|
(By Steve Grosz) Regardless of season or venue, Aaron Espe is a constant. Whether swaddled in the grass of a Great Plains folk fest or enveloped in the soft din of a city café, Aaron Espe’s music summons from its listeners a resurrected depth that otherwise cowers within during the monotonous work week. Cherry Garrard (Antarctic explorer) wrote that “It is necessary to be cut off from civilization and all that it means to realize fully the power music has to recall the past, or the depths of meaning in it to soothe the present.” In this sense attending an Aaron Espe concert is a barbaric experience. Espe’s melodies effectively work to unfetter hearers from our “civilized” busyness, interjecting space to reflect, space to be human again. Alighting upon the folk music scene two years ago from the upland wilds of Northern Minnesota, Aaron has begun to garner the attention that one might expect from a significant young talent. His recent plumes include: -“My Whole Life” a top 20 album for 2006 (intelligentpop.com) -Featured artist for the 2007 Volkswagen Auto Tour. -Featured artist for the 2007 Folk Alliance, Memphis, Tennessee. -Among the top-ranked unsigned folk artists (myspace.com) If such a thing as the clichéd “total package” exists then attending one of Aaron Espe’s concerts offers attendees a hint as to what it may be. The beauty of his sound, coupled with the irresistible aura of a shy guy, stirs a desire to join the now burgeoning army of Espe’s unpaid publicists. Among his recent surge of supporters is President of CD Baby (World’s largest seller of independent music), Derek Sivers: “Aaron, I love your ‘My Whole Life’ CD so much I’m going to feature it on the Front Page of CD baby for a few days. We get about 100 new albums sent to us a day (about 100,000 total), and yours is one of the best I’ve ever heard.” A few of Espe’s recordings from the abovementioned “My Whole Life” were conceived in a rapid thrust of creativity (i.e. “Grace’), while most have been the result of a painfully slow breach birth of inspiration. Consequently the hearer is aware that Espe’s songs are more than trite phrasings, but rather liquefied shards of an authentic soul cast generously out to those within earshot. Without benefit of the high-powered promotion that hammers mainstream music into our consciousness, Aaron Espe’s fans greedily await the release of his second album (Summer 2007) nonetheless. | |
Buy Aaron Espe CDs:
| ||
Visit the Aaron Espe web-site | ||
| Email Aaron Espe | ||
Other artists from CO Dan Craig Mike Berg Victor Towle | ||
Uncommon Ground Upcoming Show Dates | ||
| 2008-10-06 (38 days) | SHURE sponsored Open Mic - Hosted by Kat Fitzgerald | |
| Aaron Espe | ||
Uncommon Ground Past Show Dates | ||
| 2008-05-21 (100 days) | Sleeper Car (Mike Solo) | |
| Aaron Espe | ||
| Back Room Sessions! | ||
| 2007-03-20 (528 days) | Allette Brooks | |
| Aaron Espe | ||
