Aer to drop second demo

Seniors Carter Schultz (right) and David von Mering make up Aer, a musical duo with a hip hop and reggae influenced style and an unorthodox sound. (Courtesy Photo: Aer)

For seniors Carter Schultz and David Von Mering, what originally started as messing around on GarageBand has progressed into the creation of a live band: Aer.

In the coming weeks, Aer will release its second demo, “Water on the Moon”, which Schultz describes as “a mix of hip hop and alternative reggae with melodic rapping.”

Writing music isn’t new to the duo. Both were originally a part of the WHS band Moken Airwalk, which broke up last spring.

“After Moken Airwalk ended, David and I knew we wanted to keep making music,” said Schultz. “We started off writing random stuff, but people really liked it, so we started to take it more seriously.”

Schultz and von Mering chose the name Aer, pronounced air, because they liked idea that air is essential for all humans to survive, just as music is for them.

Throughout their songwriting process guitarist and back up singer von Mering and lead singer Schultz have continued to use the software from GarageBand to loop their own beats.

They brainstorm vocal parts by jotting down any appealing phrases or lines that pop into their heads during the day and then testing them out together. They often sing the lyrics out loud to each other to get a feel for the words.

Aer’s first demo, “Medina”, was released online for free in June, and so far 400 people have downloaded it. They also put the seven-song demo on YouTube, where their most popular song, “Fields”, has received 1,600 views.

During Labor Day weekend, Aer showed off their premiere demo at their first gig. It took place on Newbury Street in Boston, at a store called The Concrete Jungle. The event was a promotion party for George Guest bags, a company co-owned by Schultz’s brother.

Hold My Coat, a music blog created by Wayland High School alum Max Gredinger and Jeremiah Malina, reviewed “Medina” the week that it was released. Gredinger described the demo’s sound as “a Slightly Stoopid sounding mix tape with a whole different spin on it and incredibly trippy vocals and beats.”

“This site was built to be able to break up and coming artists, and I absolutely think I just found one,” wrote Gredinger. “This is not the typical music I would post, but give it a listen because it sounds damn good to me.”

With the release of the ten-track “Water on the Moon”, expect to hear Aer at the next level.

“Our second demo is more professional,” said Schultz. “[It] definitely represents our style more than the first.”

So what’s next for the duo?

“Right now David and I are in the process of juggling school, sports, and music,” said Schultz. “But we are wicked excited for the future.”