We were lucky to catch up with Aiden Saroka recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Aiden thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Naming anything – including a business – is so hard. Right? What’s the story behind how you came up with the name of your brand?

Unlike the other bands that I’ve been in, finding the name AKORAS NOIR (pronounced: “uh-core-us—nuh-war”) was the easiest part of starting the band. My last name is Saroka, so all I did was flip it and add “noir” to make it sound like a fancy cologne or something!

Aiden , love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

AKORAS NOIR is my outlet for the best art that I am humanly capable of creating. My primary focus is music (alternative rock), but being brought up in the age of technology, my passion stretches into the world of graphic design, videography, and content creation. The vision for this project is to allow anyone to watch myself develop and evolve, through the lens of my art. Thus far, my greatest success has been being able to start growing a community, who can escape their school, work, or whatever situation that they’re in, by immersing themselves in the music or videos that I create. Sure, my own creative pursuits push me to write more, but when someone talks about how my art impacted them, that is the greatest motivator that a creator could ever ask for.

What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?

As cliché as it may sound, leaning into my individuality has proven to be one of the strongest methods for growing my clientele. Real respects real, and when it comes to art, the average listener can feel when an artist is being authentic. The people need someone who they can connect to, but there needs to be an authentic relationship established between the creator and the audience.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

This question makes me think about one of the earliest shows that I ever played. The show took place at my buddy’s basement, with about 50 people in attendance. I don’t think his mom was too thrilled about that many people in her home, but we felt like we were living in an 80’s teen movie. There were three bands playing that night, with my band being the last. The first act is usually the group who “loosens up” the audience, kinda like the concert ice-breaker. Yet, this band didn’t really accomplish that task, as everyone in attendance just played on their phones or went outside. They sounded great, but I guess the audience wasn’t connecting with the music. Then, the second band was absolutely horrendous… there are no hard feelings towards this band, but they put on the worst set I’ve ever seen. Everyone could tell that they didn’t practice, no one was in tune, the singer was screaming over the whole band, etc… Needless to say, this band scared away about 30 of the 50 people in attendance. As someone who gets very anxious before shows, watching everyone walk out turned me into a nervous wreck. We were moments away from cancelling our set, before I thought “surely, we couldn’t be worse than that, right?” And by the time we went on, everything started to shift. The small group of those who decided to stick around didn’t once pull out their phones or leave, they just danced. They were chanting and applauding louder than they had been all night, almost out of relief! It was the first time where I felt “the magic” of a concert, from the performer’s perspective. I jokingly said that everyone looked like a Charlie Brown cartoon because they were all spread out across the basement, dancing in their own, unique ways.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://instagram.com/akorasnoir?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/channel/UCS5Ne0YVgaWjgUeB1g0Jfbg
• Other: TIK TOK: https://www.tiktok.com/@akorasnoir?_t=8X54SOE0wDz&_r=1

Image Credits
Photos By: Zach Collins, Sam Killian, and Nick Harris