Aza Brown
Some days ago he surprised us with "For Real?" and now we are able to present him in a short Q&A, here is the one and only Aaron “Aza” Brown. Thanks for your time "Aza". Now you can read something about his latest release, the music scene in Chesterfield or what's next for him. Read it, stream it and enjoy it!
Aza Brown is...?
Aaron “Aza” Brown is a Singer/Songwriter based in Chesterfield, Derbyshire (UK) and currently sings in The WonderWhys - a highly-demanded band who played The Alexandra Palace (Ally Pally) to 6 thousand people twice in 2017, & played with The Happy Mondays when they visited Chesterfield.
I’ve played in bands all my life, but had 15 years out where I became an English teacher for a while, but randomly - was an art dealer - importing Fair Trade Art from Bali for a few years.
Resultantly, I have quite a good grasp of the Indonesian language! I went solo after feeling I still had lots of unexpressed music in me that needed to see the light of day, and released 5 singles in 2021
Who inspired you to make music in general?
The very first band I got into was InXS in the late 80’s (Michael Hutchence was SUCH a good frontman), along with some of the heavy rock bands at the time like Guns n Roses and Motley Crue, but from the early 90’s I got more into the classic songwriting of bands like Crowded House, Jellyfish, The Beatles and The Doors
What's the story behind your latest release "For Real?", respectively what or who was your inspiration?
I’ve had it for a while - I was actually working on it in Bali about 6 years ago. The root of it, though was that in the 90’s I’d worked as a Civil Servant for 6 years and the 00’s in Local Government too, so I’ve had plenty of experience of working “in the system”.
When I forged my own path through self-employment, it was a huge leap of faith, but it was so much more rewarding than the Rat Race, so I wanted to talk about what you find on the other side of fear (one of the lines of the song). There’s so much more to life than just existing, so in this song I’m urging people to find their passion and follow their dreams.
What is your creative process like?
I write 3 pages “stream of consciousness” every morning - it’s kinda like journalling, but anything goes really. It not only quietens the sometimes negative chatter of the day, where your mind might go down lots of rabbit holes, but I also keep a pad at the side of me to jot down any ideas that might come up. These might be various life ventures to pursue, but also song and lyric ideas.
Importantly, though, it gets you writing - so you’re more likely to keepwriting and consider yourself as a writer or creator. To get basic ideas down, I’ve got an iRig mini keyboard and a basic interface for guitar, and just play into GarageBand - it’s so easy to capture ideas - if I’m out and about, though, I’ll whack down notes and voice recordings in my phone and come back to them later
You are from Chesterfield, how would you describe the music scene there?
In the 90’s it was amazing, with countless venues putting on original music - now, however, there’re only a handful of places, with many favouring covers bands because it brings more money in, and many original artistes have to travel to nearby Sheffield to express their various talents.
That being said, there are some amazing bands and artistes about, and I’m actually heading a venture to release a “legacy recording” of 100 years of Chesterfield music - going right back to the dance and swing bands of the 1920’s through to present day where bands like The Rosadocs are doing particularly well, along with solo artists like myself, Danny Burton and Kai Undrell
What's your most useful talent besides music?
Hmmm…tricky one, really! I’m very resourceful and can turn my hand to many things - obviously I was an English Teacher and can speak Indonesian, but whilst it’s not actually making music, I’m good at promoting it - I also promoted a Deep House night called Detune in the 00’s which did really well, and the aforementioned “legacy recordings” venture arose from me setting up a Youtube Channel/Podcast called “S40time” (or “Showtime” - S40 is Chesterfield’s postcode), so I suppose my organisational and promotional skills have always been pretty good.
Check out www.s40time.com where for the first episode I interviewed David McPhie - who helped Joe Cocker get his record deal in 1967, as well as bringing household names like Pink Floyd, Fleetwood Mac and Little Richard to Chesterfield in the 1960’s.
Do you remember your first ever self-written song?
Oh dear! It was a cheesy rock song in about 1991 called “Chalk and Cheese”, where I was trying to make sense of splitting up with a girl by saying it was probably for the best. Thankfully it’ll never surface, but you’ve gotta start somewhere!
What’s next for you?
I’m just back from 2 months in Mexico, which completely restored my spirit after 2 years of uncertainty for musicians. I shot a video out there for next single “Afterthought” (released on a lucky Friday 13th May!) in Puerto Escondido, as it’s got a Latino/Spanish flavour to it.
A lot of people feel it’s my best song, so I can’t wait for you all to hear it! I’ll be releasing the album “Exennial” on Friday 8th July at Real Time Music in Chesterfield, and playing it out in it’s entirety - I’ve hired a choir and string quartet for the occasion, so I’m hoping it’ll be a spectacle. Watch this space for tickets!
