Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Aaron Clift. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Aaron, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

The most meaningful projects for me have been creating and releasing albums for my progressive rock project, The Aaron Clift Experiment. Making these albums combines all the things that I love about music:

As a music fan, progressive rock is the perfect genre for me – it combines my love of rock, classical, and jazz seamlessly, it’s stylistically diverse, and the music and lyrics have a lot of depth and interest that keep me on my toes.

As a singer and keyboardist, I can’t wait to go into the studio and push my skills to the limit and create a performance that emotionally resonates with listeners.

As a composer/songwriter, I love the challenge of creating music and lyrics that express an original story.

As a business person, I’m excited to sell a unique concept that listeners can’t find anywhere else.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I grew up immersed in music. When I was a baby, both my parents used to play LPs for me – everything from kid’s music to classic artists like The Beatles and Bob Dylan. My mom likes to remind me that one of my first words was “side,” which was my word for music (since they had to turn records over to the other side to continue playing them). My dad also came from a musical background – he played piano, french horn, and sang in choir. These influences all rubbed off on me and encouraged me to seek out and play music.

When I got to junior high, I took up viola as my first instrument. Performing solo and in orchestra not only gave me my foundational education in music, but it also introduced me to the communal aspect of making music and turned music into my lifelong passion.

I continued my education at Tufts University, where I switched to vocals as my main instrument, I learned piano, and I double majored in music and Spanish. The program at Tufts was very flexible and allowed me to not only hone my skills as a performer but also as a composer. By the end of my time at Tufts, I had a very strong background in composing, performing, and music technology.

After college, it took me a few years to find my professional footing, but by 2010, I knew that I wanted to put together a band where I could write and perform music in my favorite genre: progressive rock. I formed The Aaron Clift Experiment in 2012. I describe our music as a “multi-faceted sound that blends influences from classic rock (Rush, Pink Floyd, King Crimson), modern rock (Porcupine Tree, Opeth), jazz, and classical – all anchored by a dedication to high-quality songwriting and musicianship.” I think what sets our music apart is that its intricate and diverse while still being melodic and catchy.

In the last few years, The Aaron Clift Experiment has carved out a significant worldwide following. Our last album, 2018’s “If All Goes Wrong,” was a critically-acclaimed progressive rock achievement, landing on several year-end best album lists. In 2017, we had a star-making performance at RosFest, one of the largest progressive rock festivals in the world, and followed it up with an impressive outing at 2018 at Chicago’s Progtoberfest, and in 2019 with a hometown concert that was recorded for our second live EP, “Live at One-2-One Bar.”

Our next next album, “The Age of Misinformation” (coming out January 6, 2023), is a conceptual work about the destructive power of lies and the search for truth in the face of overwhelming odds. The album marks a high point for our creativity – featuring everything from explosive, hard rocking songs, to gorgeous ballads, to multi-layered vocal writing that would make Queen blush! Two songs explore symphonic music with a guest string quartet, and the album’s lead single, “Bet on Zero,” is an epic big band jazz/blues fusion collaboration with 7-piece Austin horn ensemble, Big Wy’s Brass Band.

I’ve come a long way in my musical journey to this point and can’t wait for new listeners to discover what I’ve been up to!

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

For me, being creative is about constantly evolving and striving to reach my potential. If I can pull this off and share art that emotionally resonates with both myself and my listeners, then I feel like I’m on the right path.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

There’s a quote from John F Kennedy that always stuck with me. When talking about America’s mission to the moon, he said: “We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things (accomplishments and aspirations), not because they are easy, but because they are hard.” I share Kennedy’s belief that real growth is the outcome of vision and struggle, so for me, the most rewarding part of being an artist is realizing the fruits of that hard work.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.aaronclift.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/aaroncliftmusic
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/aaroncliftmusic
• Youtube: www.youtube.com/aaroncliftmusic
• Other: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/4FpajOhE9y3zUEdMQxb41L

Image Credits
Art Design: Fumihito Sugawara Photography: Tobe Mokolo