Marking 25 years since his debut, Jon DeRosa returns as Aarktica with his newest album Ecstatic Lightsongs. It’s a luminous, rhythm-driven record that builds on his signature ambient and art-rock sound. Known for crafting expansive sonic worlds from layers of guitar, tape echo, and emotion, Aarktica’s tenth studio album finds DeRosa embracing collaboration and rediscovery. With contributions from drummer Mike Pride, cellist Henrik Meierkord and vocalist Britt Warner, this album bridges the ethereal and the visceral, drawing influence from the likes of Talk Talk, The Chameleons and Robert Wyatt. It’s a work that reflects on memory, connection and transcendence while honoring the experimental spirit that has defined Aarktica throughout his career. For On The Record, DeRosa reflects on creative freedom, the evolution of his sound and the vision that brought Ecstatic Lightsongs to life.
Welcome to Unrecorded! For those who aren’t already familiar with Aarktica, can you introduce yourself?
My name is Jon DeRosa. I’ve been making music as Aarktica, with a revolving family of collaborators and contributors, since 1999.
Congratulations on the release of your tenth studio album! How does reaching this milestone shape your perspective on your creative journey so far?
Aarktica has been this musical entity that’s evolved so much over the years, and that has afforded me the opportunity to weave through genres, experiment with sounds, and explore different influences without ever feeling tied to being one thing. I consider that creative freedom one of my greatest fortunes.
This year we saw the reissue of the very first Aarktica album No Solace in Sleep as well as the release of a new album Ecstatic Lightsongs. The sonic differences in these two albums — released 25 years apart — are vast, but the spirit remains the same within them.
Considering that Ecstatic Lightsongs throw it back to your earlier influences, which artists or records felt most present in your mind while making it?
Talk Talk – Laughing Stock and Spirit of Eden Hood – The Cycle of Days & Seasons
The Chameleons, Durutti Column, Robert Wyatt, Echo & The Bunnymen, Lungfish…
I was very focused on rhythms for this album, which is very uncharacteristic for an Aarktica release. But this is why I was particularly enamored with Talk Talk in this era, specifically. I was hearing the way rhythm is used on albums like Laughing Stock, where the drums hold a beautiful space that allows the musical elements to unfold freely, spaciously and minimally at times, with no fear of the song “falling apart.” This blueprint afforded me an opportunity I’ve never really had before to explore melody and ambience in new ways.
And I credit drummer Mike Pride with really delivering wonderful interpretations of the types of rhythms I was hearing in my head. For some of the songs, I wrote them completely around the rhythm, so they were the first element to exist and inspired the entire rest of the song.
In contrast to your instrumental album, Paeans, vocals are a prominent element throughout your new record, so what drew you back to this medium of expression?
When I’m feeling a bit more shy and introverted, perhaps… it’s easier for me to channel the creativity, the expression into something instrumental. That’s always been one of the great joys and attractions of making music as a rather introverted and solitary person.
And some of the deeper, unnameable and unknowable emotions don’t really benefit from having a narrative. So I wax and wane between instrumental and vocal music.
There’s a song on the new album “Why Say Anything?” that sums it up: “These aren’t the words I wanted to say, so why say anything? Words get in the way.”
Lyrics really help the listener connect with your themes, so how did you weave ideas of memory, connection and natural forces into your songs?
I let all the surface noise melt away and focus on raw memories and somatic feelings. And I tried to be very honest and unguarded, and also very observant both inwardly and outwardly. Focusing on the absolute beauty and wonder of even the smallest moments of memory and emotion.
Getting too much in my head to try and muscle out a song is a guarantee that song is either going to be garbage or never get finished. I did my fair share of that as well before setting myself straight.
Lyrics are not something I tend to have an easy time with, but I always manage to find a path through.
One of the most interesting narratives is that of cargo cults in ‘Destination Paradise’, so how did you approach this lesser-known aspect of human spirituality?
I’ve always had a bit of a fascination with this subject since seeing it featured in Mondo Cane, the infamous 1962 Italian documentary by Gualtiero Jacopetti. In that segment, an airport had been built in Port Moresby, Papua, New Guinea, near rainforests where many primitive and uncontacted peoples lived. In the documentary, these tribes began building their own primitive landing strips and control towers, as they believed the planes they observed flying overhead were sent by their ancestors, filled with riches, and that they were being hijacked by the white man. Their hopes were that their ancestors would land on their air strips with the wealth from the afterlife, or to take them with them to the “beyond.”
It was all rather heartbreaking and also kind of beautiful in a way? And there are many other similar cargo cults that exist to this day around the world.
The knee jerk reaction may be to think that they’re absurd or primitive. But when you consider the beliefs that most modern religions espouse, and what most otherwise rational people believe who belong to some faith, it’s really not that different or outlandish. For the non-religious, I think it also speaks to the modern feelings of alienation that pervade our society, and this desire for salvation, contact and proof of a higher power.
There’s a wide sonic palette throughout the album, from cosmic synths to orchestral texture and much more, so how do you build out these expansive soundscapes?
Historically with Aarktica, everything begins on guitar, and this album is actually the first in over 20 years to feature synthesizers of any kind. Guitar still plays a big role with all the atmospherics, but I really loved working with synthesizers again, building layers, creating textures, weaving melodies.
Lewis (Pesacov), who produced this album, guided me through his collection of granular and analog synths to develop some of the more expansive textures on the album.
I also owe a great debt of gratitude to Henrik Meierkord, who played cello on this album (as well as the previous albums Paeans and We Will Find the Light). Henrik lives in Sweden, and we “met” years ago through our work together in Black Tape for a Blue Girl. He’s a stellar musician with a massive solo catalog, kind of a superstar, really. He has a real intuition for creating magnificent orchestral arrangements, and we work very well together. He really “hears” what I’m going for and executes his parts with such elegance.
Britt Warner’s contributions also add a luminous counterpoint to your distinct style, so what do you think collaborations brought to the album and your music in general?
Britt’s voice brings a lot of light and a very ethereal and sensual element to these songs. It was the much needed foil to my very dark vocal tone. I love the songs we sing together, her presence on this album is so very vibrant and impactful.
Aarktica has always relied on collaborators to bring new life and ideas into the music. I’ve probably had 20-30 members over the course of 25 years. I am very grateful for my own talents and creativity, but I acknowledge that I have ideas that often exceed my capabilites and I’m more than happy to invite others to be part of this vision.
This album is one of the most collaborative Aarktica’s ever done, starting with the album art and direction. Those spectacular visuals were created and executed by an outstanding team of friends: Jonah Birns, Ghazal Hashemi and Brian Vernor. And really that experience kind of informed the entire album from start to finish. It allowed me to feel comfortable trusting others because they were sharing a piece of themselves in this as well. We all had something at stake, we all believed in this thing we were making.
How do you mediate between individual vision and collective input?
For this album, I had a sound in my head and did my best to communicate what I needed from everyone else. I shared songs with drummer Mike Pride and asked for his interpretations of them. His contributions were vital in the early stages.
It was the same working with Lewis, the producer. I shared with him recordings and references and he was able to interpret what I wanted as we worked together in the studio.
I wrote all the songs, the lyrics and melodies. But everyone brought something very spirited and individual to the mix. It felt very collaborative more than most of my recent albums have.
Following the release of your tenth album, what will be next on the horizon for you?
Rest, and then start all over again.
You can also listen to ‘Ecstatic Light Transmission’ in our Outsiders Club playlist.
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