Three albums into an already impressive career, Aer – AKA David von Mering and Carter Schultz – are well on their way to winning over music fans everywhere. Now, having just embarked on a huge US tour, the duo look set to earn themselves a whole new fanbase. Taking time out of their busy schedule, the pair kindly agreed to this EXCLUSIVE interview with our staff writer Rebecca.

PW: What would you say makes you different from all the other bands and artists out there today?

David: We tend to stray away from the norm and make music that our group of friends enjoy as opposed to what a label wants.

PW: Who were your musical influences growing up, have they changed much and how have they impacted the music you make?

Carter: Of course I try to stay up to date with current and trendy music but the few artists who have stood the test of time are the Arctic Monkeys, RHCP, Sublime and Kid Cudi. They taught me that genres are nothing more than a categorization and you can bend the rules. 

PW: Who would you say you most sound like?

David: I’d say we sound like what Carter and David making music together sounds like. Everybody is different and every song is different. We tend to stick with feel good music generally, but it can go in other directions.

PW: Your first full length album The Bright Side and follow up self-titled album both went down well with fans and critics. Now with One Of A Kind out and receiving strong reviews, do you feel any pressure to maintain the momentum?

Carter: Definitely. We want to make sure we’re capitalizing on any buzz that’s coming our way. So a U.S. tour with Cody Simpson playing big rooms is definitely going to help us to stay in people’s heads. 

PW: Where do you find the inspiration for your songs and has the song-writing process gotten easier or harder for you?

David: I find inspiration in everyday life. Things I go through inspire and push me to make music. I used to try really hard to prepare for a session or drink a lot of coffee or smoke weed or whatever to try and affect the outcome in the studio. But I’ve come to the conclusion that all that is pretty much bogus. It’s about living your life first. The music will always be the best when you naturally gravitate towards it because you’ve spent time growing and experiencing things. I make the best instrumentals when I’ve gone through something that I can’t quite find the right words to explain. Having that frustration then makes me revert to music and usually that ends up making some cool stuff. 

PW: If you could have written any song by any artist, which would it be and why?

Carter: Damn, that’s so hard. Maybe “Summertime”’ by Sam Cooke. It’s so effortless and simple. Timeless. 

PW: How important to you are critics’ opinions, or do you care more about what your fans think?

David: I kind of do care about critics. I care about fans too. I care more about the rest of the world though. I care about the people whose first impression is the new album you know? I just want people to be hanging out and hear a new Aer song and go ‘Oh, wow, who’s this?’ Then after that they dig deeper and catch the whole story. I’m always trying to grab new ears. 

PW: How did having your music featured on three episodes of MTV’s The Real World help or hinder your career?

Carter: It was nothing but helpful. It helped to get our music in front of new people, especially people at an age that seem to be really receptive to our music. Shouts to MTV!

PW: What one message do you want fans to take from your music?

David: Be proud of the independent, sometimes unorganized, awesome, and kind person you are.

PW: You’re on multiple social media platforms including Facebook and Twitter. How much has being able to interact with people in that way helped you in terms of reaching out to people and earning new fans?

Carter: It helped by being able to connect one on one. People can see our personalities, and feel like they’re one of our friends. It’s great to be able to do that, since it’s not something artists before us could do. 

PW: You’ve just kicked off a huge U.S. tour, is there any venue that you’re especially looking forward to playing?

David: I’m excited for the new Fillmore in Philly. That’ll be dope.

PW: If you could play any venue anywhere in the world, where would it be and why?

Carter: We’ve done Red Rocks, so now maybe I’d say the Gorge in Washington. I’ve heard that’s the only other venue that rivals RR’s beauty. 

PW: How did you choose Cody Simpson and Chef Special as your support?

David: We had made a song with Cisco Adler called “Says She Loves Me” and he ended up producing Cody’s first independent album. So someone somewhere suggested the idea and we both dug it. It will be cool to do a tour with someone who is doing their first independent album cycle. Chef Special was an idea that came from my manager and I’ll be honest I’ve never heard their music, I just liked the name.

PW: If you could share a stage with four other bands or artists who can be living or dead, who would they be and why?

Carter: Obviously RHCP since they’re our biggest inspiration and idols. Also Mozart because that would fuck the world up. Cudi because we share his love for genre bending, progressive music and Taylor Swift… because why not?

PW: Do you have plans to tour Europe in the near future?

David: Not exactly. Maybe summertime.

PW: Whose success would you most like to emulate?

Carter: RHCP.

PW: At what point would you be happy to say ‘Yeah, we’ve done all we wanted to now, let’s call it a day’?

David: I’m not sure. Music is something I’ll always be doing. I guess when I have my own real studio in my house? I bet that’s a trip for any artist.

PW: Finally then, are there any other plans in the pipeline you can tell me about?

Carter: Get ready for more music, more tours, more videos and more everything! We want to keep doing what got us here, but on a much larger scale!

We want to thank Aer for being so amazing and can’t wait to hear from them again soon!