Best Boys, the musical and creative partnership between lifelong friends Joe Rittling and Aaron Levison, has entered into an exciting new chapter with the release of their EP “Ride Out.” The duo spoke to NYOTA about growing up together, collaborating while living in different states, and how the “Ride Out” EP came to be.
I’d love for you both to take us back to the early days of your friendship. When did you realize you had similar artistic interests and passions?
Aaron: Our friendship began way back when we were little. Our buddy’s mom ran a daycare out of their home, and Joe and I went there together before continuing on through the local school system. Though we were in the same grade and friend group, we didn’t really connect around music or art until much later. It was a sort of parallel development, with Joe studying classical music on piano and growing his passion for film, while I studied jazz on the trumpet and pursued poetry and creative writing. It wasn’t until after we graduated high school and went off to college that I heard Joe’s original music. I remember being caught off guard, learning that this incredible voice was coming from somebody I had grown up with. I had no idea of the talent that he had been developing. I ended up going to the University of Vermont, and Joe went off to film school, studying in Montreal and LA for a time before eventually returning to VT. At that point, Joe reached out to me for some help finishing a batch of songs he’d been working on, and he sent over the initial demo. I remember being intrigued and excited about the sonic palette he was working with, and from there, we started to align our artistic and creative visions to see where I could fit in and help fill out some of his music. It was a long time coming, but felt especially easy to slide into a creative relationship from such a long standing friendship. We’ve been steadily working together ever since.
You grew up in a close-knit town in Vermont. Was it common to see people exploring artistic endeavors, or was it a big leap for the two of you to openly pursue a music career?
Aaron: It was a bit of both, to be honest. Our hometown of about 5,000 people harbored a ton of creativity from visual artists to musicians and dancers, but the vast majority worked day jobs first and foremost and had to fit their artistic pursuits in and around everyday life. I think that was inspirational to both of us, seeing incredibly talented people balancing and juggling other skills and using their art as an outlet for their creative energy. So, in a way, openly pursuing a music career felt like a leap given the practical grounding we grew up with, and, at the same time, seeing all of these well-rounded creatives pursuing their dreams in a pragmatic, yet passionate way, clear cut a path for us to see that it’s possible to balance it all. The duality of small town living is that there’s a great deal of freedom to pursue whatever it is you want to pursue in an independent way, but, at the same time, you have to constantly be priming the pump of inspiration since there’s fewer people around. Growing up in the environment and community that we did helped tune us to that duality and instill a bit of DIY spirit.
Tell our readers about the creation of your EP Ride Out. How did you solidify the story you wanted to tell through the EP?
Aaron: Ride Out began somewhat by accident as we were working on some of Joe’s music. I was staying with him in VT, recording for his solo project, Black Fly, and, in between songs, I was messing around with the chords that would eventually become “Uncle Bobo,” from Ride Out. From there, we decided that we wanted to flesh out a duo project that was more guitar-driven and a little leaner in terms of instrumentation. Over the following months, we set our sights on writing short, catchy songs that tied together our eclectic influences, using Joe’s voice as the sonic signature. It was fun and refreshing to work as a duo, where our individual tastes and musical inclinations could compliment each other organically. We aimed to write songs that were simultaneously intimate and expansive and that were imbued with warmth and introspection. The further we got into the writing process, the throughlines that emerged solidified around the themes of travel, reflection, and the search for belonging. The emotive nature of Joe’s voice and lyrics helps bring that search to life, and these songs illuminate different aspects of it, whether it’s a yearning for romantic belonging or geographic sense of place.
The opening track sets the tone for the rest of the listening experience. Why did “Forgive Forget” feel like the right song to open the project?
Joe: We wanted to start off with a burst of energy, and it felt like it provided an immediate spark. We also thought it sounded like the beginning of a journey. Hitting the road with somewhat aimless intentions, metaphorically opening the door of possibilities to the rest of the EP.
Both of you are living in different parts of the country. Has that impacted your creative process? Did you have to be a bit more inventive when working on Ride Out since you weren’t always together?
Joe: We were fortunate enough to do the majority of the recording in the same room together, but living so far apart definitely made us have to be a lot more intentional in organizing those sessions. The beauty of our partnership is that, because we are such close friends, there’s always a lot of joy in those reunions, and that helps feed the creative process. The times we weren’t together, the work mostly focused on post production and finishing touches. As cheesy as it sounds, we’ve learned that it takes trust and good communication. We’ve been working on music together for nearly a decade, so a lot of that developed naturally.
The music video for “Apartment” is visually compelling, and the softness of it perfectly matches the song. What were your moodboards or visual inspirations behind what we see in the video?
Joe: The two biggest influences that come to mind are the painter Simon Stalenhag, who creates a lot of stark but composed works that explore future-retro landscapes. And the second is this Tarkovsky movie from the 70’s called The Mirror, which dabbles a lot in surreal dream-like sequences. That’s more or less what we were aiming for, uncanny scenes, and subjects stuck in time.
