Aimee Vant
Completed October 16, 2020
Aimee Vant appears on FaceTime sitting on a black chair in her room with her curly hair pulled back into a ponytail. With half of her hair bleached blonde and the other half being her natural brown hair, her appearance makes her unforgettable. Before diving into a series of questions about her music, Vant talks about her week and how the COVID pandemic has changed so much for her daily activities. Her interest in the precautions Boston schools have for the COVID pandemic spark a variety of questions she begins to ask; it's as though the roles have been reversed and she is now the interviewer.
Vant, 21 is a solo recording artist who earlier this year released her first album Everything Sucks on Apple Music, and Spotify. With almost seven thousand listeners a month on Spotify, Vant is pushing forward with her success and is looking towards releasing an EP along with a few singles within the next few months. Her album, Everything Sucks, takes inspiration from popular artists Billie Eilish, Lorde, and Lana del Ray. With a lower tempo and moody feel to her songs, Vant wants to communicate with listeners about times in her life when she faced emotional challenges. As she explained, “what to do when you’re at rock bottom, what to value when you have nothing”.
Growing up in Reading, Massachusetts, Vant took part in a variety of afterschool activities. Similar to many kids, Vant participated in a different sports; none of which she continued as she got older. At age six, she took up the drums but stopped playing as her interest shifted towards singing, the guitar, and the piano. Throughout her childhood, music was always a constant in her life. Inspired by powerful vocalists such as Kelly Clarkson and Pink, Vant decided to pursue her musical interests, although she was very shy. Not coming from a musical family, Vant worked hard and put all of her efforts into learning all she could about music for the chance to attend her dream school, Berklee College of Music located in Boston, Massachusetts.
Growing up so close to Boston, Vant knew that Berklee was the college for her. “It always had this energy to it, I was like oh my god that’s where the rockstars go,” she says. Vant's dream of attending Berklee came true as she started her college career in the fall semester of 2017. It was here at Berklee where Vant’s interest in songwriting was in full swing. Being around a variety of talented songwriters, she was more than eager to learn all she could about music.
Being at Berklee, Vant was able to break through the shyness she once experienced in her childhood. “It was like night and day,” she explained. Performing in front of an audience helped give her the confidence she needed to pursue a career in the music industry. Her performances have given her the “own it” mindset. Realizing that people are there as fans and are excited to listen to her music is one of the many reasons why she continues to write music.
Songwriting has a therapeutic effect on Vant. “You could be feeling your lowest ever but you write a song about how shitty you feel and then as soon as the song is done you feel so much better cause you turned something so hideous and ugly into a beautiful piece of art that other people can relate to. It’s the best feeling” she explained. During her time at Berklee, Vant stated “I hit a point that I felt I had no control”. From these moments in her life, she learned that it's important to see not having control of something as an advantage. Vant is a firm believer in finding strengths in your biggest weaknesses. This is where her love of songwriting comes into play. Through her music she was able to focus on herself and work towards a more positive outlook on her future.
Her song lyrics are personal, they tell the stories of her life and the world around her. Whether it's about life lessons she's learned throughout the years or a song inspired by a man drinking orange juice on the subway, Vant shares her thoughts and emotions with those who will listen.
“She’s a very empathetic person, she really picks up on people's emotions, you can see this in her songwriting,” says Madison Goldberg, a friend of Vant. Goldberg met Vant in January 2019 while interviewing her for an article she was writing about musicians in Boston. Goldberg has nothing but kind words to say about Vant and their growing friendship. “She’s a very friendly and welcoming person and is always open to collaborating on any sort of project. She’s a very open person in that regard.”
Vant continues to collaborate with Berklee artists and beyond. As she continues to pursue a career in the music industry, criticism is something that she continues to face every step of the way. However, she sees it as another reason to keep writing. “All those no’s that not a loss.” she says “it is like a speed bump and you know to change directions, that door is closed but another one is open.”