City Livin' by Late Aster

Situated somewhere between post-bop jazz, electronica, and chamber pop, San Francisco-based Late Aster’s music has been described as producing “unprecedented sounds” (SF Chronicle) that “on paper [] shouldn’t work, but it does.” (Tape-Op) Their two previous releases, EPs “True and Toxic” (2021) and "Light Rail Session" (2023), articulate a kaleidoscopic theory of music grounded in the electronic processing of trumpet and French horn and supported by meticulous songwriting, instrumentation, and sound-sculpting.

Late Aster’s upcoming album, City Livin’, finds the group channeling their genre-bending sound through the vintage TASCAM Portastudio 414 MKII – a true do-it-yourself cassette recorder/mixer from the late 90s. The album whirrs through house, trap, and hip-hop beats as the foundation for the group’s distinctive and soulful performances of fx-pedal brass, vocals, and dark synths. Made up of ten impressionist sketches, City Livin’ is a nod to the “lo-fi beats” genre and to trumpet player/composer/producer Aaron Messing’s day job as an environmental attorney. With inspiration from jazz, alt-rock, and folk, the album is a journey through other-wordly, urban soundscapes featuring fully instrumental performances, a cover of “Miss Ohio” as a love letter to Gillian Welch, and the poetic sampling of Alan Watts’ voice.

Aaron Messing studied classical trumpet performance at Northwestern University before going to law school and becoming an environmental attorney. He routinely sends ideas for songs to long-time collaborator and mixing engineer, Charles Mueller, as he practices law by day and music by night. Charles jokingly came up with the album title when Aaron recently became obsessed with the lo-fi beats genre. The album is a fly on the wall in the artists’ home studio with endearing and raw performances of horns and vocals. All tracks were recorded in San Francisco, CA after work and on weekends with French horn player, Anni Hochhalter, and is intended to be played in the background of a dinner party, a night-time drive, or maybe a hip coffee shop. It is composed to be a vintage, yet contemporary wallpaper for the contemplation of our current geopolitical moment and the modern human condition.

Late Aster currently performs as a duo featuring Aaron Messing and Anni Hochhalter, integrating the electronic and physical elements of their recordings in a synchronized dance with their array of instruments and each other. The visual result resembles an analogue electronic DJ set, but with live instrumental performances.

Situated somewhere between jazztronica, ambient electronic, and chamber pop, San Francisco-based Late Aster’s music has been described as producing “unprecedented sounds” (SF Chronicle) that “on paper [] shouldn’t work, but it does.” (Tape-Op)

Their kaleidoscopic style is grounded in the electronic processing of trumpet and French horn and supported by meticulous songwriting and sound-sculpting.

lateaster.com