Podcast 343: Aimée Portioli (Grand River)

I was first drawn into the music. The album “Pineapple”, by Grand River, has been part of my playlist for a while, and has embedded itself into my subconscious. The concept behind the One Instrument label jumped out at me, and I was intrigued by everything that I heard. When I reached out about the label, I was blown away to know that I’d be talking to the artist as well. Lucky me! Aimée Portioli is a busy soul. One Instrument (https://oneinstrument.bandcamp.com/) keeps up a steady stream of output, featuring individuals willing to dedicate themselves to making a track using only a single instrument – and, in the case of modular synths, a single oscillator. The limitations also limit effects usage to only a reverb, which greatly changes ones approach to the single-instrument concept. The work that Aimée has collected is super-interesting, ranging from laptop junkies to vibraphone masters. The selected artists work through the process thoughtfully, and Aimée’s curation holds it together. As Grand River (https://grandrivermusic.bandcamp.com/), Aimée is putting out releases (most recently on Editions Mego) that combine environmental looping with succinct whiffs of melody, and have become favorites of mine. Prior to the COVID-19 isolation, she was an active performer; alas, the pandemic has slowed that down - but she has plans! In our interview, we discuss everything from her background as a child choir prodigy to her methods of “research” behind her releases. A really insightful interview. Transcription available at http://www.darwingrosse.com/AMT/transcript-0343.html