Exclusive Interview: Pop Culturalist Chats with Aidan Bissett

Sometimes in life, things don’t go according to plan—just ask Aidan Bissett. The fast-rising singer-songwriter had his life mapped out. He was going to attend college where he would focus on his craft. But when his singles went viral, the universe had other things in store for him.

Pop Culturalist was lucky enough to chat with Aidan about transitioning from athletics to music, how a DM changed his life, and we learned all about his new single “Communication”.

PC: How did you discover your passion for music?
Aidan: I’ve been playing guitar since I was in second grade. It was always a hobby and something I’ve kept up with. But my main focus wasn’t music. I was a very sports-oriented kid. Football is what I loved. Football is what I wanted to do in college. That was my main focus.

When I moved from Oregon to Florida, I lost my passion for football. It was really tough to watch that go because it had been such a huge part of my life. But I still had my guitar. It was a hobby that I had in my back pocket. I could pull it out. I was like, “I need to find something to be passionate about.” That ended up being music. I love music in general, so I wanted to see if I could turn my guitar into something cool and make actual songs with it. It started there.

PC: Who or what has had the biggest influence on your career, either personally or professionally?
Aidan: I would definitely say my parents have had a pretty big influence. My dad brought me up on classic rock and influenced my music taste, which led me into the indie-alternative path. They’ve always been incredibly supportive in any dream I’ve had and in what I thought was possible. I’ve been very fortunate to have the parents that I have.

Professionally, the band Wallows got me into writing music. It was after I went to one of their first live performances. It was a room of a hundred people. It was super small. I just remember feeling super connected to them while they were performing.

After that show, I was like, this is what I want to do. I want to be that connected to people I’ve never met before. It’s an amazing feeling to be like, this is happening and we’re all here right now.

Recently, I got to work with this artist who goes by the name of Versace. He co-produced my newest song “Communication”. He’s been such an awesome mentor on a production level because he’s so incredibly talented. I was very fortunate to work in his presence and learn from him. I’m still learning from him today.

PC: Like everybody else in the world, artists have had to adapt to the ongoing pandemic. For you, it’s given you the opportunity to hone in on your craft. How did you use that time to stay creatively fulfilled? What did you learn about yourself as an artist?
Aidan: During the pandemic, I got really bored like most people did. It really opened up the route for music for me. Without the pandemic, I don’t think I’d be in the position I am right now, writing music for a living, which is such a cool thing. I had so much time on my hands. I was like, I might as well try. I put all my time and energy into music, trying to make cool sounds and posts on TikTok. It gave me the time to pursue something that I had always thought was a pipe dream.

PC: You’ve dropped a couple of singles now and they’ve been incredibly well received. What has that response meant to you? Does that add pressure for future releases?
Aidan: Never in a million years would I have expected this response. I always say if I was to go back a year into the past and tell myself that in exactly a year I would have four songs out and one would have over two million streams and the other almost a million, I’d look at myself and be like, “Don’t play me like that!” I’d slap myself across the face because I wouldn’t find that funny. I would never have expected it. I had this whole plan. I was going to go to college. I was going to perfect this music thing. Then maybe I’d get a record deal after college.

When I got that DM that they [Capitol Records] were interested, I was like, well, this plan just blew up in my face. [laughs] It happened a lot faster than I thought it would. The response has been amazing. I’m so thankful. I will definitely say there’s a bit of pressure because you want to keep putting out stuff that people enjoy. I don’t want to let people down—that’s such a sad thing. But I feel pretty good about what I’m working on right now.

PC: Speaking of new music, tell us about “Communication” and the inspiration behind the song.
Aidan: I started writing “Communication” months back during the heat of quarantine where nobody was doing anything. That really affected me. I wasn’t being social and I felt like I couldn’t talk to people. I felt like I couldn’t even talk to my friends and express how I felt. “Communication” came from a place where I felt like I needed to, in simple terms, communicate. It was me shouting out to the world: “I need this. I need social interaction to survive. I’m a human.” Hopefully, people feel the same way. I wrote it basically as a plea for help: “Talk to me. Talk to me. Talk to me.” It’s in the song.

When I got the demo all tracked out, that’s when Versace expressed interest and wanted to co-produce. He got to add his own flare to it, which was so cool. I was like, “Dude, do whatever you want. I’m not married to anything. Have fun.” He really did. He had a blast and he turned it into something freaking awesome and crazy and added so many cool sounds. It was really cool seeing the end product.

PC: Out of all the music that you’ve released so far, if you had to choose one song that best encompasses who you are as an artist, which would it be and why?
Aidan: Oh my gosh. Oh no. That’s a hard question. I feel like my sound changes all the time. I’m doing so many different things, but I guess if I’m staying true to my roots, before I had any influences or people really had influences on me when it comes to creation, I would probably say “Different”. When I released that song, it was the first for everything: first for me throwing tracks together, first for me singing on a song like that. When it all fell together, it was the most amazing euphoric feeling. I was like, “This is it. I understand now. It all makes sense.” I think it would be “Different”. That’s me. That was the most original thing I’ve ever done because it came from a place of trying new things.

PC: Speaking of firsts, you’re working on your debut album with Capitol Records. Is there anything that you can tease about that project? What can fans expect? What do you hope to say as an artist?
Aidan: I’m all about diversity when it comes to music. I don’t want to be stuck inside a box of one specific sound. I feel like that’s so limiting. During COVID, so many artists began to diversify and create so many different sounds, which is unbelievable. It’s amazing to see because I don’t feel like there are restrictions on what you can do anymore. For me, I would say there are a ton of different routes that I’m exploring in my new music coming out.

I’m exploring the harder, grungier stuff like I did with “Worst Girls of All Time”. But I’m also exploring shoegaze, dream pop, and straight indie as well. There’s so much stuff that I want to try because I love how a bunch of different things sound. I want to bring it all together in one place. I’m not going to box myself in.

Pop Culturalist Speed Round

PC: A band or artist that fans would be surprised to learn is on your playlist?
Aidan: Well, since I’m indie, I’m not going to say another indie artist. I’ll go with Kid Cudi. On a production level, on an artist level, his production is insane. Kanye’s Life of Pablo album has so much of his production and his melodies are just awesome. I love listening to them. He has one of my favorite songs. I feel like so many people’s favorite song is “Pursuit of Happiness”. It’s such a great and amazing song that I think is timeless. But as an artist in general, he’s everywhere. He’s so diverse. He can do so many different things, which I think is awesome.

PC: First album you bought?
Aidan: Coldplay’s Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends. “Viva la Vida” was the first song I ever downloaded on my iPod. It was that one and “I Gotta Feeling” by the Black Eyed Peas. I would literally shuffle those two songs on repeat because I didn’t have anything else on my iPod.

PC: First concert you attended?
Aidan: It was that Wallows concert if I’m not mistaken. That was the first real concert that I went to by myself. I wasn’t with my parents. They only had three songs out at the time. It was in the basement of a hotel and there were a hundred of us. Now they perform in front of thousands at festivals. It’s cool to see their growth. It was an unforgettable experience.

PC: An album that changed your life and why?
Aidan: I’m going to go with Wallows when they released their album, Nothing Happens—their debut album. I’ve never listened to an album so much because the guitar layering on the songs was so cool and unique. They didn’t sound like everything that was played on the radio. I gravitated towards their sound so much. I probably know every word to every song on the album. I listened to it so much.

There’s also an album right now that I’ve been listening to non-stop. It’s changing my taste in music. It’s by this group, Djo. Their debut album came out two years ago, but it’s nuts. It’s retro underground indie and it’s the best thing ever.

PC: A venue on your bucket list to perform at?
Aidan: I’d love to perform in my hometown because I’d love to see my friends there. There’s this place called the Orpheum, which I would love to perform at. I lived in Davis Islands, which isn’t an island, but there’s a park at the end with a lot of grass. I’d love to set up a stage and hold a concert there. That would be so cool.

PC: A must-have on the road?
Aidan: I like bringing my guitar around just because if I have my guitar somewhere and I don’t have my recording equipment, I feel like it allows me to be freer. I don’t feel like I have to record at that moment. I can just kind of have fun. I would say my guitar…or my longboard.

To keep up with Aidan, follow him on Instagram, Spotify, and Apple Music.

Photo Credit: Sidney Mazza