We were lucky to catch up with AJ Rosales recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi AJ, thanks for joining us today. What sort of legacy are you hoping to build. What do you think people will say about you after you are gone, what do you hope to be remembered for?
The word legacy implies that one has reached a level where your actions have created a meaningful external appreciation. I don’t purposely go about creating my music with that intent – but I am satisfied that there are external connections happening. I’d like my legacy to convey originality, authenticness, and a well rounded body of work that defies a few expectations. I’m also interested in being remembered as a visceral live performer, and not just someone who can push buttons in a studio to create tunes that are a bit inauthentic. There’s something intangible about being able to perform art for live audiences and prove in realtime that you’ve got skills.
AJ, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I’ve been playing music all my life and music is part of my daily existence. I consider myself part craftsman and part dreamer – there’s a technical side to music which is hard to master (if you look beyond pop music) and then there’s a need to transcend the ordinary to convey something a bit abstract. I’m not really a literalist as a composer – I enjoy the interpretability of music and how it can mean several different things to different people. I think that my approach to the creation of music is a bit idiosyncratic because I try to follow my own instincts rather than follow trends or try to “fit in”. To me, music should be a bit of an adventure instead of a passive listening experience.
What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?
Live performance. I think the music industry is about connections and the more people you interact with the more opportunity you get.
Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?
Actually – I’ve been listening to and reading a lot of interviews on AI on the web. One thing that struck me as I’ve been listening to it is that I don’t really see it as a completely pertinent tool for my process. I tend to follow more disparate ideals. I wouldn’t feel as confident about what I was doing if I had to rely on it. I think it’s actually not that important of a tool for someone like me who focuses on live performance. I’m not saying that it useless, but as a creative tool, I’m underwhelmed by it. It seems to follow too many of its own rules to create things. Human ingenuity is still better at breaking out of molds and conflating ideas into new expressions.
Contact Info:
- Website: ajrox.net
- Instagram: ajrosalesmusic
- Facebook: facebook.com/ajrosalesmusic
- Youtube: YouTube.com/ajrosales
Image Credits
Emily Davis