The first astrological sign in the zodiac, Aries, is a fire sign. Aries is also the moniker of a multi-hyphenate from Los Angeles who was raised in Orange County and whose real identity is unknown. Aries signed a bargain surrounded by flames that sparked something in him. “Over our Transatlantic video conversation, he tells me, “When you first get into music, when you really get into it, you sign a deal.” “I can’t seem to get away from the fact that everything I do outside of music is somehow tied to music. Not that I want to, but it’s as if I made a contract with the music devil, who says, “OK, now everything you do has to be for this music thing.”
This was something Aries took to heart, and he developed his own diverse musical persona as a result. In 2019, the 22-year-old launched his debut album WELCOME HOME on his own indie label WUNDERWORLD, and in late 2020, he released two songs “CONVERSATIONS” and “FOOL’S GOLD.” Aries’ skill set spans everything from singing and producing to directing and illustration, and he’s determined to keep his word by creating a complete creative world around his songs. When I ask him what he intends to accomplish, he responds simply: “WUNDERWORLD hegemony.”
On our video conference, Aries is sitting in a basic environment, slumped against a neutral sofa. His fish tanks linger on the edge of the frame, a piece of the sea transplanted into his home, a perennial source of inspiration and childhood comfort. Later in our conversation, he leans forward, his eyes bright. He takes a glance around the room, comparing its size to his childhood bedroom, where he first began to compose music. He recalls nights spent at the beach while reminiscing, and it’s clear how much has changed.
Aries’ passion with alternative music inspired him to write lyrics long before he considered himself a professional musician. When he reflects back on his middle school years, he stops, hints of fondness and humiliation erupting from nostalgia “Getting stoned and rapping freestyle with the homies.” He began experimenting with creating films inspired by the burgeoning YouTube movement when he was in elementary school. Aries would eventually benefit from this early interest as he navigated the digital realm, gaining notoriety and a loyal following through his YouTube channel.
“He admits, “I’ve tried a lot of different methods to get successful on YouTube.” He began with an episodic series before launching his how-to video, which consisted of a sequence of images that examined and replicated the production behind popular tracks on the edge of becoming mainstream. It didn’t take long for them to acquire traction, drawing millions of views and a following. It became the right environment for the young artist’s shift to releasing original music, since he was surrounded by music fans and creatives.
Aries is now determined to maintain the spirit of community that has characterized him since his YouTube days. He launched a similar competition for his new single “CONVERSATIONS” two years after the remix contest for his first album’s “SAYANORA,” with 10,000 individuals registering up and over 1,000 entries.
In his first ever editorial interview, we caught up with Aries to talk about his experience thus fargrowing up on the internet, YouTube’s influence, the WELCOME HOME tour, WUNDERWORLD, and moreas he prepares for future releases.
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BELIEVE IN ME WORLD TOUR KICKS OFF JANUARY 2022
12 NOVEMBER 2021, TORONTO, ONTARIO Aries, the genre-defying musician and versatile creator, has released his brand-new sophomore album, BELIEVE IN ME, WHO BELIEVES IN YOU, on WUNDERWORLD/Columbia Records today. The self-taught producer/singer/rapper has released a diverse collection of 12 tracks that showcase Aries’ smooth ability to merge hip-hop and alternative influences while maintaining his signature vocal tone. FOOL’S GOLD, CONVERSATIONS, DITTO, KIDS ON MOLLY, and ONE PUNCH are among the album’s prior singles, and it “serves as the losses and the lessons I’ve gone through and learned over the past two years,” according to Aries. The complete tracklist may be found below.
Rapper, singer, producer, director, graphic designer, and illustrator, Aries is a multi-talented artist. Aries sketched and created his own album art, and he retained a close circle of colleagues in the music-making process, having his hand in every song’s composition, producing, engineering, mixing, and mastering.
Along with the album, Aries and Mattias Russo-Larsson co-directed the official video for the album track RIDING, which you can watch below. On a camel ride across the desert, into a verdant rainforest, past a sudsy car wash, down to the LA river, and into a little village where a big Aries towering over, embark on a visual adventure with Aries.
Aries is throwing his first (ever) annual WUNDERWORLD FEST tonight at The Observatory in Santa Ana, CA to celebrate the album’s release. The festival will feature performances by tobi lou, brakence, Deb Never, SSGKobe, Tom The Mail Man, and Ramzoid, among others. Aries also recently announced the BELIEVE IN ME WORLD TOUR, which will take out in Stockholm in January and tour around Europe and North America until late March. See the schedule below for a complete list of dates.
BELIEVE IN ME, WHO BELIEVES IN YOU is Aries’ first full body of work since his self-released first album, WELCOME HOME, in 2019. WELCOME HOME was self-written, self-produced, and has amassed over 300 million listens to date. Aries first earned a name for himself on YouTube, where he used his self-taught production talents to recreate the beats of hit songs in under two minutes. As the popularity of these videos grew, Aries began posting his own music videos to the network, amassing over 455,000 members in the process. Following the release of WELCOME HOME, Aries’ legion of devoted fans demonstrated their devotion by selling out all 21 dates of his first-ever North American and European tour, establishing himself as one of the most in-demand new musicians on the live circuit.
BOUNTY HUNTER is the first game in the BOUNTY HUNTER series.
2. GOLD OF THE FOOL
RIDING is number three.
4. E.T.A.
5. ONE THOUSANDTHOUSANDTHOUSANDTHOUSANDTHOUSAND
6. SIMPLE
7. MOLLY’S KIDS
HOW RUDE ARE YOU?
DITTO 9.
DESPERADO (tenth)
OUTDATED NO. 11
12. WHEN THE LIGHTS ARE TURNED OFF
What is the genuine name of an Aries?
Aries was born Chester Cornelius III in Orange County, California, and grew up there. He began producing music when he was in his teens, and in 2016, he launched a YouTube channel where he posted videos for his own compositions as well as technical videos on music production and beatmaking. In one set of videos, Aries attempted to explain and recreate the production of popular songs by artists such as Future, Kendrick Lamar, and 21 Savage in under two minutes. Though he started with his 2016 song “Mr. Fantastic,” his sound evolved over the course of 2017, moving away from the more nostalgic, sample-heavy styles of his early work and toward more trap- and mumble rap-influenced compositions. His somber one-off songs “Deadman Wunderland” and “Less Than Friends” followed his dark 2017 single “Upside Down.”
By 2018, Aries’ platform had grown dramatically, with over 300,000 people watching his production videos and listening to his original songs. Early that year, he released the singles “Carousel” and “Sayonara,” and in 2019, he released Welcome Home, a collection of nine of his best songs. He released the songs “Fools Gold” and “Conversations,” which were both featured on his sophomore album, in 2020. Believe in Me, Who Believes in You was released in November 2021, and it finds Aries developing on his debut’s cross-pollinated pop and postmodern hip-hop psychedelia.
Who is a well-known Aries?
Aries is a sign of the zodiac that is known for being brave and passionate. Aries is represented by Lady Gaga, Kourtney Kardashian, Paul Rudd, and Chance the Rapper.
Is Aries an artistic sign?
Aries can be found in both the visual and literary arts, usually in positions of authority. They are drawn to structure and shape, and when they are working on a creative endeavor, they give it their all.
What age group does Aries belong to?
Many astrologers believe that ages based on the vernal point travelling through the randomly sized zodiacal constellations or the sidereal zodiac are too unstable, and instead round all astrological eras to the nearest 2000 years. The years are usually nicely matched in this method, so that the Aries age is found from 2000 BC to AD 1, the Pisces age is discovered from AD 1 to AD 2000, the Aquarian Age is found from AD 2000 to AD 4000, and so on. The precession of the equinoxes is incompatible with this method. According to the precession of the equinoxes, a one-degree change occurs every 72 years, therefore a 30-degree shift will take 2160 years to complete.