INTERVIEW: Rooftop Park On Touring, Releasing "Second Nature" EP
“I just love the connection between an artist who puts their efforts and hard work into their sound, and they want to bestow them onto the world. Having that connection successfully land in their audience is so fulfilling.”
Andy Araya is Rooftop Park, an Albany-based, indie-acoustic musician making his mark on the local scene and beyond. Araya, released his Second Nature EP in March, serving as a conceptual sequel to his First Nature EP, which came out in September 2024.
“What’s cool about these EPs is that it’s like a measuring stick to see the reception that each EP gets,” Araya said.
Second Nature has certainly proved itself a worthy collection of tunes, as Rooftop Park quickly embarked on a tour following its release that just wrapped up in Kingston, New York, on June 14.
Rooftop Park said this was his most ambitious tour run yet, during which he gigged at the farthest venues thus far in his musical career. Washington D.C., in particular, was a bucket-list destination for Araya, in terms of performing and visiting in general. So adding that as a stop on the Second Nature tour was a dream come true.
“I love the idea of going to different far away cities and being able to perform in front of an audience that you’re completely anonymous to. I think there’s so much beauty in that. The greatest reward factor is stepping into a building that you’re not familiar with and stepping out knowing – in this case Washington D.C. – I stepped out with at least ten new friends,” Araya said.
Being an acoustic, singer-songwriter, you can imagine the intimate setting each gig possesses, but it’s Araya’s ability to connect lyrically with listeners that transcends them elsewhere.
“I do believe in the songs that I put out, and I try my best to convey the vibe that I initially conceptualize a song with in my head. I just love the connection between an artist who puts their efforts and hard work into their sound, and they want to bestow them onto the world. Having that connection successfully land with their audience is so fulfilling.”
Second Nature is home to five tracks handcrafted by Araya that offer a window into entrancing vulnerability and passion. What struck me first in the beginning moments of this composition was the uniqueness of Araya’s voice. It boasted a warm tone, first and foremost. But that wasn’t all. My ears instantly picked up on subtle layers of the classic emo whine that we all know and secretly love. My brain likened Araya’s vocals to a stripped down, Billie Joe Armstrong sound.
The first track, titled “A Thousand Roads,” offers a crisp, warm welcome into the EP; something that says, ‘stay awhile.’
The following song really gets down to the nitty gritty and picks things up, while still keeping similar warm chord progressions. “Slip Away” features Brian Brancato who complements Rooftop Park’s vocals well. With this tune in particular, I appreciated the guitar solo that took hold around the 2:40 mark. It fruitfully showcased Rooftop Park’s ability to create a multi-layered composition that ebbs and flows without straying too far from the warm ambient status quo. The synthy sounds incorporated into the riff added deeper emotions as well.
“Ghost Towns” sits at number three and definitely sports more of a melancholy vibe. I was getting in my feels after the first couple of seconds, which I expected, given the song name. This track has a deeper well of vulnerability attached to it.
“I’m so hollow to the core. No one lives here anymore, and the silence of it still roars,” Araya sings before a playful vocal flip at the end of the word “roars” that teases a “zah” sound. This unexpected switch-up added a lighthearted nature to an otherwise emotional and slightly dark song, without taking away from the deeper meanings within it. Araya sings in a sort of whisper yell that provokes further emphasis on the immense emotions wrapped into, around and all over this track. Definitely a favorite on the EP.
Melancholy prevails in the fourth song, “Wish I Stayed,” accompanied by a hint of nostalgia. The theme felt very reminiscent of the past. The sweet harmonies added depth to these emotions, and the twinkly strumming that served as a fade out of the track felt like the cherry on top of it all.
To close out Second Nature, the fifth and final track, “Mountain Daughter,” offers a beautiful dance between the guitar and the soft spoken lyrics as the longest song on the EP. “She wanders through the catacombs…” is one of the lines that makes the listener feel transported to some far away place, straight out of a magical fantasy. The title really came into its own by the end, as each moving part of the tune came together in an emotional culmination of the theme. The final words being, “The night has gone, but the stars remain for you.”
Overall, this composition of Rooftop Park’s feels like coming home, or taking a drive through the scenic, country back roads where the fall leaves have just peaked. The EP feels in tune with nature and in tune with one’s self. There’s also something to be said about the beautiful relationship between man and guitar showcased in this body of work.
Listen to Rooftop Park’s Second Nature EP on all streaming platforms now.
