Bio : Scarypoolparty
SHORT BIO:
For much of the past few years, Alejandro Aranda, aka Scarypoolparty, has lived in near-constant motion, barely pausing to catch his breath as he rocketed from playing bars and backyards to sold-out headline tours and massive festival stages. And while the widespread critical acclaim and tens of millions of streams he’s racked up along the way would seem to suggest that Aranda thrives on the chaos of the road, “Home,” his enthralling new single, and ‘Los Angeles,’ his captivating new EP, stand as proof that stillness suits him just as well. Recorded alone at home during the COVID-19 pandemic, the songs are the product of a life—and a world—put on pause, works of raw, introspective honesty fueled by probing lyrics and addictive hooks. Drawing on everything from pop and hip-hop to R&B and classical music, the tracks are deceivingly bright, wrapping weighty themes and deep personal revelations in dazzling productions that belie their hefty emotional punch. Aranda is certainly no stranger to baring his soul in his music by now, but this new material is undoubtedly Scarypoolparty’s most candid yet, facing down anxiety, isolation, and disillusionment with its heart affixed firmly to its sleeve. His latest single is the effortlessly intimate “Friends,” which Alternative Press says highlights his “gentle, yet powerful vocal ability and borderline unbelievable instrumental talent while exploring themes of nostalgia and giving an honest look into the reality of romantic connection”.
Born and raised in southern California, Aranda got his start busking on street corners and gigging around LA until he met Twin Shadow, who invited him to join his touring band and began mentoring him as a producer. It was around this same time that Aranda landed on American Idol, where he defied all conventional wisdom by performing his own original material every night. The move paid off handsomely when Aranda landed second place on the show’s 17th season, which allowed him to walk away from the series with both his artistic integrity and a considerable international fanbase desperate to see him live. Aranda’s initial club dates as Scarypoolparty sold out instantly, as did subsequent runs in theaters and concert halls from coast to coast. Performances everywhere from Lollapalooza to Austin City Limits followed, and in the fall of 2019, Aranda released his debut full-length, ‘Exit Form,’ to rave reviews. The Guardian hailed the record’s “expansive sound,” while MTV dubbed Aranda a “rare virtuoso,” and Billboard lauded him as a “masterful guitar and piano player.” After making his late night debut on Kimmel, Aranda returned in 2020 with ‘Doom Hologram,’ an adventurous concept EP praised by Alternative Press as “an atmospheric experience from beginning to end.”
LONG BIO:
“This past year has been a time of reflection for me,” says Alejandro Aranda, aka Scarypoolparty. “It’s been a chance to strip everything back and figure out who I really am and what I really want to say.”
Such moments of quiet contemplation are a precious commodity for Aranda, who spent much of the past few years in near-constant motion as he rocketed from playing bars and backyards to sold-out headline tours and massive festival stages. While Scarypoolparty’s recent output would seem to suggest that Aranda thrives on the chaos of the road, “Home,” his enthralling new single, and ‘Los Angeles,’ his captivating new EP, stand as proof that stillness suits him just as well. Recorded alone at home during the COVID-19 pandemic, the songs are the product of a life—and a world—put on pause, works of raw, introspective honesty fueled by probing lyrics and addictive hooks. Drawing on everything from pop and hip-hop to R&B and classical music, the tracks are deceivingly bright, wrapping weighty themes and deep personal revelations in dazzling productions that belie their hefty emotional punch. Aranda is certainly no stranger to baring his soul in his music by now, but this new material is undoubtedly Scarypoolparty’s most candid yet, facing down anxiety, isolation, and disillusionment with its heart affixed firmly to its sleeve. His latest single is the effortlessly intimate “Friends,” which Alternative Press says highlights his “gentle, yet powerful vocal ability and borderline unbelievable instrumental talent while exploring themes of nostalgia and giving an honest look into the reality of romantic connection”.
“When you’re caught up in that cycle of recording and releasing and touring, you’re just constantly working on the next thing,” Aranda reflects. “When all of that goes away for a minute, though, you have the freedom to let the music speak for itself.”
It was music, in fact, that gave Aranda a voice in the first place. Born and raised in southern California, he grew up a voracious listener, one equally as enthralled with Bach and Chopin as Frank Zappa and Nick Drake, but he didn’t start writing and performing until he was nearly 20 years old.
“I was working crazy hours and just trying to ignore everything I was feeling at the time,” he explains. “Eventually, I couldn’t hold it in anymore, and I realized that I needed to find a way to express myself, to verbalize all the things I didn’t know how to talk about.”
So Aranda began writing songs and performing wherever he could find an audience. Busking on street corners quickly gave way to more traditional gigs around LA, and soon Aranda was on the road with Twin Shadow, who invited him to join his touring band and helped mentor him as a producer. It was around this same time that Aranda landed on American Idol, where he defied all conventional wisdom by performing his own original material every night. It was a risky move, but one that paid off handsomely when Aranda landed second place on the show’s 17th season, walking away from the series with both his artistic integrity and a considerable international fanbase desperate to see him live. (One of those fans just happened to be Stevie Nicks, who took to Facebook to welcome Aranda “to the grand stage that will be your home for the rest of your extraordinary life.”)
Aranda’s initial club dates as Scarypoolparty sold out instantly, as did subsequent runs in theaters and concert halls from coast to coast. Performances everywhere from Lollapalooza to Austin City Limits followed, and in the fall of 2019, Aranda released his debut full-length, ‘Exit Form,’ to widespread critical acclaim. The Guardian hailed the record’s “expansive sound,” while MTV dubbed Aranda a “rare virtuoso,” and Billboard praised him as a “masterful guitar and piano player.” After making his late night debut on Kimmel, Aranda returned in 2020 with the adventurous concept EP ‘Doom Hologram,’ which quickly racked up more than eleven million streams across platforms.
“Everything happened so fast that it was kind of amazing and terrifying at once,” says Aranda. “Suddenly I’d gone from wondering if anybody would show up to see me play to knowing that there was this audience out there that really cared what I had to say.”
Indeed, that audience watched Scarypoolparty’s videos more than 100 million times on YouTube, and their faith in the music wasn’t something Aranda ever wanted to take for granted. When it came time to begin work on new material, he kept his commitment to his fans front and center, embracing sonic evolution and pushing his sound in bold new directions while still retaining the vulnerability and emotional intimacy that had come to define him as an artist.
“Being true to myself and my art was what brought me here in the first place,” he explains, “so it only made sense to follow that path and keep forging those kinds of deep connections with people. If anything, I wanted to get even more honest with these songs.”
That unflinching honesty is the bedrock of “Home.” Blending organic acoustic elements with manipulated electronic samples, the track is an instant earworm, but dig beneath its intoxicating pop veneer and you’ll find a dark meditation on longing and loneliness. The ‘Los Angeles’ EP follows suit, with sparkling, hypnotic arrangements that often disguise the deep-rooted melancholy at the heart of Aranda’s lyrics. The trap-inspired “Universe,” which features an appearance from rapper nothing,nowhere., grapples with uncertainty and panic, while the dreamy “Overdone” mixes R&B vibes with classical flourishes as it faces down the end of a relationship, and the epic “Room Full Of Cards” takes a soaring, cinematic look at life after love. While much of the collection finds Aranda drawing inspiration from within, he shifts his gaze outwards to similarly profound results on the electrifying “Paradise,” which shines a light on the harsh realities of the opioid epidemic in America. “We’re always dying here in paradise,” he sings on the gritty, compelling track. “We’re always crying here in paradise.”
“From the outside, a lot of people think of LA as this paradise,” Aranda explains, “but living here, you see a lot of people hurting, a lot of people in pain that no one wants to talk about.”
It’s that paradox that inspired Aranda to name the EP for his hometown. Much like the city itself, ‘Los Angeles’ is a melting pot, a cosmopolitan blend of sounds and styles with an inviting facade just barely concealing its dark underbelly. Scarypoolparty’s music offers plenty on the surface, but dive below and you’ll discover the work of an artist who’s able to look in the mirror and see more than just himself.