The Aces recently caught up with Billboard via video chat from their homes in Utah to discuss making music and finding inspiration during the pandemic, what inspired their song “Lost Angeles,” and what fans can expect from their forthcoming album.
Asked how being physically apart while self-quarantining has impacted their creativity as a band, Cristal Ramirez tells Billboard’s Chelsea Briggs that it changes day by day, but that they are continuing to feel excited and motivated to keep creating music during this time.
“People need it more than ever and I think that…we as artists need it more than ever,” she says. “We need to keep creating, we need to keep staying motivated just as much as our fans need to hear from us.”
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“It really gives us something to look forward to and it gives us hope to be able to put out new songs and to stay focused on those things instead of what’s going on in the world,” she adds. “I think it’s been really fun and honestly pushed us to be more creative I think than we’ve been in a really long time because we have to get outside of the box.”
In the interview, the group is also asked about their song “Lost Angeles,” which was inspired by a poem Alisa Ramirez once wrote while on a plane leaving L.A. The poem, she explains, was written while she was splitting her time between Utah and L.A., heading out to California regularly for writing sessions and parties.
“L.A. is one of those cities that can get kind of crazy and not fun after a bit,” she adds with a laugh. “So it’s kind just exploring that, experiencing that for the first time. I remember I was so young, I was probably 18 when I wrote that poem and…there was a period time where I just hated going to L.A…I’ve obviously fallen back in love with it and moved there.”
“We just wanted to explore in this song…whether it’s L.A. or it’s Chicago or it’s wherever, that you are just feeling like your experiences,” Cristal notes. “Whether that’s heartbreak or just something that kinda went south, just taints the city for a second and you kind of have to rebuild your relationship with it.”
The Aces also open up about their next album, which they confirm has a title – that they can’t reveal just yet – and that it will still be released this summer.
“With this second record that’s coming out, we are a lot more explicit, we are a lot more vulnerable,” Cristal shares. “The stories are just there and there’s not really room for interpretation, you’re just really getting the story…I’ve been so proud of myself and the girls for really going there…to every corner and have explored things we’ve never explored before and being super open about things…We really pushed ourselves to do that.”
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“There’s things on this record that we weren’t probably comfortable or ready to say on the first record,” adds Alisa. “I think that just kind of came with maturing and also growing into yourself and knowing where you stand and so I think we’re a lot more direct on this record and there are certain things that we are more open about.”
You can check out the full interview with The Aces above to hear more about their creative process when writing and recording new music, and to find out what they have to say about a song on their new record titled “801,” which is about their hometown.