Washington, D.C. singer/producer duo April + VISTA have worked long and hard to make their mark in an industry that rarely rewards true creativity and independence. Since their formation in 2014, the duo has released several projects and EPs whose sonic identities range from lush and atmospheric R&B in the vein of acts like Smino or Fugees to more industrial and experimental punk-leaning projects a la Flying Lotus or BADBADNOTGOOD. However, April’s sultry and fervent-yet-enigmatic performances combined with VISTA’s genre-pushing production that seems to morph with each foray, bring a trademark soulfulness to the group’s sound that differentiates them from any of the aforementioned artists, which has led the group to critical success and even an opening spot on a Little Dragon tour.
Fans of April + VISTA have gotten to see the duo’s growth happen in real time. From the dreamy and moody atmosphere of 2014's Lanterns to the experimental, genre-fusing opus that is 2021’s Pit of My Dreams, to recent singles like ‘Love Unspent,’ ‘Bless My Heart,’ and ‘Grotto,’ April + VISTA have an extensive digital footprint that they fully embrace as part of their artistic journey; a rare commodity in a highly curated music landscape which regularly sanitizes the grittier, less polished early works of many creatives. EARMILK had the opportunity to sit down with the duo for an exclusive interview to discuss their influences, their journey thus far, and their unique process when it comes to creating.
April + VISTA got their start in the vibrant DMV music scene, specifically in Washington, D.C. Home to a multitude of creative juggernauts such as Redveil, Brent Faiyaz, Gold Link, IDK, and a host of others, it’s no wonder that such a boundary-pushing duo was birthed from the same artistic landscape. “I attribute so much of where I am as a musician and where I am now to just my friends and the people that I’ve met here,” April said of the DMV after explaining that she actually spent her formative years in Virginia Beach.
“When I moved up here, I didn’t even know if I wanted to be a musician until I met [VISTA]… He was my gateway into the DMV music scene,” she continued. VISTA further explained what the scene meant to him, having grown up there. “[It was] my introduction to the world,” he said. “I started making beats in 11th grade, [and] By the time I graduated [college] there was this entire ecosystem that I feel like didn’t exist when I was in high school… [Now], everything we need, we feel like we have here… We lean super heavily on our community.”
When discussing how they met, the duo explained that they actually had a lot of mutual friends while attending Hampton University, but didn’t connect until after VISTA graduated and April found him on Soundcloud. “…April just [started] writing music and a mutual friend recommended me to [her], so we decided to meet up in person and see what [was] possible,” he explained. April added that upon discovering their similar tastes in music, the duo immediately decided to make a project. “We didn’t start small at all,” VISTA recalls. “It could have gone really bad.” This project eventually became 2015’s Lanterns EP, which took an entire year to develop.
“We were just figuring music out. We made six songs, and we put out six songs,” says VISTA. “There was nothing else in the arsenal,” April added with a laugh. Luckily, the duo was able to find a working groove pretty quickly from the outset, and the next few years were dedicated to refining it. “We put out so many EPs. [In 2018]… we put out an EP called You Are Here, and I feel like at that point, [we’d finally] realized our working strategy,” April explained. “…It was a slow burn… [and] looking back on that, [we’ve] learned that we needed to go through that… in order to find ourselves and make sure what we were doing was intentional. It takes a long time for that to happen,” she continued.
The group brings a level of artistry and transparency that’s seldom seen in the modern music landscape, preferring to prioritize their unique artistic vision over numbers or trends in an industry that’s increasingly driven by stats and metrics. “Our music is so informed by our experiences… that it kind of requires us to sit back and spend a lot more time working on it,” VISTA explains in response to whether or not there’s any pressure to conform to the ‘fast food’ nature of the current music industry. “We totally feel that pressure, but it only goes so far because [we] just can’t,” He continues. “What you’re listening to, the album may be a final product, but you’re literally listening to us learn things… We learn instruments. You’re hearing us work through those things.” April chimes in. “That kind of outlook is kind of missing from the larger conversation of music today.”
True purveyors of music as an artform, the duo’s curation process reflects their passion and care for what they do in a similar way that their attitudes towards the industry do. “April’s always writing… and I’m always composing little small things, [so] when something clicks, we’ll put our notes together. From that point on, we begin to build out the arrangement,” says VISTA. April goes on to explain that, from this point, they’ll determine what instruments they want on the track, and at that point outsourcing if necessary. Strings are the icing on the musical cake. “I always write strings last. In the very beginning… we would record me sitting in each chair for each instrument, but over time, we were able to afford bringing in other musicians.” As for the lyrics, April aims to make sure she has something to say, with many lyrics beginning with freewriting based on whatever she’s feeling at that time. “It always starts with me trying to clarify what I’m trying to talk about and make sure that I have very clear intentions before I get into [the lyrics].
To conclude the interview, the duo gave some thoughtful and insightful advice for independent DIY artists who are in the same spot they were in 12 years ago: building something from nothing. “It’s okay to release things with flaws, and honestly, now, with the proliferation of AI, you should really embrace those flaws because that is what distinguishes you as human.” The duo also advises not to expect virality. “Expect growth and expect it to get you closer to who you want to be. If you can do that, you’re winning,” April continues.
“It’s okay to be scared. Work through that fear because fear is what keeps you from getting to that ultimate goal that you have for your musicianship. You have to traverse the mist and go through the fear. Do not let that stop you.” VISTA adds that perfectionistic tendencies and a fear of releasing something flawed can result in a sort of paralysis. “So many people don’t start because they think that they need to know it all before they begin, and we’ve always [come] from ‘We don’t know anything. Let’s record and then let’s continue to spiral upwards from there.”
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