Aspen Hollow

“I sing life,” says Kevin Rees. This Morrissey-esque statement about his acoustic solo act, Aspen Hollow, hits the nail on the head. It’s almost enigmatic. He doesn’t sing about life; not of life, not because of life. He simply sings life. “As far as life is concerned, that’s all I write about, so life in itself is all over the place in my music…”



His velvety vocal delivery is reminiscent of Kings of Convenience, or perhaps Dave Bazan’s but with a cleaner tonality –as it floats above effortless, yet elegantly structured cyclic chords. Aspen Hollow makes the type of gorgeous and seemingly effortless music that thousands of wannabe music students try to mimic with their guitars in their bedrooms, failing miserably.



“I couldn’t sing a lick before the 6th grade, but I went to a school of the performing arts and was forced to join choir. It was here that I learned how to hit a note and sing properly.”



His aspirations as a singer-songwriter were carefully guarded, yet formative in his musical personality. Being the lead vocalist and guitar player for an indie rock outfit called A Tear In The Fabric, coupled with work on his church music team also helped define his aspirations. After this season of growth, he felt prepared to venture out on his own as a solo artist. Aspen Hollow gives wings to this new journey. “That period really stretched me, and helped me to write in a whole new way –from my heart. I have always written acoustic guitar music. Now I’m putting my full efforts into making this natural style of songwriting my sole focus.”



Much like an apprentice works with a master craftsman, taking time to perfect a skill before venturing out on his own, Rees wanted to carefully perfect what he was creating. “I waited until I had some really good material, before I began to perform solo with my true but new sound. Once I felt that I had something to offer people, I started to play shows here locally, and I’m being well received by people.”



A personable and conversational guy, with a penchant for humor, Rees admits that his music definitely tends to be moody. “I usually sit down to write when I need to express an emotion that has been nagging at me, or can't be told through words alone.”



Writing his songs comes as a two-part process for him. “I generally have a few concepts that are in my mind that I would like to write about, and I’m always working on new material for the guitar. When the concept and matching music meet up, I begin to form the song.” His take on songwriting is that “simple is good; composition is key. Composition is usually more important than complexity.”



And in life, that’s probably also true. Kevin Rees lives life and through his voice in Aspen Hollow he sings life. “I am not trying to fit into any particular mold, or style. I just write me.”



- Written By L. Jeanette Strole for Amorphous Media Agency