Melbourne musician Aaron Schembri has been hard at work in the Australian music scene since the age of 15.
From his humble beginnings playing in pubs around Melbourne to working alongside some of the most prolific musicians in Australia, Aaron has forged a dynamic sound, which he hopes will shine through with the release of his debut record, 'City Lights'.
“I learned piano when I was nine and picked up a guitar at twelve, and by the age of fifteen I got my first gig with a pub band,” Aaron says.
“So I was doing all the Brunswick scene, and the Collingwood scene at 15 and sort of learning the ropes a bit.”
From those formative years, Aaron set out to explore what the Australian music scene had to offer, managing to meet and work with the late Ross Hannaford of Daddy Cool. “It was like work experience for me being around Ross Hannaford,” Aaron enthuses.
“It gave me the will to keep doing what I was doing, especially learning it off someone whose done it for the last 45 years. I just learned so much from him, I was pretty lucky to have him take me under his wing.”
Aaron's musical career quickly grew from there, as he started to receive more recognition from fellow artists. “When one door opens, everyone's in that scene, everyone recommends people for gigs. I was in that scene at such a young age, I haven't known anything different since, I still do that today.”
While his career has seen rapid growth, Aaron has been sure to take his time with his debut album making sure it's everything it can be.
“I started recording it in 2015, so it took four years to get it done, and I've managed to get some of the guys that I've worked with to come in and actually record songs that I'd written, guys like Ross Wilson, Kevin Borich, Mike Rudd, and Normie Rowe. It's just a buzz to have songs that I've written be interpreted by those guys.”
Ahead of the release of the album, Aaron released his single 'Good Enough For You,' a heartfelt tribute to his late grandfather. “I wrote that song the day after he died; basically as I'd written it, whatever I'd written then is on the album. Nothing's really changed, it just happened, a little tribute to him.”
Aaron will be launching 'City Lights' with an album showcase featuring a number of guest acts from the album who were involved in the production of the album.
“We're basically going to get a couple of the artists to do a couple of their tunes, some of their hits they had back in their day, some of Australia's greatest songs these guys have written.
"And then we're gonna showcase the album 'City Lights' in full, with all of the guest artists [getting] up and singing it with us, which will be fun.”
