From glossy stadium shows and a trio of Grammy awards to intimate club shows and a cabin in the woods, life can be a lesson in extremes. For Avi Kaplan, those extremes were largely self-inflicted.
The resonant low end for platinum-selling vocal group Pentatonix, Kaplan had seen quite enough of today’s music industry when he opted for a more low-key solo career in 2017. An anxious sort, he was disillusioned with the more superficial trappings of success. And Pentatonix’s theatrical a-cappella pop was about as far removed from the folk and classic rock he grew up with in Visalia, Calif., as polyester is from cowhide.
“This is really the kind of music I’ve always done, and Pentatonix was actually a really big departure for me,” says Kaplan from his cabin in rural Tennessee, where he’d been dealing with some technology issues that threatened to derail our interview. “But it’s hard to hide where I came from.”
Not surprisingly, the burgeoning sentiment behind “Change On The Rise” (available for streaming below) has some personal significance. Pretty much everything on Kaplan’s new EP, I’ll Get By (Fantasy), resonates with a purposeful sense of renewal. “That’s definitely a big part of it,” says Kaplan. “I literally had to renew myself and start fresh, and this is definitely part of that journey.”
Produced by Mike Mogis (Bright Eyes, First Aid Kit, Pete Yorn), the seven songs veer from tender balladry to haunted, blues-inspired laments to glorified campfire sing-alongs. Whether it’s through the arrangements or the subtle studio effects, Mogis gives Kaplan’s deep well of voice all the space it needs. “I didn’t want a producer who’d take my vision and just replicate it,” says Kaplan. “I wanted someone who could take my vision and expand it.”
Mogis and Kaplan handled most of the playing at the former’s Nebraska studio, with drummer/producer Scott Seiver providing the music’s warmly persistent percussive heartbeat. Mogis’ analog gear and vintage plate reverb provide a retro vibe, but the album never sounds dated or even the slightest bit quaint. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. And the lush harmonies are an instrumental force unto themselves.
“The board we were working on was the same board America recorded on—and their harmonies are so incredible,” says Kaplan. “I wanted the harmonies to feel like an actual production element. It changes everything. You can really create whole world.”
—Hobart Rowland
