‘Beyond’ What You Expect: The Genre-Breaking Duo of April + VISTA

For more than a decade, April + VISTA have carved their own lane, melding genreless soundscapes, emotional storytelling and meticulous hands‑on production. In conversation with Newsweek, the duo traced their origin story, their creative evolution and the emotional depth behind their work.

What started as two musicians connected by mutual friends blossomed into a musical journey neither of them ever expected. April + VISTA is the brainchild of vocalist and string player April George and producer/composer Matthew “VISTA” Thompson, who connected fresh out of college in the 2010s.

An Origin Story Rooted in Serendipity 

April + VISTA officially formed in 2014, but their paths nearly ran parallel for years without crossing. As VISTA recounted, the two “went to the same college at Hampton University, but we didn’t know each other in school. We just had the same mutuals.” 

Their eventual meeting hinged on a single SoundCloud message just after graduation. April had discovered VISTA’s beats through a mutual friend and suggested they meet. They connected at a Busboys and Poets in Washington, D.C., where they immediately bonded over shared influences—from Portishead to Radiohead and everything in between. 

“We realized we liked the same musicians and said, ‘We need to make an album right now,’” Thompson recalled. “And totally went all in.” 

Their first EP, Lanterns, dropped in 2015, launching what would become a musically rich and deeply collaborative journey. They followed that project with their 2018 breakout EP, You Are Here, which launched the duo to new heights and landed them a performance on the prestigious COLORS series in Berlin, where they performed one of their earliest hits, FOMO.  

From Trip‑Hop Roots to Genre‑Bending Soundscapes 

Just as their inspirations helped shape their friendship, their shared references create a tapestry of artists that explains the duo’s malleability—their list of shared artists runs deep, rattling off names from Flying Lotus to Massive Attack. George pointed out how “those textures and those sounds really spoke to the both of us,” a foundation that helped them connect early on. 

Their music has been described as genre‑bending, but according to Thompson, “whenever we’re making music, we don’t really think about the genre. We’re just thinking about our favorite aspects of our favorite music.” 

This intuitive process has become a hallmark of their sound, melding electronic, classical, hip‑hop and ambient influences into something distinctly their own. 

Record Collectors at Heart 

As for the passion that brought them together, the two still regularly hunt for records. Crate‑digging is a shared obsession for the duo, who often hit local record shops when on tour. For April + VISTA, collecting vinyl records isn’t solely a hobby but another foundational piece of the group’s musical identity.  

Thompson praised Flying Lotus’s Cosmogramma as not only a musical masterpiece but also the catalyst for their collaboration. “This is the album that we connected on,” he reflected.  

One of their standout pickups was a Ludacris single, Saturday (Ooh! Ooh!), released in 2001. “One of the hardest beats,” George noted. “Luda raps his ass off across three verses,” VISTA added, laughing, “People don’t do three verses anymore.” 

Their inspirations, they joked, can be summed up: “We’re 50% A Moon Shaped Pool, 50% Ludacris Saturday,” George smirked.  

A Creative Process Built on Dual Strengths 

Both artists bring different musical languages to the table. George’s classical training contrasts with Thompson’s background as a beat-maker and sampler. Rather than clash, those differences have become their greatest advantage. 

Thompson shared, “I would show up with my beats, April would hear violin … and as she was writing, I’d be learning music theory from April.” 

Likewise, George credits Thompson for expanding her sonic tool kit. “He showed me what that world [of gear and electronic production] could do for music. It opened up my world,” she said.  

Their sessions often begin with sketches—melodic fragments, textures or lyrical ideas—slowly shaped into full compositions. Strings consistently appear as the finishing touch. “They’re always the icing on the cake,” April explained. 

Writing Through Emotion—And Evolving Beyond It 

Much of April + VISTA’s lyrical power comes from raw, deeply emotional writing. George opened up about what that process has meant and how it has evolved. Last year’s Love Unspent paid tribute to a deceased friend and involved the pair working through their grief and laying their soul bare on record, a feat that George admits can be taxing.  

“I relied very much on strong feelings to carry me through creatively. Sometimes that can be very painful,” George stated.  

She’s currently learning to write with more distance by tapping into emotion without being consumed by it. 

April + VISTA’s latest single, Grotto, serves as the group’s first single of 2026 and their deeper commitment to sonic experimentation. Grotto dives into themes of self-confidence and self-acceptance as George’s ethereal vocals muse about having “another chance to find the girl [she] left.” 

“I want to talk about grief. I want to talk about friendships. I want to talk about other ways that we access love in our lives that isn’t just romantic love,” George says. “I just want people to think a little beyond what they expect from the music.”

Listen to Grotto now.