Today we’d like to introduce you to Aryan Ashtiani.
Aryan, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
My introduction to music involved learning guitar from my childhood friend, Scott Ueda Jr. (RIP) when I was ten years old. Then a few years later, I picked up the upright bass in my school orchestra and learned theory as well as how to read/write music. At the time, I was listening to everything from eurodance, which would play on the Polish MTV channel I watched in Iran during my summers there as a kid, to post-punk revival bands like Interpol and Editors. From there until my early 20s, my interest in music waned but had a resurgence when I started producing electronic music as a hobby. I won’t even talk about what I made, it was cringey pseudo-house and electro. Then I heard TR/ST’s debut album in 2012 and it shook me. It blended all the melancholy eurodance beats I loved with the haunting baritone voices of frontmen like Tom Smith and Paul Banks. And so I had a half-idea of what I wanted to make, but it wasn’t until very recently that I’ve started figuring out what I’m good at and enjoy about my songs.
In my day job, I’m an LA County EMT and starting PA school in a few months. My dream is to practice medicine in LA’s under-served neighborhoods.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
I studied film in college but it was never something I was truly passionate about. That said, after college, I was lost and had no idea what I wanted to do in life. My music wasn’t really taking off and my motivation to write was extremely low. I gave up on music for the most part between 2015 to 2018 and pursued a more sensible career in medicine. Maybe contrary to popular belief, it is really hard to be creative when you are unhappy. I was constantly haunted by school and whether I was making the right choices, and it made me really sloppy and uninspired when it came down to write. But then one of my songs, “the Perfect Girl”, (which is sort-of cover of a Cure song) really took off and got a lot of attention. I suddenly had a bunch of plays on my SoundCloud and on YouTube, and it made me take a second look at my artistic abilities. I felt reinvigorated and started writing again. Then a couple more good things happened to me: I moved out of my mom’s house and got accepted to a medical school’s PA program. I started REALLY feeling good, and that’s when I had enough mental clarity to put out my latest EP, Predestiny.
Mareux – what should we know? What do you do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Mareux is a synth-based musical project heavily influenced by dark music, minor-key melodies, love songs, post-punkers, and dance music. Most people call what I make darkwave, coldwave, and post-punk. I sing about ghosts, slavs, and getting my heartbroken. The last one, I do a lot, and even I’m like, “damn bro who hurt you?”. I think my best work is in my melody making and bass lines. That’s what I enjoy the most.
What is “success” or “successful” for you?
Success is when you can be proud of yourself for pulling-off something difficult.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.mareux.com
- Instagram: __mareux__
- Other: soundcloud.com/mareux
Image Credit:
Kiyana Tehrani, Rosalie Andrea, Seema Pejman
Suggest a story: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
Popular
-
When did you stop hiding your pain and start using it as power?
-
Are you tap dancing to work? Have you been that level of excited at any point in your career? If so, please tell us about those days.
-
What is the story you hope people tell about you when you’re gone?
-
What’s a moment that really shaped how you see the world?
-
If you retired tomorrow, what would your customers miss most?
-
What’s more important to you—intelligence, energy, or integrity?
