Music often serves as a tool for listeners seeking solace in their lowest moments, a channel to reminisce over certain memories, or even a remedy for mid-week blues. However, for singer-songwriter Aaron Bunac, music is a medium to express the essence of genuine love.
Drawing from his firsthand experience of an eight-year relationship with his wife, Bunac created his latest single. Titled ‘You Make Love Easy’, it captures the “effortless” and “straight-up easy” nature of their partnership.
As he embarked on his first overseas festival in Chennai, the The Island Voices seized the opportunity to introduce the track to the world for the first time. Despite feeling vulnerable while showcasing new material in a new environment, he was pleasantly surprised by the warm reception from the crowd.
“It almost feels like showing a loved one something you made with all your heart and watching their reaction as they experience it for the first time,” Bunac shared.
The release of ‘You Make Love Easy’ marks the beginning of Bunac’s new milestone as he plans to unveil a slew of monthly singles up till the launch of his album, Date Nite, by the end of the year.
In an interview with Hear65, Bunac spoke about his first overseas festival experience, the inspiration behind his latest single ‘You Make Love Easy’, and his evolution as an artist.
Hi Aaron! What was it like performing at your first overseas festival in Chennai?
Performing at my first overseas festival in Chennai as well as the follow-up show in Kolkata was an absolute dream come true. I started out feeling vulnerable as I was about to play new and unreleased music from my upcoming album to a crowd of people I was meeting for the first time. But their energy during my set was infectious – I felt so comfortable and welcomed and I had such a great time singing for them. The warmth then extended to the meet and greet session off-stage where a queue formed and they took turns giving me hugs and telling me how much they loved my music and how they can’t wait to listen to the album once it was out. It was crazy, I’ve never felt more alive!! You’ll be able to understand what I’m saying from the lyric video of ‘You Make Love Easy’.
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Could you walk us through the story behind your new single, ‘You Make Love Easy’?
Late last year on an October night, I caught myself smiling, thinking about how it’s been almost eight years with my wife and best friend. I can never, ever, seem to get enough of her – this has been the healthiest and happiest relationship I’ve been in and I couldn’t have been luckier. I went down the rabbit hole thinking about how love and relationships take work and effort. This one is so effortless and good that it feels straight-up easy. I sat at the piano, played some gospel chords, and finished the whole song in one night. I then brought the demo to my great friends at Soul Dot to be produced. After some final magical touches by the producer, mentor, and great friend, Leo Goh, the song was made within a month!
“I caught myself smiling, thinking about how it’s been almost eight years with my wife and best friend. I can never, ever, seem to get enough of her – this has been the healthiest and happiest relationship I’ve been in and I couldn’t have been luckier.”
The music video for ‘You Make Love Easy’ features footage from your time during the India Tour. Could you share about why it was important for you to share these moments with your listeners?
The India tour was really special to me as it wasn’t just The Aaron Bunac Show live in India, it was also the soft launch of my upcoming Date Nite album – the many people who watched my sets were the first ever people outside of my family and music producers to hear the song and it means so much to me.
“It almost feels like showing a loved one something you made with all your heart and watching their reaction as they experience it for the first time.”
‘You Make Love Easy’ is described to be a fusion of various genres such as pop, rock, funk, and gospel. What inspired you to blend these genres together? What are the messages you hope to convey towards your listeners with this single?
I originally wanted to stick to writing only pop and R&B songs for the whole album, but ‘You Make Love Easy’ came so naturally and organically, especially with the crazy good arrangements by Leo from Soul Dot. The song is a testament to our roots in music. The intention behind the song is to celebrate a partner that brings you unbridled joy in a relationship and for the listeners to hear it as a sound that describes what it feels like to have found the perfect one for themselves.
“The intention behind the song is to celebrate a partner that brings you unbridled joy in a relationship and for the listeners to hear it as a sound that describes what it feels like to have found the perfect one for themselves.”
As a former heavy metal enthusiast, how did your experience shape your approach to creating music in different genres such as pop, soul R&B, and jazz?
Ohoho I love this question. With genres like pop and R&B, I’ve always felt that these genres carry a level of poise and polish that everyone is very used to. So to break the wheel and innovate, I took the brashness that I’ve learnt from rock and heavy metal and added it to my sound. The distorted guitars, live-sounding drum, and bass to my vocal belting (from years of singing rock songs) lend a more textured edge to my version of Pop R&B.
With ‘You Make Love Easy’ kicking off the start of your upcoming album, Date Nite, what can listeners expect from the album? How will it build upon the themes introduced in the single?
The ‘Date Nite’ album is set to the perspective of a date night out with Aaron Bunac, exchanging stories about the lives and stories of the past years through different phases. Parallel to that, each song has a deep story from my life and follows how we all go through different phases. Each song has its own character, vibe, and genre, while still holding true to the pop R&B nature of my writing style.
“Each song [in the Date Nite album] has a deep story from my life and follows how we all go through different phases, each song has its own character, vibe, and genre, while still holding true to the pop R&B nature of my writing style.”
How has singing with The Island Voices contributed to your artistic growth?
The growth in The Island Voices has been tremendous. But specifically on the artistic side, being exposed to the 13 other phenomenal singers (“The best singers on the island” according to singer-songwriter Don Richmond) every week through two consecutive National Day Parades, and winning an international singing competition has catapulted my artistry to levels I didn’t even know were possible. I am not exaggerating when I say that these people are my family and I’m so blessed to have these people around me.
Finally, what are your aspirations and goals for your music career this year?
While 2024 started out with a bang with the India tour and album launch, I can’t wait for the rest of it with more of the album songs playing on radio stations locally (and globally!) and more overseas festivals to come!!
Check out Aaron Bunac’s ‘You Make Love Easy’ here:
