AN INTERVIEW: ARI BERL, AKA PINK SKIES

Hi, everyone! I had the absolute pleasure of talking with singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Ari Berl, AKA Pink Skies. While he is currently the lead singer of another Oakland-based band, Fever Charm, he has been gaining traction in the psych pop scene with his solo work. He released some pretty amazing songs on his recent solo album, Does It Really Matter?, many that I had been fond of. In addition to his two main projects, many might not know that Berl also contributed his guitar skills to R&B artist 6LACK’s latest LP. After reading more about Ari’s prolific background in music, I was very excited to reach out to schedule an interview with him.

bazzreviews: Which artists or albums inspired you to start a music career?

Ari Berl: When I was a kid, it was classic rock like the Clash, the Ramones and AC/DC. In high school, it was Green Day because I was a drummer at first. As a producer, I like a lot of stuff that Pharrell has made, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Rage Against the Machine. Newer Soundcloud-age producers are pretty cool, too.

br: I understand that you are also the lead singer of the band Fever Charm, and that you guys all met in high school- but how did you guys originally meet up?

A.B.: We’re not really playing anymore right now. Two of the founding members now play with me as Pink Skies. We all originally met because all three of us were born in the same hospital on the same day. We were in another band together for a while, putting out Beastie Boys and Chili Peppers-type music. The three of us and our other members met in high school, and started playing as Fever Charm from there.

br: Can you describe how you typically make a song?

A.B.: Every song is pretty different. When I’m sitting down playing music, I’ll play a guitar until it catches my ear. Other times, I come up with a lot of melodies and lyrics when I’m out walking around or not working in the studio. That’s where a lot of my best ideas come from. Even if I come up with a beat before I do anything else, I’ll still play it out on a piano or guitar to make sure it sounds good. I don’t want to have a sick beat and a s----y song on top of it.

br: Do you typically try to get things right when you’re in the studio, or do you prefer improvising?

A.B.: I have some friends who are perfectionists when it comes to music production, but to me, it’s been pretty stifling. Generally speaking, I like to make sure what I’m writing feels pretty good. I think when you’re actually recording, there should be some emotion that should go into it. There is no such thing as a “perfect take”, you just have to feel like it was amazing. At the end of the day, you want to evoke some kind of feeling with your music.

br: What do you value more, lyricism or production value and instrumentation?

A.B.: That’s a really good question. I think they’re both really important. The music is fifty percent of it, but you also have to be saying something with your words. Even though lyrics are incredibly important, I lean more towards the production side of things. I think that diving into things and coming up with some awesome sounds is really interesting. I want someone to listen to my music, perk theirs ears up, and think, “what the hell was that take”?

br: I’ve read that you have been compared to both Tame Impala and Glass Animals, would you say they have been influences on the way you make music?

A.B.: Tame Impala, definitely. I don’t think there are any producers today that haven’t been somewhat influenced by [Kevin Parker] (the mind behind Tame Impala). Their first album Innerspeaker came out when I was in high school, and it blew my mind. Same thing with Lonerism. When I found it was just [Kevin], I was in a band where it was very collaborative. They told me I could be just like that and play all of the instruments myself. With Glass Animals, though, I wouldn’t say that they have been as much of an influence on me. I do like their production a lot, but they didn’t have that same likeability for me. I did get to collab with them once, though. I like Dave [Bayley]’s beats, and we did a song together where I contributed some stuff. I think the new stuff we’re working on now will sound a lot less like Tame Impala, though.

br: If you could compare your sound to any other band or artist, who would you choose?

A.B.: I actually don’t know. If someone were to compare my music to someone else, it’s so tough to say who it would be. Our music now is completely different. We were trying to think who we would compare ourselves too, but we couldn’t think of anyone. I don’t know if that’s a good thing or a bad thing. Other people would say our music is like this guy from LA, Mk.gee. I love all of his music, so I guess that’s a good comparison. People also compare us to Toro y Moi, Tim Atlas, a good friend of mine, and Hot Flash Heat Wave. I guess if you like one of those artists I mentioned, you’ll probably like my stuff too.

br: I heard that you got to collab with 6LACK on his latest record, how did you get that opportunity?

A.B.: Our paths just crossed at a time where I had just finished our last project that’s out right now. I did a cover of his song, “Gettin’ Old”. People don’t realize that it’s his song. I changed some of the words to make it more personal to me. They asked me if I could share some guitars on some of his songs, so I sent them some of the most ridiculous s--t ever. They thought it was cool, and we went to a studio to record. That’s around the time they were starting the production on East Atlanta Love Letter. The two main producers, Singawd and T-Minus are really nice, and are now incredibly great friends of mine. I hope there’s more collaboration with them in the future.

br: Are there any artists that you would want to collab with in the future?

A.B.: Damn, dude. I would love to collaborate more because I’m a producer and want to work with other people. So many people have a lot of flavors they can add, and it’s fun to work in different setting. Someone that comes to mind is Mk.gee, that would be f-----g awesome. Another person might be this guy, Reaper. He’s insane. His project that came out last year, heady is the one I’ve been playing the most this year. Collaborating with Flea would be cool, he’s one of my favorite musicians ever. Someone else I just thought of was Chaz from Toro y Moi. I haven’t met him yet, but I think we could make some funky s--t together.

br: What music goals do you have for the future?

A.B.: We tracked and recorded our newest album a little while ago. It’s been my goal to finish that since October. I feel like I’ve been in a f-----g cave, going insane trying to get it done. I still can’t believe it’s finally finished. One of my more immediate goals is to get that out. I also want to play a lot more shows and tour more. We only play in California, but we now have a lot more songs that we can play on the road. I also want to keep making more music, and maybe start our own label. We can form a much smaller community and have a hub of music that we really like.

Thanks again to Ari for his time to interview. He’s had an amazing career up to this point, and he puts so much passion into what he does. I would recommend that you check out some of his stuff with Pink Skies, and the ones that he played on 6LACK’s record, too. For those who want to hear him in action, he produced on “Sorry” and “Seasons”. Last, but not least, I'd also like to thank you guys for reading this. More great stuff is coming your way soon!

To hear some of Pink Skies' best tunes, go to https://pinkskiesmusic.bandcamp.com/