Name: Arsun Sorrenti hka Arsun
Occupation: Singer, songwriter, guitarist
Nationality: American
Current release: Arsun's debut album Babe I Hear Thunder In Your Heart is out now.
Recommendations: An album I like right now is Hank Williams' As Luke The Drifter. A book I especially enjoyed in the past few years was All Quiet on the Western Front.

If you enjoyed this Arsun interview and would like to keep up to date with his music, visit him on Instagram, Facebook, and tiktok.



When I listen to music, I see shapes, objects and colours. What happens in your body when you're listening? Do you listen with your eyes open or closed?

I don’t really have any visual reaction to music. However I do feel it in my body and it definitely affects me mentally. I find that it clears my mind of thoughts by becoming the prime focus. The clearing of my thoughts in turn allows me to relax physically.

Sometimes I’ll also listen to a song with the intention of actually addressing a thought that I am having in my regular life. Every now and then certain music can allow me to draw new perspectives on a topic I'm contemplating or even allow me to solidify feelings that may have been confusing to me.

When I listen to music I like to be intently focused on it, if it’s playing passively in the background I find it very distracting and oftentimes bothersome. If I’m doing something physical like working out or cooking breakfast I'd rather not listen to music.
 
I find myself listening a lot with my eyes closed, but it doesn’t have to be that way for me.

Entering new worlds and escapism through music have always exerted a very strong pull on me. What do you think you are drawn to most when it comes to listening to and creating music?

I suppose it’s just one of the pleasures of life, like eating great food or enjoying a nice day.

As for creating music, It allows me to surpass what I think I am capable of. Often I feel uncertain about my ability to write music but occasionally I’ll write a song and it will so far surpass what I think are the limits of my creativity that it will leave me shocked.

When that happens It’s a really great feeling and I'd definitely like to attain it more often.

What were your very first steps in music like and how would you rate the gains made through experience?

When I began I was very bad at guitar and singing; I feel as though I had very little natural talent. I loved music though, so I dedicated all my time to it. I practiced tons and now im a little bit better. If you ask anyone who’s been on tour with me what im like, they’d probably say that I practice constantly.

The thing that made me improve most was going on tour. “The gains made through experience” have been plenty in my opinion.

According to scientific studies, we make our deepest and most incisive musical experiences between the ages of 13-16. What did music mean to you at that age and what’s changed since then?

I think music was easier to make for me during that time period, and I definitely had many important musical experiences back then.

However I feel as though I’m miles ahead of what I was doing when I was 13-16 and I don’t feel nostalgic about it in the slightest. The work is more difficult now but the rewards are far greater.

How would you describe your own relationship with your instrument, tools or equipment?

I love my instrument, tools, and equipment. Researching and collecting that kind of stuff is very important to me and I spend a lot of time doing it.

I collect instruments, pro audio, and hifi. It means a great deal to me and feels natural to do since I'm a musician.

I'm not too sentimental about it though. I don’t name my guitars and stuff like that (not that there’s anything wrong with that).

Where does the impulse to create something come from for you? What role do often-quoted sources of inspiration like dreams, other forms of art, personal relationships, politics etc play?
 
It can really be from anything; it can come from other forms of art, my life, you name it. Sometimes it’ll just be out of the blue.

I really want to expand where it comes from. I think that’d be a great way to have more output as a musician. I'd like to be able to be inspired to write just because it is my job to do so.

Are you acting out parts of your personality in your music which you couldn't or wouldn't in your daily life? If so, which are these? What, would you say, are the key ideas behind your approach to music?

Not really, I just write the music and typically don’t even know why I wrote it. I also try not to overthink it. I don’t wanna analyze myself into some box and get weirded out.

My approach to music is generally to work at it for as long as I possibly can until I make something. It seems as though I’ll only produce something after chasing it for days. Then once I finally do write a song it’s usually completed in about 15 minutes.

I'd like to get to the point where I can write more consistently and it doesn’t feel like such a daunting thing.

If music is a language, what can we communicate with it? How do you deal with misunderstandings?

Well I guess people like to say that music is a universal language, and I guess it is. So if that’s true I suppose we can communicate anything to anyone.

I've never really had to deal with a musical “misunderstanding”. With music I don’t really feel the need to understand and draw conclusions about everything I hear.

Sometimes the best lyrics are those that I don’t understand at all. Certain lyrics have a seemingly unattainable mystery which I think is great. The song ‘The Ballad of Frankie Lee and Judas Priest’ has that vibe for me.



Making music, in the beginning, is often playful and about discovery. How do you retain a sense of playfulness and how do you still draw surprises from tools, approaches and musical forms you may be very familiar with?

It’s hard to remain spontaneous and playful, especially when as a musician you assign a certain seriousness to the pursuit of your work. It’s important to learn how to let go and not be so rigid at times.

This is something that I struggle with and that holds me back a great deal. I think that the rigidness needs to just be willed away, if I don’t I will definitely experience issues with my writing.

Sound, song, and rhythm are all around us, from animal noises to the waves of the ocean. What, if any, are some of the most moving experiences you've had with these non-human-made sounds? In how far would you describe them as “musical”?

The sound of waves is definitely a good one. The rustling of tree leaves is also nice. I like hearing the recorded sounds of whales and dolphins.

I don't think my initial response to any of those things would be to call them “musical.” However I think they all are amazing sounds.

I’d call something like bird tunes musical.

There seems to be an increasing trend to capture music in algorithms, and data. But already at the time of Plato, arithmetic, geometry, and music were considered closely connected. How do you see that connection yourself? What aspects of music do you feel can be captured through numbers, and which can not?

Well I think music theory is pretty cool and interesting. Definitely worth studying a bit in my opinion. I think it leads to a better understanding of music on a whole.

As far as capturing music and artists as data and feeding people algorithms, I'm not sure. Seems like it could pressure some artists to attain trends in order to chase sales which I think would lead to a boring environment.

But I also like finding new music related to stuff I’ve enjoyed in the past through algorithmic playlists.

How does the way you make music reflect the way you live your life? Can we learn lessons about life by understanding music on a deeper level?

I guess the way I make music is by trying my hardest at it until I succeed and I'd like to think I bring that attitude to everything I attempt.

You probably can learn lessons about life by understanding music on a deeper level, I'm not really sure what those lessons are though. I do think for certain that you can learn things about life by just consuming the arts in general.

We can surround us with sound every second of the day. The great pianist Glenn Gould even considered this the ultimate delight. How do you see that yourself and what importance does silence hold?

I live in New York and it can be quite loud at times. It can be interesting but also tiring. I definitely enjoy some peace and quiet.

If there’s some weird sound I get fixated on at night I wont sleep a wink.

Do you feel as though writing or performing a piece of music is inherently different from something like making a great cup of coffee? What do you express through music that you couldn't or wouldn't in more 'mundane' tasks?

Well as I said earlier, sometimes when I write or perform music I go beyond what I thought I am capable of as a person which is a unique experience.

I guess I could make a cup of coffee that goes beyond what I could ever expect of myself, but somehow the music thing feels more important.

I do really enjoy mundane things though, enjoying a great cup of coffee in the morning is one of my favorite things for sure.

If you could make a wish for the future – what are developments in music you would like to see and hear?

I'm happy to just see where music goes.

Honestly it’d be most interesting for it to go to places I wouldn’t be expecting or wishing for.