Album Notes

Alighting upon the folk music scene two years ago from the upland wilds of Northern Minnesota, Aaron has begun to garner the attention that one might expect from a significant young talent. His recent plumes include:
- "My Whole Life" a top 20 album for 2006 (intelligentpop.com)
- Feature artist for the 2007 Volkswagen Auto Tour.
- Feature artist for the 2007 Folk Alliance, Memphis, Tennessee.
- Among the top-ranked unsigned folk artists (myspace.com)

If such a thing as the cliched "total package" exists then attending one of Aaron Espe's concerts offers attendees a hint as to what it may be. The beauty of his sound, coupled with the irresistible aura of a shy guy, stirs a desire to join the now burgeoning army of Espe's unpaid publicists. Among his recent surge of supporters is President of CD Baby (World's Largest Seller of Independent Music), Derek Sivers:

"Aaron, I love your 'My Whole Life' CD so much I'm going to feature it on the Front Page of CD baby for a few days. We get about 100 new albums sent to us a day (about 100,000 total), and yours is one of the best I've ever heard."

A few of Espe's recordings from the abovementioned "My Whole Life" were conceived in a rapid thrust of creativity (i.e. "Grace"), while most have been the result of a painfully slow breach birth of inspiration. Consequently the hearer is aware that Espe's songs are more than trite phrasings, but rather liquefied shards of an authentic soul cast generously out to those within earshot.

Without benefit of the high-powered promotion that hammers mainstream music into our consciousness, Aaron Espe's fans greedily await the release of his second album, Songs from a Small Town (May 2008) nonetheless. -- Steve Grosz