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Musica Magazine April 2025 Featuring Arden Snow

The name got me — ARDEN SNOW, very mysterious — then the track that had been put forward by the RADIOSPARX music supervisors as a potential HOT NEW ARTIST dropped into my inbox.

Called “PRELUDE”, I listened in and was hooked, intrigued, inspired. Then came the announcement that our music supervisors had voted ARDEN SNOW as the HOT NEW ARTIST for the week beginning October 30, 2023, and I knew I had to find out who this ultra-talented musician was.

I also knew I had to get up-close-and-personal with ARDEN SNOW and dig deep to find out what he’s all about. His music is other-worldly, awesomely beautiful and obviously comes from the mind of a man deeply committed to sounds. He sounded like my kind of guy.

So, I found him and here we are — me snuggling down, cosy and warm against the bitter UK weather, with my headphones on, chatting to ARDEN SNOW, who’s all the way over in Colorado, USA. I’m thrilled.

While ARDEN SNOW gets comfy, check out the track that won him our HOT NEW ARTIST award — “PRELUDE”, while you read on about our HOT NEW COMPOSER.

“PRELUDE” by ARDEN SNOW is an ominous orchestral soundtrack that is captivating from the very first note. Here’s the description of the track, below:-

“PRELUDE exudes a brooding and suspenseful aura, culminating in an exhilarating climax. It serves as an exceptional choice for a wide spectrum of creative endeavors, including dramatic narratives, suspenseful tales, & chilling horror stories.”

Listen to it here:

And have a read of ARDEN SNOW’s impressive biography, right here.

“Arden Snow, also known as Shaun Gaffney, is an independent musician originally from NJ and now residing in Colorado. His music is heavily influenced by Nine Inch Nails. Arden’s tracks are making waves on Broadjam, with “Prelude” ranking #1 in Male, Colorado, New Age, and New Alternative categories, and “Violet Dreams” securing the #2 spot in Colorado for New Age Alternative, and #9 in the New Age category. If you seek distinct and inventive piano-centric music, you’ve found the perfect destination.”

RADIOSPARX: Welcome ARDEN SNOW — we’ll call you Shaun here. It’s so lovely to meet you. Congratulations on being our HOT NEW ARTIST last week. We adored your track “PRELUDE”, so dramatic and gripping. We’ll link to your catalog on RADIOSPARX here, so our readers can check out more of your music. First up though, tell us about your day composing; from waking up to going to sleep. How does your composing day pan out?

SHAUN G: Thanks RadioSparx, it’s great to be here, and yeah — thanks for the Award — that was great. So my composing day can be quite different from most musicians (or perhaps a lot of musicians work this way). I’ve noticed that when I sit down with a distinct plan to write, the song quality for the most part turns out subpar.

When I have written what I consider to be my best work (Prelude, Broken Bones, Calypso, Succubus, etc.) the song ideas did not come at a time distinctly planned for songwriting, but more out of an inclination of “I need to play tonight” lurking in the back of mind. So, whenever that little voice in the back of my head is telling me this, I make sure to either stop what I am doing if I am at home or stop what I am doing and get home so I can play.

Now in place of having that set schedule to compose I use that time for other things like practicing technique on the piano or working on further developing my knowledge in mixing/mastering and so forth.

RADIOSPARX: That’s a great use of time — love it — and I love the way you hook into being creative when that voice tells you to. Tell us so we can put you into geographic context — where do you live? What city? What country?

SHAUN G: While I grew up in Mullica Hill, New Jersey, I currently live in Colorado Springs, Colorado in the United States.

RADIOSPARX: That sounds lovely — mountain views and loads of inspiration. What technology and software do you use?

SHAUN G: The tech and software I use are listed below:

- Currently an iPad Pro but just upgraded to a MacBook Pro- Logic Pro (for recording and mixing)- Lurssen Mastering Studio (mastering)

RADIOSPARX: Nice — love your kit. How do you get inspired to write music, and how does your song writing develop to the finished product?

SHAUN G: Good question, I use my life experiences as inspiration when it comes to writing my music. I feel you can really tell kind of where I am in my life based on my music. I had to really fail at life before something clicked in my brain.

When I lived in NJ, I played music, but I think I was probably a terrible songwriter in all honesty, and I think the reason for that was because I really didn’t have any experiences other than happiness and love and it took me ultimately losing that and failing repeatedly over and over to really get to the level that I am at today.

Typically, I start with the music first. Once I have the instrumental, I then work on the lyrics and vocals essentially completing the song. I also try to keep a strict rule with myself that when my song is finished it’s FINISHED. Move on…

RADIOSPARX: Love your honesty Shaun and that you can admit to that. It must have been hard for you, but all that inspires creativity and forces us forward. What’s your favorite musical style/genre?

SHAUN G: Thanks — I love that question. I don’t know if I necessarily have a “favorite” genre so to speak. If you look at my music library, I have everything from Grunge, Modern Indie to Classic Rock, Hip Hop and Old School Blues and Jazz like Willie Dixon and Billie Holliday.

But if I ultimately had to pick my “go-to” music, it would be bands like Nine Inch Nails (probably my biggest influence), Satellite Party, and Jane’s Addiction. I would say two of my favorite songs recently have been “I’m Afraid of Americans” by David Bowie and “We Are the Hearts” by EXGF (who I cannot find any other songs by.) Oh, and I have been really digging Jessie Reyes’s music for sure too.

RADIOSPARX: All fantastic music acts — awesome. Tell us about your life, in music, growing up, your influences, your loves and any people who impacted you greatly.

SHAUN G: So, the funny thing is I was always an athlete first and foremost growing up. No one really in my family was musical and it was always sports.

Another funny thing is that I had first started with playing guitar, but the guitar wasn’t for me. It was given to my sister one year for Christmas but after seeing it just sitting there and collecting dust only added fuel to the fire for me to play with it.

She would flip out, so I started playing out of spite to piss her off but after a while our dad finally said “it’s not like you play the thing just let him play it.” So, I started playing guitar when I was around 11.

When I was 18–19 I started playing bass in my first “official” band, Disco Machine, which my friend Michael Roberts and myself started. We had a very unique sound but after a while everything kind of just ran its course and fizzled. I moved out to Colorado and he started his own project called Michael & The Pentecost.

I lost my mother at 14 to a heroin overdose which you would think would have made me hardcore “anti-drug” but in reality, it took me a long time to admit that I am just like her.

We were both considered black sheep in the family after which I began to develop a mindset of “if that’s what they think of me then I’ll be that.”

When I moved to Colorado I struggled immensely. I had lost my girlfriend of 8 years which sent me into a downward spiral. I had lost my job, my home and was now more focused on getting high to take my mind off all of the negativity that I had built and was responsible for.

But it wasn’t all darkness. Before I had lost everything, I had started to play piano and realized that the piano was the instrument I was meant to play. I started playing that piano at 29 so I have been playing for 8 years now.

But three of those years were very sporadic. When I was homeless there was an antique shop in downtown Colorado Springs next to the Paul Mitchell Academy that had a piano that they would leave outside. I came across it one night and started playing only to realize in terror that I was on camera and would probably get in trouble but the next day I came back and there was a note on the piano thanking me for cleaning it and taking care of when done playing after which it said that as long as it was not sold I was more than welcome to come and play it.

So, every night guerilla style I would skateboard up to the store at around 11 at night and play it until 7 in the morning. That way it was clean, and I was gone by the time the store opened at 8. I did this for about 6 months until it was eventually sold. After I was able to get my own piano and I started playing it at an obsessive pace around 10–12 hours a day (I still do on many days).

After an overdose and having to sit in jail for many months which is a whole other story, something eventually just clicked and in the last three years I have been writing songs at a non-stop pace. My family still looks at me as odd because again there is no one who is musical in my family but me.

So now I wear the ‘black sheep’ mantle with pride. I would say the biggest influences in my life have been my father and my sister (we don’t hate each other anymore!). My father instilled a work ethic in me which I still try to adhere to and my sister really helped me to try and look at every angle to a problem, not just my own.

Ultimately, I feel my lifetime of failures has finally started to turn into successes but that would not have happened if I had not taken all those risks and had failed to begin with.

RADIOSPARX: Shaun, thank you so much for your profound honesty, and for the loss of your mum. It sounds like you could be a real mentor to loads of people and help inspire them to get back on the right track, like you have done. I’m so grateful to you for your honest and your lovely music. Tell me now how you approach the business side of your composing life.

SHAUN G: Thanks — I appreciate your kind words. In answer your question, oh man this is a tricky one. In today’s market, trying to sort through what is actual and what is bullshit — that’s a whole other thing. There are too many people and systems in place which I feel are designed to exploit up-and- coming artists.

And because so many musicians want to get their music heard but are unsure of how to approach that, often-times they are signing the first agreement or contract, and/or uploading their music everywhere. I think this approach diminishes music’s core value.

I try to approach the business side of my music by thinking that obviously any company or organization that wants to work with you, isn’t doing it for free. There has to be an incentive for them to want to work with you. Plus, I am not greedy. I have no problem sharing in the rewards of my music to any person or company that brings something to the table.

What I do have a problem with is people and companies making promises that they know they cannot keep or have no intention of keeping. I am devoting all of my time and effort as a musician as are most musicians and the last thing we need is to continually feel like we are being exploited.

RADIOSPARX: Absolutely. Excellent. I know you speak for all musicians and you speak for us too, at RadioSparx. You are savvy, and again, it’s good you say all these things on the record, so other musicians know they are not alone. Can you tell me that musical equipment you use and give our readers their brand names? Thanks.

SHAUN G: The equipment I use is listed below:

• Yamaha Clavinova Digital Piano

• Fender Jazzmaster Guitar

• Squier Jazz Bass

• Tascam US-4X4HR 4-Channel USB Interface

• Headrush Looper Board

• Rode NTK Microphone

RADIOSPARX: Fab — all great kit. What would you advise a young person getting started in the music industry? How can they be different yet authentic in an overcrowded yet amazing industry?

SHAUN G: Good question. Let’s see. The first thing I would advise to an aspiring musician is do NOT be afraid to fail. Take chances. Take Risks. If you fail, learn from your mistakes and pick yourself back up and try again. I think one of the best quotes I ever heard was from Michael Jordan. He said so simply, “I succeed because I fail”.

Everyone knows him as the six-time NBA champ and all-time best basketball player, but he failed for 8–9 years getting his ass kicked before he finally succeeded in winning a championship.

I feel that so many people — myself included — would have given up but he kept finding things to motivate him to keep him locked into that one mindset. Winning a championship. That was his success.

Now as far as the second part, being different yet authentic, that is a tough one. So many reviewers and musicians tell me what an original sound I have and how it is instantly recognizable but I feel like I didn’t set out with a mindset of being different.

I just wanted to be me. And again, it took me failing, one at trying to find a singer which eventually ended with me saying “eff it I’ll do it myself” and then failing at trying to sing, which is still a work in progress by the way.

But if I had to think of anything I would say it would be to write what ultimately makes you happy. Are you able to listen to your music while being your worst critic? There will always be people who do not like your music. That is just the subjective nature of the game. But you also should not try to please everyone.

It’s an impossible task that will end with you wanting to bash your head against the wall. Instead, find what makes you unique and develop that.

And do not be afraid to say no. So many people will tell you “that sounds good but do this” or “I like this but you should do that’ ‘. I still get a lot of these to which I just go OK and go right back to doing my thing. I wasn’t asking what you think you would do. I was seeing what you thought of MY music.

Create music for yourself first and foremost because you are the one that has to live with the consequences of your choices and decisions, not the people trying to dictate what they think to you. Lastly at the same time, try to also keep an open mind. I have had some great suggestions that have come my way that if I rejected every one of them, I would not have the sound I do today.

RADIOSPARX: Such lovely advice Shaun — love it. Are you on the side of AI in life and music? Do you think AI is something musicians should embrace to aid their composition of their music?

SHAUN G: Good question. As far the issue with AI goes, I would say yes and no to both parts. While I think it can be a great way to enhance and further develop your music, AI should be used as a tool not a crutch. I think musicians who are already solidified in their instruments can and will make great use of AI while I think AI can be dangerous grounds for a developing musician.

If you start to rely on it, then it is no longer a tool at that point. Where I look at where AI can help is in the things that I want to further my knowledge in or in helping automate the things that I absolutely hate doing such as social media posts and all the other things that take time away from me doing what I love which is playing music but are still very important in doing if you want to be a successful musician.

So rather than looking at AI from the perspective of ‘am I for it or against it’we should be looking at the person who is utilizing it and what their motivations are.

And actually, my friend Jason Stark of Stark Raving Art has told me “Use AI for EVERYTHING except your art to give you the time to fully focus on your art.”

RADIOSPARX: Wonderful answer Shaun, thanks. Lastly what’s the story behind you intriguing AudioSparx catalog graphic? There must be a story there. Tell me about your stage name too — ARDEN SNOW — that’s so unique.

SHAUN G: Hahaha interesting question. So, the answer to this question kind of goes back to the previous question. My graphic is the album artwork to my upcoming album, “Intervention”, which was released on June 28th, 2024.

How the artwork came to be was through the use of AI and a very simple prompt — “Arden Snow’s Intervention.” And it was the first image that came to be which was slightly different but to which my good friend, Jason Stark of Stark Raving Art added the finishing touches and did the lettering.

I knew immediately upon seeing it, that this was the right image as I thought the image reflected exactly what the album is about.

My failures and just needing a minute to stop the clock and just sit back and reflect on the choices I have made that brought me here today.

It shows the struggle, the exhaustion, and the fear while also conveying a wishful hope and thought of acceptance, which regardless of what anyone says is something we all desire. Acceptance. Even accepting in ourselves who we are as a person.

And lastly, I felt the image did a great job conveying that the struggle is real. I’m exhausted at this point and ready for the scales to start tipping the other way.

Now my stage name has an interesting story. I originally was using ANEWA which I had chosen after spinning a Ouija board and with my eyes closed putting my finger down and seeing the letter I was on.

ANEWA was what I came up with and I liked it, however, when I released my first EP, “Muted Tones”, the label that released it told me that I needed to change my name as it was already taken by someone in China (like really???????)

So, while I was on the phone with my sister, we were discussing what I should use and were both clueless as to what to use. She was playing with this app that acted as an amalgamation of the words you put into it and she decided to put in our mother’s maiden name and the name of what was her favorite flower after which the app spat out Arden Snow.

We both immediately loved the name. I felt it was perfect as not only did the name have a true meaning to myself because of my mum, it sounded fantastic. And so then, we searched to make sure that no one had that name anywhere online in the world, and we found it was not taken. Hence Arden Snow was born.

RADIOSPARX: What a lovely story Shaun. And you’ve been such a ‘truth speaker’ and so honest, which is so wonderful. Again, congratulations on being our HOT NEW ARTIST. We’re totally fascinated with what you come up with next, so please keep in touch with me, so I can let the world know too. We love our artists, and we’re always on their side. That’s RADIOSPARX for you.

SHAUN G: Thank you so much for enjoying and having an appreciation for my music. I think the best thing a musician can hear is that their music is not only relatable to the listener but speaks to them on an emotional level. I hope you check out my upcoming album, “Intervention” which will be released November 24th, 2023.

Where I feel like I rushed my first album, “Succubus”, I feel that “Intervention” has the potential to be a really great album as it deals with so many issues many people are continually facing — loss, despair, and addiction, but also happiness, joy, and aspirations. Thank you for the questions as it was an honor to be recognized.

RADIOSPARX: My pleasure Shaun, our pleasure as a team, and just so our readers know, you’ve also got a new track out today called “Violet Dreams” which our readers can check out here. Keep writing your beautiful music.

Check out ARDEN SNOW online here.