Vents MagaZine Music and Entertainment Magazine
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Hi Mari + Adrian, welcome to VENTS! How have you both been?
We have had a whirlwind of a week! Adrian flew up to Seattle, and we just finished mixing our second album in five days at Earwig Studio. We finished off the week with our second Northwest gig where the owner was a Latin percussionist so we got to play with him on one of our songs.
Can you talk to us more about your track “15,000 Days”?
Actually, 15,000 days is the song that the owner, Ernesto, joined us for on stage! It’s our one song that was inspired by a Latin groove. We warned him before the gig that there was a song he could join us on, and he nailed it. There’s a reel on our Instagram of him playing with us.
I (Mariko) gave Adrian the lyrics and he gave me a bounce with some rhythmic guitar and his melody. I immediately heard it as a Latin groove despite it being so stripped back and filled in the rest. It wasn’t until we recorded with our drummer, Jason, at the studio that we decided on the right drums. When we heard him play this beat we immediately said, “YES, that’s it!” Then Adrian added in his bass part and extra guitars.
Did any event inspire you to write this song?
M: In 2020-21 I found and met my birth parents. I was adopted from birth and never knew anything about my birth family. It turns out they were in the same city as me, all these years, just 30 minutes away. Although my birth parents never married they kept in touch via distant circles. When I finally met them I realized that it was about 15,000 days since they had last seen me as a newborn. As a parent, I can’t imagine handing over my child not knowing if I’d ever see them again. One of the greatest gifts I have is knowing my own birth story, and being able to know my birth family as an adult.
Any plans to release a video for any of the album tracks?
It has been on our minds for a while! We have to find the time, energy, and focus. We have even had discussions about it with other people, but it’s been so hard to simply /make/ the music from 1000 miles apart that the video aspect of it is even more of a challenge. Someday soon we hope.
You just released your new album Ignite The Sky – what’s the story behind the title?
The album is a culmination of the common themes across adoption, quarantine, and even our long-distance band. We found similar themes woven across those aspects of our lives: distance, sacrifice, separation, self-preservation, self-discovery, love, and hope. Ignite the Sky talks about acknowledging the distance, unable to do much to change the circumstances, no matter how hard we try. But we have hope in the symbolism of the light in the dark sky. We can still be there, seeing each other shine from far away, or even better, one day reconnecting with them.
How was the recording and writing process?
M: Making an album was something we’ve both wanted to do–a bonus for vinyl. For me, I never thought I’d be pushed so much–I thought Adrian just needed a pianist for cover songs. Next thing I know, I’m writing lyrics, attempting harmonies, stacking vocal parts, and then making an album. I feel like I was dropped in the deep end but in the best possible way.
A: It’s an interesting process in that Mari will send me lyrics/words (we refer to it as the “clay”) and then I take this clay and try to mold it into a musical idea. Mari’s lyrics inspire me to go where I want to with the story. It is also a good starting point for me, that gives me some direction. It’s easy to get lost in a sea of ideas but Mari gives me something to grasp onto, which pushes me in a particular path, which is great. There’s that inspiration, direction, and limitation of what you’re working with. It somehow seems to work out in the end.
What aspect of family and life did you get to explore on this record?
As an adoptee, I had a very rare opportunity to meet, connect with, and even love my birth family whom I’ve only known for less than two years. At first, I struggled with using the terms “mom” and “dad”, but I also knew that they did the most selfless act of love to give me a better chance of success. After seeing and feeling their love for me, it wasn’t hard for me to use those terms at all. Just to clarify, they never married and went on to live separate lives, but are still in contact with each other. I also discovered I have a half-sister, too!
What made you want to tackle these themes?
While I was sitting in the midst of the pandemic and there were people dying, I didn’t want to have any regrets about not finding my birth parents. What if I found them only to find out they had just passed? Everyone was so isolated and alone. Nothing was normal. Music had always been a comfort, so Adrian and I started more seriously writing and sending ideas back and forth. It was as much of an escape as it was a salve amidst the chaos–for both of us.
What else is happening next in The A.M.s’ world?
Aghh, we are trying to figure that out! We’re still in the process of mapping out what we should focus on this year. We have the Durango Songwriters Conference in February. We also just finished mixing our second album. We’ll be getting it mastered in late winter, but aren’t sure when we’ll start releasing singles. We also recorded a cover song from our homes as a possible release in the interim.
We’ve had ideas about new ways to write music, maybe more collectively with our drummer, Jason Edwards. He’s been an untapped force of creativity, and it would be fun to try new ways to approach music. (Side note: thanks to Don Farwell, our engineer, for giving us these ideas in the first place.) Then of course there’s always the need to perform more. So that’s kind of everything on the table. Once we hone in on some specific goals we’ll have a better idea of what, /exactly/ is coming up next. Thanks so much for having us!
