It's been nearly two years since I was first introduced to AJ Schinco's music which features atmospheric production and warm vocals that captured those fever dream days of lockdown. Since then, AJ has been busy developing their sound and I was delighted to catch up with AJ to discuss the re-release of 'Venice' which features a range of previously unreleased songs...
Hi AJ, thank you for taking the time to do this interview! Please could you introduce yourself to our readers!
Hey everyone! My name is AJ Schinco and I am a singer/songwriter and producer from Omaha Nebraska. I’ve been making music since I was twelve years old, and I finally have put out an album!
It’s been a while since our last interview which was back in December 2021, how have you been and what have you been up to since then?
Ever since our last interview, so much has changed! I’ve made new connections in the music industry, experience with new sounds, and I’ve even learned how to play more instruments, like the steel slide guitar. I’m still in high school, but I’ll be graduating in May 2024 and I cannot wait to have more time on my hands to make amazing music.
In our previous interview you were releasing your album ‘Venice’ which you have recently re-released alongside some previously unreleased songs. What can you tell us about the new recording and what made you want to re-release the album?
Well, I first released ‘Venice’ in 2021, it was fifteen tracks long, and I just was not satisfied with it. The album cover decision was spontaneous, some tracks were not finished, and I wanted something that I was proud of to be released. So, in February 2022, ‘Venice’ was stripped from streaming services and I went back to the drawing board. I wanted this album to tell a story and be known as an amazing debut album coming from a seventeen-year-old who did it all himself. I only kept five songs from the original record, and shortened the tracklist to fourteen songs, which was a tough decision because I was set on having a fifteen-track record. Now, every song was meticulously analysed, mixed, and mastered, and I cannot be more proud of the outcome!
Would you say that re-releasing ‘Venice’ has been a cathartic experience for you as an artist especially since the initial album was released during the pandemic?
Re-releasing ‘Venice’ took a lot of courage, if I am being honest. Releasing music while still in a highschool with extremely judgy peers takes a lot of mental strength that I am still slowly building each day. My music is like my personal diary with all of the complicated emotions I have felt and have not been able to put into words, so I put them into a song, so Re-releasing at the time I did took a lot! It was also very emotionally touching, listening to all of the old and unreleased songs that I wrote about things I’ve felt in the past. I just sit back and think, “I have come so far-Musically and emotionally.”
What is your favourite track from ‘Venice’ and why?
This is almost asking a parent who their favorite child is, Haha! But the line comes down to one song: Stay Down. Stay Down holds a spot so close to my heart because it is the first song that describes me to my core. I’ll be honest, I have not had an easy time in life. My dad left when I was eleven, I grew up gay in a private catholic school, and Freshman year I went to a private catholic high school, and that year took the biggest toll on me. I had finally found the courage to be open about being gay, but it came back to bite me. One thing a lot of gay people do not talk about is the loneliness that comes with it. Stay Down is about how lonely I feel. Everyone is always like “Oh, you’ll have your time (in love)” or “(Loneliness) It’s part of being young” but no one really gets it. I also feel like no one is ever really there for me. I’ve always been the person to pick myself back up, hold myself together, and help myself get through the things I have been through. People say, “You should be so proud of yourself” or “It takes a lot of strength” and yeah, I guess I am strong, but sometimes I don’t want to be. That’s the main emotion behind Stay Down. I also feel like it is one of my best written songs, lyrically. And It is also one of my favorites to sing and talk about :)
When we last spoke you mentioned how when it comes to writing music you tend to be flexible and prefer telling a story through your songs, has your approach since changed or do you still find it important to trust your instinct when it comes to writing new music?
Honestly, my approaches to making music are often messy. I usually start off with a chord progression that I feel matches the mood I am trying to deliver, and then I build off of that. I also like to write songs that tell a story or gives the listener a look inside my head, because I feel like that makes the music more intriguing and more fun to listen to. I’ve actually started reading poetry from many different writers (my current favorite being Sylvia Plath) just to get a different perspective on how to deliver a lyric.
What is your favourite lyric from the songs featured on ‘Venice’?
My favorite lyrics from ‘Venice’ have to be from Track 5, Sea-Gown. God, I love that track. If I had not written Stay Down, Sea-Gown would be my favorite track. The lyric is, “And I can cut my hair and my skin, but I can’t change the body I’m in / But now I’m taller than I’ve ever been, but you still judge me like a priest / “Say, you’re the most unholy sin”. I actually wrote this song after we read Hamlet and read through Ophelia’s death, and it was described so beautifully I took the idea and applied it to myself. I wrote Sea-Gown about growing up gay in a catholic school, and how I feel being gay would affect my relationship with my father if he was still around. A “Sea-Gown” in this song is a metaphor for homosexuality. I thought a gown that had been lost at sea for years would be beautifully feminine, and fragile from the years of deterioration from the sea. That’s what homosexuality is. At the end of the song I sing “Drown me Sea-Gown,” which is basically explaining how being gay makes me feel. It’s like an internal battle with myself and I constantly feel like I am losing and drowning- but don’t get me wrong, I love being gay, it's just hard to live this way.
Looking back over the last few years, what would you say have been the biggest challenges for you as an artist and creator?
The biggest challenge has to be writer’s-block. I go through so many demos and unreleased songs to find a gem, and it’s hard to be super consistent with songwriting. I can’t even comprehend how people put out an album every two years! It took me three (total) to release Venice!
What are your plans for the rest of 2023? Will you be playing live gigs/releasing new music videos?
Enter response: Actually, yes! I will be playing some live gigs throughout Nebraska and Iowa, and I do have some music videos planned out! I like pairing music with a visual, so I want to make as many videos as possible.
And finally, do you have a message for your fans and listeners?
I just want today, thank you to everyone who actually believes in me. To those who actually take the time to listen to my music, talk to me about it, go in the deep-end of my mind, thank you. It means the world to talk to someone who actually is appreciative of what you create. Here’s towards a bright future-AJ.
Check out AJ Schinco's album 'Venice' in the link below and a huge thank you to AJ for taking the time answer my questions :)