Video premiere: Silverplanes, ‘Falling Asleep’

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Silverplanes
Silverplanes

“Falling Asleep,” the new single from L.A.’s Silverplanes, is the sound of somebody who won’t settle. It’s a melodic, full-bodied guitar anthem — a song that aims for “big” and nails it — that you might imagine was fastidiously crafted by veteran hands over hours and hours in the studio. Which is likely the case, given the story of Silverplanes’ mastermind, Aaron Smart.

The singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, working in his own studio, is preparing to release a series of three five-song EPs, all made with Grammy-winning producer Jack Douglas (John Lennon, Aerosmith, the Who, Cheap Trick) and each mixed by an engineer with similarly impressive resumés: Jay Messina (Aerosmith, KISS, Supertramp); Shelly Yakus (U2, Tom Petty, Lou Reed); and Geoff Emerick (The Beatles, Badfinger, Elvis Costello). Now those are some connections.

“Jack really helped me to shape the songs,” Smart says. “What originally made me want to work with him was knowing that he recorded ‘Imagine’ with John Lennon, and then listening to it and thinking what he must have thought when it was happening. Also, the fact that he worked on ‘Sweet Emotion’ by Aerosmith, because sonically that song is ridiculously amazing and intricate.”

Smart, who plays guitar and drums on the tracks, was abetted by a cast of players including bassist Billy Mohler, keyboardist Matt Rohde and guitarists Jason Johnson, Rand Ray Mitchell and Sean Woolstenhulme. Somehow, he says, the EPs have a unifying sound. “Having my own studio has been an amazing luxury and it definitely influenced the way that these recordings turned out,” says Smart, a Napa native. “The drum sound is huge and thick, and the guitars have a smooth ’70s-meets-’90s-meets-now sound going on. Despite all the songs we’ve recorded, we haven’t ever felt rushed, because we can come in any time we want and stop any time we want. I’m a vintage recording gear addict, and Jack is as well, since he’s seen the evolution of the best gear from the late ’60s until now.”

The graphic video for “Falling Asleep” is the work of Jon Danovic. The EPs will be released over the next four months, and Smart is currently working on assembling a live band.

||| Watch: The video for “Falling Asleep”

||| Also: Stream “Down the Drain”