“The aim of art is to represent not the outward appearance of things, but their inward significance.”
– Aristotle
Aristotle’s Hope is the ID of my solo project, which I’d currently describe as “guitar-driven impressionist rock.” In 2007 I released one solo album under the name “Aries9” and as I considered picking up that thread, I felt I needed a new identity and this one really stuck with me.
I think it’s easy to feel jaded and cynical, especially as one gets older and experiences more in life. You get your heart broken a number of times, your childhood dreams and naiveté get washed away. I imagine it’s worse for someone really smart, as they can think of more reasons not to be hopeful. So I thought, what if someone like Aristotle was to hang on to his hope — hope for his life, hope for a better future, hope for the world. What will it take? I don’t have an answer to that, I certainly wasn’t implying that I am that hope. But then I found the above quote, and I felt validated somehow — music is my art form and if that’s not an answer, it’s my way of exploring where that hope may lie.
As with Minnasia, the main driver for the music remains the same — staring squarely at our darkness without losing hope. Stylistically though, I’m hoping to steer Minnasia into more progressive and classically influenced style. In contrast, Aristotle’s Hope is slightly more conventional, with my guitar driving the songs. But lyrically it’s still my voice, so expect stories that don’t really explain themselves and words splashed about here and there for how they sound.
So far I released three singles, each around 10 minutes in length, with the 4th on the way.
- She Straightened Her Veil over Her Face (September 2017)
- Can You Love a Landmine? (December 2016)
- If I Miss the Deadline (June 2016)