Aslan Freeman (vocals/guitar) Unifier / Future Ghosts)
What is your name and band/label/etc?
I'm Aslan Freeman, I sing and play guitar for the band Future Ghosts, and we work with Round Kid and Autumn + Colour Records.
What are your top five albums that were released in 2012? (In order 1-5)
- The Menzingers - On The Impossible Past
- Two Door Cinema Club - Beacon
- Deftones - Koi No Yokan
- Basement - Colourmeinkindness
- Propagandhi - Failed States
What band did you discover in 2012 (can be a brand new band or an older band) that had an impact on your life? What made them significant?
As you can probably guess from the list above, I would have to say The Menzingers. Recently I've hit this interesting transition in my life where as I'm getting a little older I'm starting to really enjoy punk music more. It seems a bit backwards, but because of that, when I had a friend tell me to check out the new Menzingers album I pretty much fell in love with it instantly. They do a great job with the poppier, catchy side of punk, just writing simple songs with memorable melodies and truthful storytelling.
How will you remember 2012? (In terms of music)
I'd say I'll remember it as a year that really fused the extremities of underground and mainstream music together for me. We played more shows than I've ever played before in a year, and did a pretty extensive tour, so we were listening to tons of local and independent bands, both live and through trading CDs, trying to find people to play and keep in touch with. On the other end of things, we started listening to a ton of pop music to get new ideas for melodies, as I was dealing with the aftermath of my addiction to Deadmau5's "4x4=12." Then the new Two Door Cinema Club record came out and sort of congealed all that together for us in one pretty little package. To top it all off, we spent a few months in the middle of the year writing a ton of songs for our new record, which we wanted to be a salute to our favorite 90's indie bands, but move our sound in general more towards mainstream rock and pop.
What can we look forward to from you in 2013?
Well the big one would definitely be our new album, Colorado. It's going to be released February 12th through Round Kid and Autumn + Colour and we couldn't be more excited about it. We recorded it back in June and are super proud of it, and have gotten a lot of positive feedback from friends and family who have heard it. We're ready to get it out into the world and see what happens. Aside from that, we're hoping to do a lot more touring to support the release. Mostly East Coast and a little Midwest, but I think we'll probably get back out to the West Coast before the year is out. We're also trying to consistently release a lot more small stuff, like bonus tracks, acoustic versions, and other free treats for the people that keep up with us in between music videos and big releases.
What records are you looking forward to most in 2013?
Word on the street is that there's going to be a new Backstreet Boys album. Fingers crossed.
Fundraising sites like Kickstarter and Indiegogo have made a strong impact on the ability of artists to release music. Do you think this approach is a trend, or will it continue to shape how artists produce their material?
I would be surprised to see fundraising sites turn into a trend that falls off. So many bands have already taken advantage of them in positive (and sometimes negative) ways, and it's really empowering artists to become truly self-contained small businesses. It also encourages and allows artists to connect more frequently and directly with fans, work to build their own fanbase, and then make the fans a part of the process. It seems to be proving that people still care about their favorite artists (and/or friends) on a personal level and want to actively participate in the creation of their art I don't know that the current models for these sites are the most ideal, so they will likely continue to grow and evolve along with the way artists use them. However, they have already had a pretty significant impact on the music business, and the potential for them to stick around is high.
