When Aaron Hibell sat down to work on “Ghost” over three years ago, he did so with a resolve to let things happen, follow patterns, and embrace the unpredictability of life. The unreleased Avicii song led him down a creativity rabbit hole that eventually became Synchronicity, his debut album. When asked about the largest challenges he faced while writing the album, he begins to answer before stopping himself and admitting something an artist rarely does: it wasn’t actually that hard. Part of that ease came from his alignment with Carl Jung’s philosophy of synchronicity – the idea that seemingly unconnected events can feel meaningfully related. Hibell is aware it’s a heady idea, and his debut LP reflects that. He spent most of the writing process in his small hometown by the sea. When inspiration ran dry, he’d wander down to the rocky beach to feel the wind and taste the salt air. While immersing himself in the rugged landscape, he took field recordings of the sea crashing against the dunes and gusts of wind whistling past the rocks.
Those ambient sounds made the final cut, giving the record an uninterrupted sense of place. Synchronicity is a continuous album; each track flows into the next, transporting the listener into the world of Aaron Hibell’s work. He reflects on whether or not he approaches film scoring and music production differently, concluding that he takes the film score approach to electronic music. For him, things aren’t all about danceability. Hibell takes trance, orchestral, indie, and electronic music, blending them into something entirely his own, and cites Radiohead, Izzy Cross, Will Bloomfield, and Ludwig Gorenson as his major inspirations for this record. Just because he isn’t focused on dance music doesn’t mean he’ll be neglectful of his crowds on his upcoming North American tour. He prides himself on building his live shows around a symbiotic relationship with the room. Hibell is hyper-aware of how people interact with his music and cannot wait to take everyone on the full, live journey of Synchronicity.
- Claire Cole
