'A long time coming': UNC senior and artist DJ Pearl releases first extended play

A well-rolled joint, an orb found in an oyster and the name of UNC senior Aaron Scott's great-grandmother — all three serve as the inspiration behind his artist name, DJ Pearl.

On March 29, Scott released his first extended play, titled “Minimal Effort.” 

Scott, who is originally from Washington, D.C., said he began experimenting with DJ software in his sophomore year of high school. In his first year at UNC, he started booking live gigs as DJ Pearl.

He said there's an up-and-coming electronic music scene in D.C. with spaces he felt were lacking in Chapel Hill. 

“I just had to kind of curate them myself,” he said. 

“Minimal Effort” was fueled by Scott's creative vision. But UNC senior Sam Brenner, professionally known as the artist Esscapone, worked alongside him as the album’s executive producer.

Scott and Brenner met in their first year of college and started working on music together in their junior year. Neither study music — Scott is pursuing a degree in public policy and Brenner in psychology.

Brenner said he learned about production through a beat making class with UNC professor Maya Shipman, also known as producer Suzi Analogue. 

Both Scott and Brenner wanted to make music that was different, that emphasized how creativity and individuality can act as a stabilizing force during difficult times. Scott said that creating music was a release in a way, as his art was not tethered to stressors like work or current geopolitical events.  

“Creatively, I was just unbound,” he said. 

With Shipman's guidance, Scott and Brenner were able to create the album utilizing the Beat Lab, a community space located in Hill Hall where students have access to various music production equipment. 

Out of around a dozen songs, Scott and Brenner ended up choosing four that they tweaked to be cohesive. The "hard, grimy techno" sound is pretty prevalent in the first three tracks, Brenner said, while the fourth and final track, "Pavé," is “slightly euphoric” and leans into the house genre. 

“We kind of just kind of had a communal but abstract understanding of where we wanted, how we want each song to function,” Scott said. 

The physical setting of D.C. also inspired the release. Scott said the L’Enfant Plaza, a metro station that connects to the historically African American part of D.C. to the main city, was a key influence for the track "L’enfant Méchant."

Ryan Mills, a UNC alumnus and close friend of Scott, said Scott is someone who makes the most of opportunities presented to him.

“I think it's sort of been a long time coming,” Mills said about Scott’s recent release. “Aaron's always been a very creative person as long as I’ve known him.” 

Mills said Scott is someone who strikes a good balance between enjoying and taking his work seriously, saying it’s been cool to see his friend’s work recognized by random strangers.

For Scott and Brenner, empathy lies at the core of their music production. This is something not only important to them, but to their friends as well.

“Something we all remind ourselves with constantly is maintaining and being empathetic, and from there, being open to different sounds and experiences and perspectives on other things,” Mills said. “Because your music is not going to get better if you don't do that.”

Scott plans to continue performing and releasing music when he moves back to D.C. after his graduation.

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