AJ Mitchell

“I’ve honestly never been more excited,” AJ Mitchell smiles, remarkably upbeat as he sets the tone of our early LA morning Zoom conversation. It may not be the first time the 22-year-old pop star has uttered this statement, yet he always means it sincerely. For each project over a near-decade-long career, AJ outdoes himself, reinvigorated by creative possibilities in the process. When we meet, it’s just three weeks before the American artist drops his sophomore album As Far As The Eye Can See, and subsequently launches into a 21-date US tour. The LP, it turns out, holds the key to its creator’s inexhaustible zeal: a “no limitations” approach.   

“For me, that’s as far as the eye could see,” AJ says, explaining his new approach, “it’s also what it means to be human. That’s taking a bite out of the forbidden fruit and exploring new things and new relationships, going through my downfalls, but coming out of them – the human experience.”  

Alike to many a great album, at the heart of As Far As The Eye Can See is a relationship. Yet, as a pop sensation whose career was launched – Bieber-esque – at just 13 years old, other experiences of love, loss and change naturally weave into and enrich the record’s boy-meets-girl narrative. “This album really just shows my artistry, my musical journey,” he says, noting how entering the studio with producer Kid Culture and no “set ideas” gave way to interesting, unexpected outcomes.   

This freewheeling, ‘sky is the limit’ attitude has been the linchpin of AJ’s whirlwind road to stardom.  It may come as a surprise to those outside of America and Spotify’s R&B-pop algorithm, that he has been touching hundreds-of-thousands of listeners for over seven years, beginning on YouTube. His first post – a cover of Martin Garrix & Bebe Rexha’s ‘In The Name of Love’ – amassed an astonishing 1.6 million views. Press play on one of these early videos and you’ll realise why: he sings with a raw, honest emotion seldom expressed by adolescent boys, let alone channelled into piano chords and vocals of such impressive range.   

It’s almost unfathomable that such a young prodigy could have considered a future in anything but music, and yet, AJ reflects, “I actually thought I was going to work in construction.” Growing up in a small town called Belleville in Illinois where, though fortunate to live in a household with a piano, he would witness friends lose their way down uncertain paths. Having success in such a competitive, financially unstable industry felt unattainable: “I didn’t really see how I could pursue music as a career… I didn’t know where to even start.”   

Career or otherwise, the artist made a lifelong commitment to music the day he wrote his first song aged four. By the time elementary school hit, songwriting had become part of his daily routine. AJ recalls waking up extra early to squeeze in a session before heading to his lessons: “Every single day I’d be writing. Even at school, I’d skip lunch just to go to the music hall and play the piano and write music.”  

To be so young and this committed to his craft, is revealing. One little leap of faith, setting up that YouTube account, is all it took for the smalltown singer’s future to really kick off. Almost overnight, he had an audience; “from that point forward I was like, okay, I’m going to take this seriously”.  

Over the past few years AJ’s fanbase has surged internationally: 2020 saw him perform for the first time on British soil, and whilst the pandemic brought follow-up tours to a standstill, his inaugural album Skyview landed in the meantime. Produced by the legendary Mike Dean (Beyoncé, Travis Scott and Frank Ocean are just a handful of his mega-famous collaborators), it is a soul-stirring 12-track record with warm glows of R&B and lines paying tribute to AJ’s Illinois roots.   

With Skyview’s strong introduction establishing him as a mainstay on the pop scene, the hitmaker has been eager to experiment. A year and a half in the making, As Far As The Eye Can See is evidence that AJ Mitchell isn’t one to stay in his creative comfort zone. Comparing it to his first, he muses, “This has a little more grunge to it. It’s more eclectic, you have your upbeat pop records, songs on guitar, one song which is a little folky, indie kind of vibes.”   

As indie rock courts electro-pop and soul, AJ processes a foregone rollercoaster romance, properly for the first time. “It was pretty difficult,” he admits, reflecting on what it was like to be vulnerable and relive the experience. “Some of the songs, like ‘Foolish’ I actually wrote while I was in the relationship.” As hinted at in the name, this particular track explores an irrational, but all-too-familiar situation: “Being with someone who you know isn’t good for you, but you keep pursuing anyway.”   

Over the twelve tracks are unpredictable mood shifts, as sonics seek to emulate a relationship which hurtles from wild infatuation to internal conflict and an eventual, painful dissolve. Coming out the other side, it’s clear that AJ feels lighter: “It was hard to dig down deep and get vulnerable with people… I’m the kind of person that will hold it in sometimes, just want to move on, but it was therapeutic to talk through it and get those emotions out into music.”   

AJ might have fallen victim to the spellbinding power of an intense romance (who hasn’t?) but when it comes to his career, wise and fearless choices suggest he knows what’s good for him. Releasing his first solo track at thirteen, ‘Used To Be’, which went viral on YouTube, he earned himself a ticket out of Illinois via an invitation to join the infamous Team 10 group in LA. Even bolder than his decision to go was in fact his decision to leave, realising – not long into being there – that the toxic content creator hotbed wasn’t conducive to his music ambitions.  

Though relatively minor in the scope of AJ’s career trajectory, the artist still applies lessons learnt from the Team 10 days to maintain a healthy relationship with social media – no small feat for a Gen Z-er with one million Instagram followers. AJ admits that being online used to take a toll, “especially on my mental health, I felt like I was living in a false reality”, he confides.     

“Half the job is to keep up with fans online, but you’ve got to consider, how much do I share of my life? How much do I let in? I’ve had to find a balance with social media.” AJ is an open book with an open heart, the type who would respond to all fan mail if it were possible. Rather more sustainable and meaningful, the artist is hyped to meet fans face-to-face when he hits the road on 31st May. “Being on tour is the best way to engage with fans… I finally [get to] hear their stories and why my music resonates with them, then I can share stories about why I wrote the songs.”  

Whilst this tour remains in North America, there’s no doubt AJ will seize the first opportunity to perform abroad. He is, after all, an explorer, “I like to try new things, create new sounds. Even with life in general, trying new foods, exploring new territories around the world. I’ve always been an explorer at heart and a creative in my mind, the two come together in music”. From Illinois to a four-year stint in LA, AJ is currently based in NYC, enjoying all the city’s fruits. The move was creatively motivated, “I think writing there [in LA], the energy was off. I wanted a new experience with this new album, new scenery, a fresh start – for me, that was New York.”  

Within the intricacies and nuances of As Far As The Eye Can See, whispers of this energy shift are audible: “New York has seasons. That definitely influenced the music, California doesn’t really have seasons, but here I wrote a ballad in the snow, I wrote a slow song when it was cold outside, you know, there was more moving through moods.” It would seem that the city’s rock’n’roll legacy also inspired a love affair with The Beatles to resurface. They were the first musicians AJ recalls obsessing over, “I was truly invested as a kid. I got this piano book of all their songs and I would practise them every week. What they did was so unique. For me when I create music, I have that in mind…anytime I sit down at the piano or with my guitar, I want to create something that’s never been heard before.”  

Sonically speaking, As Far As They Eye Can See started as a blank slate, “I went into it with no expectations…I would kind of just jam and see what came out.” This freewheeling approach appears on the record as live instrumentation samples; zestful guitar riffs and drum claps cut through classic synthy-pop melodies, adding a hint of grit behind AJ’s caramel-smooth vocals.     

Bringing this fresh playfulness into all areas of his career, AJ’s music videos are no exception. ‘Flowers on the Moon’s’ visual teaser of a sword slicing through and drawing crimson from a pristine white wedding cake particularly sparks curiosity. “That song is already so dramatic, but I didn’t want the music video to follow the lyrics’ storyline, I wanted it to be a little bit more polarising.” And so came the idea of Paris and a disastrous wedding on a boat, “At this wedding, everything goes wrong. For me, it’s a metaphor – things going wrong around you is a sign from the universe that you guys aren’t right for each other.”  

Whilst such visuals provide a sugar-rush, their sonic accompaniments offer more slow-burning stimulation, engaging thoughts and feelings as listeners digest them. AJ doesn’t think too much about the outside world when song writing, his desired impact is modest, “I just want my music to be something people can listen to and feel at peace, feel relaxed, feel good. That’s what music has always done for me, so I just want that same feeling for them.”   

For all the experimenting and exploring, AJ Mitchell does have one unshakeable rule for his musical escapades: intrinsic motivation. He staunchly believes that is where the best music truly comes from, when I ask what his ambitions are, it’s unsurprising that he comes back with oddball answers. First, he wants to turn a catalogue of releases and semi-written songs into a piano album (watch this space) and then, “I really want to do Lollapalooza festival because it would be cool to do a show in Illinois.” Of course, a world tour is on the bucket list, “I have dreamt of doing a show in Egypt, with the pyramids behind me as I perform.”