Aaron Frazer

Aaron Frazer's smooth falsetto delivery and distinctive approach to vintage soul and R&B evoke an earlier era, yet his material frequently incorporates surprising touches drawn from hip-hop and modern pop. Recognized primarily as co-lead vocalist and drummer in the Indiana soul-revival outfit Durand Jones & the Indications, he launched a solo career in 2020, carrying forward aspects of the group's aesthetic while charting a fresh direction on his first full-length effort, Introducing... (2021). Following one more album with the Indications, he captured the Live from Easy Eye Sound EP (2023) and assembled his second solo set, the reflective and stylistically broader Into the Blue (2024), shaped by the end of a significant relationship.

Originally from Baltimore, Frazer joined a tight circle of Indiana University students in Bloomington who gravitated toward foundational soul, R&B, and funk figures such as Jackie Wilson, James Brown, and Curtis Mayfield. With Blake Rhein, Kyle Houpt, and Steve Okonski, he co-founded the Indications in 2012 to support Louisiana-born singer Durand Jones. The ensemble quickly coalesced around those classic influences, Frazer supplying both drumming and high-register counterpoint to Jones's commanding leads. Their first recordings, tracked in a basement and completed for a total of $452.11 that included beer, surfaced on the Midwest-focused Colemine Records imprint and generated attention well outside their regional base.

After relocating to New York, Frazer initiated the gospel-leaning Flying Stars of Brooklyn, NY, which issued the single "My God Has a Telephone." Once the Indications delivered their well-received 2019 album American Love Call, Colemine reissued the Flying Stars track under Frazer's name to mark his solo debut in late 2020. Teaming with producer Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys, he completed Introducing..., released in January 2021 on Dead Oceans and Auerbach's Easy Eye label, where it climbed the upper reaches of the Billboard Heatseekers chart. Six months afterward, the Indications returned with Private Space, anchored by the disco-funk throwback "Witchoo" featuring Frazer on lead.

In the interim he recorded Live from Easy Eye Sound, a five-track 2023 EP again produced by Auerbach that interpreted the Invincibles' "Heart Full of Love," Curtis Mayfield's "The Makings of You," and the Eight Minutes' "Looking for a Brand New Game" while adding two new originals co-written with Auerbach. The next June Frazer released Into the Blue, which blended classic R&B balladry with psychedelic soul, soft rock, disco, and hip-hop. Crafted alongside Alex Goose and featuring additional contributions from Nick Waterhouse and Robin Hannibal, the album integrated live instrumentation with samples spanning vocal groups the Shades, Flying Eagles Gospel Singers, and Hi-Five.