Aries is an artist of many talents: rapper, singer, producer, director, graphic designer, illustrator. Quickly proving himself as a visionary force to be reckoned with, the 22-year-old’s genre-fusing music, blending hip-hop and alternative influences, has gained him a legion of die-hard fans and a notable track record of sold out shows across North America and Europe.
Aries grew up in a musical household in Orange County, CA. He took influence from his Dad as a professional violinist, but his drive to pursue music seriously was sparked as much by his DVD collection as his musical upbringing. “As a kid I used to love watching Linkin Park’s live DVD’s. I was inspired by them to be on stage, so I worked backwards from there on how I could do it.” Aged 13, Aries started writing raps and teaching himself to produce beats, spending hours on end developing his artistry while his peers socialized. “I was good with all the cliques around school, I just didn’t feel the need to be part of them,” he recalls. “I stayed home and worked on music constantly, every single day.”
Taking an unconventional route to build a fan base, Aries put his self-taught production skills to use and launched a YouTube channel where he recreated the beats behind popular records in just two minutes. Aries would strategically select songs that were on the cusp of taking off, like Playboi Carti’s “Magnolia” and Lil Uzi Vert’s “XO Tour Llif3,” and soon his clips were racking up millions of views. However, this was just a means to an end. “The YouTube channel was really just a platform I wanted to build so I had an audience to share my own music with” Aries states. “Once my subscriber count started to rise, I knew I was onto something.”
Having built a community of over 200,000 music lovers on his channel, Aries had created the perfect environment to push his own music. Throughout 2018, he revealed a unique new sound, matching his melodic vocals with his rock and rap-fused production on singles “CAROUSEL”, “SAYONARA”, and “RACECAR”, and leading to tens of millions of streams in the process. The more he posted his own music videos on the channel, the more he turned the subscribers into loyal fans of him as an artist. It wasn’t long before the beat recreations became a thing of the past.
“The overriding feeling that I like to create in my music is nostalgia,” he says about his songwriting process. “But I still want my music to sound like nothing else.”
In 2019, Aries independently released his self-written and self-produced debut album WELCOME HOME, which has gone on to accumulate over 200 million worldwide streams. Drawing out rabid crowds on tour, Aries sold out all 21 of his debut shows across North America & Europe, solidifying his status as one of the most in-demand new artists on the live circuit.
Stretching his creative output beyond just music, Aries also designed WELCOME HOME’s album artwork, directed the music videos, and subsequently launched his WUNDERWORLD brand following the album’s release, featuring his own clothing designs and illustrations. “I really enjoy any chance I get to be creative. I love designing and illustrating as much as making music,” states Aries.
With a new album on the way, Aries is taking his musical prowess and all-encompassing creative vision to unparalleled territory as a must-watch artist on the rise.
