was the first single I released off of it. After that I hope to start working on an album.
Deviate: Being from Minneapolis, on a scale from 1-10 how cool is the giant spoon and why?
Aibai: I would say like 4 to be honest. The sculpture garden is cool, but there are so many other cool things around the city. I have lived here for long enough though and hope to move to the west coast soon! I am tired of the long cold winters here.
You and me both.
Deviate: Always great to meet new artists. I can’t wait to see what 2021 brings!
Aibai: Thanks for talking with me! `
A big thank you to Aibai for her time and energy. Go stream “Glow” and be on the lookout for her new EP out March 27th on all streaming platforms.
Aibai is a Deviate through and through.
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