ExCLUSIVE: Musician Michael Aldag has teased new music that is influenced by the Killers, the 1975, and the Bastille after gaining a worldwide following his witty social commentary on TikTok.
Michael Aldag, a TikTok sensation, rose to fame back in 2020 with his incisive observational sketches about daily life and teased new music, promising that fans will soon hear tracks in the vein of The Killers and Lewis Capaldi.
The 23-year-old from West Kirby, Merseyside is gearing up for a memorable summer, with fresh tracks on the horizon in the form of his ‘ The Carousel ‘ EP – which he is aiming to release in the coming months. Entitled, Tonsillitis, and Ghosted, his previous works, which combined lyrical reflections on Gen Z life with energizing anthemic choruses, were popular with listeners.
His social media posts during lockdown garnered attention from around the world, as he experienced the power of viral content first hand. His TikTok videos, which saw him lampoon aspects of modern life from a young person’s perspective, helped him to carve out a niche for himself as an unlikely social commentator and he boats over 900,000 followers on the platform – along with a further 220,000 on Instagram.
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Aldag’s level-headed outlook, reflecting on what transpired to become a national overnight viral sensation five years ago, demonstrates maturity beyond his young age. He said: “I started doing the sketch videos when I was 18 and I remember doing my first video after being added into uni group chats and it doing my head in!
“I was sat on my couch doing nothing, writing songs in my room and watching Netflix. So I thought ‘I’ll keep doing them’. That kind of grew and as that grew, my music did too. I would sit on TikTok live and would tell people that I had a new song out.
“So it wasn’t planned out. Social media definitely helped me find and grow an audience, which, I suppose, was very important.
He admits to having a life that is frequently ‘splished’ between juggling his duties on TikTok, representing himself, and organizing gigs. Coming off the back of a secret performance at Liverpool’s famous Jacaranda – which launched the Beatles to superstardom and has welcomed esteemed artists such as Blossoms in recent times – he appears enthused when asked about the process of making music.
He still remembers that time in his life as his most productive when he first began to write when he was 14 when he first started to write in his bedroom. However, the craft of songwriting remains his first love, with his passion for his art palpable.
“When I was 16 years old, I really got into that and would spend the night making and producing songs just to get lost in that world.” Then, as the clock would indicate, I would need to go to bed the following morning to get ready for school.
” I’d just be taking my laptop everywhere and producing stuff. I still try to do that, but I also enjoy sharing ideas with a producer about writing on my guitar and keyboard piano.
The Merseysider acknowledges seeing the Killers’ Brandon Flowers perform when he was a teenager as a major seminal moment in his journey to embarking on a career in music himself. He recalled: “I think that was one of those moments where you feel like your life slowed down, I remember watching him and the Killers when I was 15 in the M&S Bank Arena in Liverpool – it was incredible.
He was such a fantastic performer, and I can recall just before that, when I first first heard about these songs as a teenager. Seeing their show, with all the massive lights, it wasn’t trying to be coy, it was like ‘ here’s one banger and here’s one after that ‘ and he was just singing his heart out.
“I got really jealous, I think,” the statement read. I wanted to be in the audience and do it because it was one of those times when I couldn’t bear being there. It’s when you try and do it that you realize just how much hard work it takes”!
Aldag anticipates releasing new material in the upcoming months, with “The Carousel” representing some of his most introspective pieces of work to date. His previously unheard tracks are included in his previously unheard collection. The starlet has gained notoriety for his clever depictions of northern life, but it’s obvious that he is more at ease than ever writing about his own struggles with romance, broken relationships, and dealing with heartache.
He acknowledges that the lyrics to the tracks “Three Minutes” and “Happy” have a more melancholy lyrical undertone than the tracks that are The 1975-esque, with catchy pop choruses and bright, uplifting melodies.
Aldag, who co-wrote these songs with producer and former Eurovision contestant Robin Stjernberg, does not shy away from admitting that he is unapologetically baring his soul like never before. They first worked together last year, with their songwriting partnership having blossomed ever since their initial encounter in a studio in Stockholm.
We had never met each other before, but we were put into a session because it was freezing in the middle of winter. We wrote the first song for that. Both of us were feeling quite jaded and feeling like we were doing things that we didn’t feel rewarded by and out of nowhere]the song] happened”, Aldag remembers.
“I just went with what came naturally,” I said as a result. It’s difficult to sing that song because I was very honest with the lyrics.
They are just heartbreaking songs, but what we’ve done with “Three Minutes” is write something that’s a sort of 80s dance-inspired disco tune. Similar to “Happy,” but lyrically speaking, it is pretty devastating but has a snare kick going all the way through.
Addressing inevitable comparisons which will come with Lewis Capaldi for his vocal delivery on the title track, he admits: “I probably sound like Lewis Capaldi when he’s got a sore throat! I love that song – from there that song sparked the rest of the music.
“From there, I thought, “There’s something in that experience that I had.” That was the embryo of that song and then that grew and became all the different sides of it, which became the rest of the music. We hope to have a cool world in place.
Aldag also makes an announcement about making his first concept record of his career, with all the songs being based on the same source of inspiration that Aldag has used to create this project. He said: “I then tried to tell a story in the lyrics of this relationship and of the nature of it going round and round like a carousel – that’s where the whole thing has come from. In that regard, yes, it’s a concept album.
It’s been very jarring in my music before, and it’s even more blatantly so at times, but with this, it’s still my life and true, and I tried to explore different sounds and create a distinctive sound with Robin.
With his upcoming release, “The Carousel,” which is scheduled for the summer, Aldag is now aiming to build on his previous successes. The youngster is also brimming with excitement about playing his songs for audiences at festivals including Chris Evans ‘ CarFest this year.
I’m eager to play CarFest, he continued. I remember it vividly because it was my first festival when I first played it on my acoustic guitar when I was 17 years old. I was so nervous. I was pounding my head. I’m still recording a Shaun Mendes cover, so maybe I’ll take that back for nostalgia.
Source: Mirror
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