Aoe

Formed by singer and multi-instrumentalist Phil Beaudreau together with longtime hip-hop producer Dawaun Parker—whose résumé includes work alongside Jay-Z, Eminem, 50 Cent, and Kendrick Lamar—AOE, standing for Ambassadors of Earth, functions as a left-field pop duo. Their material merges atmospheric experimentation with plainspoken expressions of isolation and yearning, at moments recalling the textures of Radiohead’s Kid A alongside the Weeknd’s moody approach. The pair started posting AOE tracks on SoundCloud in 2013. Across the following years they shared a small selection of originals plus reinterpretations of material by the Beach Boys and Jhené Aiko. Once signed to Def Jam, AOE issued its first single, “I’m Right This Time,” in early 2017. An intense, vividly animated video created single-handedly by Beaudreau over two years accompanied the track.