Biography

I am 17 years old. My family and I are from the small town of Clarksville, Iowa. My parents noticed at a young age that I seemed to have good rhythm and was often tapping on things and beatboxing. This led them to have me start dance class at almost four years old.

I began playing the drums around the age of five.  My dad taught me the basics from his knowledge of playing drums in school. This was the beginning of my love of Rock N' Roll, and Country music which is reflected in my music tastes still today. 

Some of my favorite bands include: Van Halen, Dream Theater, Rammstein, Metallica, Kiss, AC/DC, Vocal Trash, Mannheim Steamroller, Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Luke Bryan, and Brad Paisley. 

Around the age of nine, my mom wondered if I was ready to take drum lessons and began looking for a teacher.  I had an opportunity for lessons but after checking into it, my parents decided that it was not the right fit at the time.

A few years passed and my mom still wanted me to pursue a musical outlet. She wondered if piano would be beneficial and began to search for a teacher. On October 4th, 2016, I had my first piano lesson.

I was nervous to start but as I got into piano over the first few weeks, I realized I really liked it. This was the beginning of my love for piano.

Five weeks into taking piano lessons, my dad had already found sheet music of songs from some of my favorite bands. This showed me that piano was used in all genres of music which peaked my interest in piano even more. I am not sure what my teacher thought, but I think it might have been something like, "Slow down, kid!" 

Unfortunately, my time with my first teacher was short lived. I had only been taking lessons with her for about four months, when she told us that she would be relocating. She moved at the end of January 2017.  I was heartbroken because she was like a grandma.

My parents hoped to continue my lessons.  Unfortunately, other teachers in the area were not taking new students or had a waiting list. 

In March of 2017, we had an opportunity to meet with a new piano teacher in hopes of becoming one of her students.  Thankfully, it worked out to begin lessons with her. 

Since that time, I have continued to learn and grow as a musician.  I am very thankful for the opportunities that have come along the way.  

In the summer of 2017, I started writing riffs and melodies.  I began writing full songs in September of that year. 

At the beginning of 2018, my dad started to post videos of me playing songs to Facebook.  This later turned into the page "James Aissen, Pianist".

I began recording songs for my first album, "The First", in the summer of 2018.  I released it in January of 2019. 

In March of 2019, I decided to make more of my work available to view on YouTube.

Throughout the summer and early fall of 2019, I recorded songs for my second album, "Winter Dreams".  This is my first Christmas album.  

"Lighter Than Air" was recorded, edited and mastered throughout 2020 and early 2021. The album consists of fourteen instrumental songs with a total listening time of just over one hour. "Lighter Than Air" is my third album.

"The Smaller Picture" is my fourth studio album released on August 21st, 2023. The album features 12 songs with a total run-time of 1 hour and 10 minutes.
I spent the first half of 2023 writing, recording, and mastering the album, as well as making the artwork.