Los Angeles-based singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Aaron Frazer unveils a new single/video, ‘Dime,’ from his sophomore solo album, Into the Blue, out June 29th via Dead Oceans. Following double lead single ‘Payback’ b/w ‘Into the Blue’ and ‘Time Will Tell,’ ‘Dime’ (pronounced dee-meh) is a tropicalia-inflected track featuring the Chilean artist Cancamusa. “As soon as we started this instrumental I knew I wanted to collaborate and duet with a Spanish-speaking artist,” Frazer says. “I had recently discovered Cancamusa, a fellow singing drummer! Her part in this song is so crucial to the story, and so special.”
The track itself is about Frazer reflecting at the end of a relationship. Frazer explains: “I found myself coming back to a lot of the good times — the stuff that was right, not just the stuff that was wrong. It’s very personal, but I remembered the very early days when I felt ready to say ‘I love you.’ I was worried it might be too early, and I tried for days to hold it back, but I just had to say it. ‘Dime’ translates to ‘tell me,’ so this connects back to that moment. It’s a cheeky double entendre, in the chorus too with the line ‘when you move like that // I can’t hold it back.’ It’s an innuendo, but it’s also more innocent because I just can’t hide my feelings.”
Watch the Video for ‘Dime’ (Feat. Cancamusa)
Spurred by the end of a long relationship, Frazer moved cross-country from Brooklyn to Los Angeles and embarked on a journey that’s reflected in Into The Blue’s themes of grief, loneliness, and searching for healing. Into The Blue is expansive—a daring blend of soul, psychedelia, spaghetti western, disco, gospel and hip-hop, representing the impressive range of Frazer’s sonic talents. “It’s the clearest portrait of who I am as an artist,” Frazer says of the album, which sees him maintaining the unmistakable falsetto and classic songwriting he’s known for but with a hip-hop mentality at its core, weaving together genres and production techniques to plant Into The Blue firmly in the now.
Featuring moments of towering arrangements, recalling David Axelrod and Ennio Morricone, Into The Blue is balanced by rawness, incorporating iPhone recordings and one-take vocals. Frazer enlisted Grammy-winner Alex Goose as co-producer for the album, known for his crate-digging samples and collaborations with hip-hop artists like Freddie Gibbs, Madlib and Brockhampton.
Though Into The Blue is born out of heartbreak, Frazer hopes it leaves listeners with a sense of optimism. “You know, you can still laugh on a day when you’re grieving,” he says, “there’s no peaks without valleys,” but Into The Blue sees Aaron Frazer at new heights.
Watch the Video for ‘Time Will Tell’
Watch the Video for ‘Into The Blue’
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