In this conversation I caught up with Green Cheek Beak, a solo-project by the multi-instrumentalist and producer Ayden Mullen, based in Aurora, Colorado. Mullen discusses the inspiration behind his recent EP titled Introduction and shares some of the artists and musicians who have inspired Green Cheek Beak's sound.
Hi Green Cheek Beak, tell us a bit about yourself!
Hi Keiko! I am incredibly grateful for this interview and opportunity so I wanted to start off by thanking you for taking the time to do this! I am 16 years old and based in Aurora, Colorado. The diversity of Aurora definitely helps me artistically because there are so many different individuals with so many unique stories here. My stage name, “Green Cheek Beak,” is a play on the species of my pet parrot, Buddy. He’s a green cheek conure and I love him a ton so I messed around a bit and came up with “Green Cheek Beak!”
How would you describe your sound to someone who may be new to your music?
I would describe my sound as a blend of traditional jazz and psychedelic pop. I was originally trained as a jazz guitarist so those roots stay relatively prominent in my psychedelic musical experimentation.
What inspired you to start writing and producing your own music?
I have always been rather independent when it comes to working on creative projects. Since I was a kid, I’ve been drawing and crafting and always kind of struggled with letting other people in on my projects. When I started learning guitar at 13 or 14, that difficulty with collaboration persisted. I just feel like I can get deep into the creative zone when I’m working alone so I ended up learning how to use Ableton Live to bring my musical ideas to life!
How would you describe your recent EP Introduction? What was the concept behind the EP?
Introduction was a really huge step for me artistically. I had been gifted a MacBook for my birthday so my musical capabilities with VSTs really expanded after that. The EP was born out of playing around with free VST synthesizers and playing my guitar through new Ableton plugins and effects and stuff. Lyrically, Introduction was a way for me to express my frustrations with the way the US was handling the virus, human rights, etc.
Tell us a bit about the meaning behind each track on the EP
The EP was originally going to have four songs on it! I finished this other song called Slow Down but I scrapped it last minute because I hated the vocal melody!
No Sense kicks the EP off with a really expansive sonic space. I wrote this song to be a sort of personal reassurance. It was very calming to make and remains my favourite song on this record. Lyrically, I’m talking about all the hypocrisy in American politics and how it really makes no sense!
Waves is a lot more personal than the other two tracks. I wanted to talk about how I can be swept underneath waves of hopelessness and depression and how I end up self-sabotaging in the process. It’s almost an apology to all of my friends haha. I feel very guilty for disappearing on them whenever I get too overwhelmed and Waves was one way I expressed that.
Devotion + Delusion was also very fun to write! I wanted to do a Bossa inspired guitar part for a different musical project but I liked that part too much and kept it for myself! It is about exactly what the title implies, the ignorance that follows blind dedication to religion. As a queer person, religion is often used to belittle me so Devotion + Delusion is kind of a way for me to say “your personal beliefs don’t make me less of a human being.”
Do you have a specific writing process when it comes to making new music or do you tend to experiment with sounds and make songs intuitively?
While writing Introduction, I started with guitar chords and built everything up from there. The lyrics and vocals are always last in my song writing process. The music I have in the works now is a lot more experimentally written though and features more melodic instrumentation. The EP really helped me figure the whole DIY musician thing out so now I feel like I can make music a lot more freely.
Considering you recorded everything yourself, did you face any challenges in terms of finishing tracks and following through with ideas?
It definitely did get frustrating from time to time. My bass guitar is horribly intonated so I had a lot of dissonance on the initial bass takes and had to detune my bass to actually get the right pitches! Other than that though, the layering and recording process comes relatively naturally to me and I was able to execute my ideas with each track!
Are you working on any new music? Do you plan to make some music videos for the songs featured on the EP?
I am working on lots of new music! I started my own record label, “Green Cheek Records,” because I’ve started making lots of music with my friends and needed a place to distribute and manage all of it. As for Green Cheek Beak, I have another EP in the works and ideas for a LP!
I actually had plans for filming a music video for No Sense this month but I’m currently quarantined so those plans didn’t come to life… I do hope to make some music videos for Introduction though!
Do you have any artists/musicians who you consider having inspired your music?
I am greatly inspired by a band called King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard. The carefree nature of their releases and deep musical experimentation is incredibly inspiring to me and definitely the direction I want to take with Green Cheek Beak. I am also a huge fan of krautrock and modern synth-based rock. Lately I have been listening to “Panic Blooms” by Black Moth Super Rainbow on repeat!
Has the current pandemic affected your creative process?
The pandemic has deeply impacted my creative process. I have a lot of time alone with myself and my thoughts so I get all kinds of crazy artistic ideas going. Barely any of them actually become anything but all the time alone has been keeping me in a creative groove.
What would you like to see change in the current music industry?
I would love to see the music industry open up to queer and BIPOC artists. It is so hard to find diversity outside of independent music scenes and can even be challenging in independent scenes! I feel like there are a lot of stereotypes on who can play a certain genre of music which can result in certain musicians getting pushed out of the public eye.
What is the best advice you have ever received?
The best advice I’ve ever received has probably been from my dad. He always tells me that at the end of the day, doing what you enjoy truly matters more than money. We’re only given the opportunity to live once so why not explore your passions? That philosophy really keeps me on track. I want to dedicate my life on Earth to making art and making connections through art.
Check out Green Cheek Beak's latest EP Introduction in the link down below! And make sure you follow Green Cheek Beak on Instagram @greencheekbeak
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