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WHAT IS PULSE?

Pulse Music Journal is Saskatchewan’s hub for music indulgers. We ‘eat/sleep/breathe’ the music and entertainment industry – plug into our outlet while we highlight new music, recap live performances, interview the biggest names, connect with local legends, and the newest initiatives surrounding our local music scene. We are honoured to be a leading cultural staple in the Saskatchewan music and entertainment scene.

WE SUPPORT SASKATCHEWAN’S ENTERTAINMENT & MUSIC SCENE

Whether it’s reaching out to a newly released project, musician or creating a spotlight for local talent to be heard on any of our stages, as well as opportunities to be heard opening for larger acts on a full-venue stage. We look forward to assist and launch newest concepts that strongly support the local music in this province. The local music scene is super important to us – we are a small province, but we have big dreams. Let’s grow and support each other – putting Saskatchewan on the map for premium music and entertainment experience.

PUTTING ARIEL FIRST

Ariel’s long illustrious career in music has brought her many performance opportunities, collaborations, and awareness of her identity as a creative. Towards the tail end of grad school, the classically trained vocalist and pianist put forth a goal to work towards her debut release when she finished her schooling. A bit of serendipity and her home studio during lock down put fire in her eyes. Ariel’s goal of a 4-track EP quickly turned into a 8-track album with all the bells and whistles. Leading into the album release, Ariel released her debut single “First”. First is bossy. Celebrating positive reinforcement while making you want to keep your volume up with your window down. The debut album Libra is releasing on July 9th. The album focuses on themes balance, and is sonically balanced from front to back. Push play, turn the volume up, and keep your eyes on where Ariel is going to take you with this project.

Ariel connected with us to chat about her upbringing into music, her mothers music collection, and what influences her sound. We learn about the collaborations and connections that played important roles in her highly anticipated debut album ‘Libra’. We chat about why the upbeat first single “First” was the first single released and the last song on her track-list. Ariel chats about her long-time supporters, friend circle, and Devon Hanofski. We learn about the name of the album, her relationship with her astrological chart, and the second voice on the album. Ariel’s debut album ‘Libra’ is set to release Friday July 9th 2021 take time to listen, learn, and so much more.

A SOULFUL SONGSTRESS AND ABUNDANTLY CREATIVE POWERHOUSE.

WHAT IS YOUR UPBRINGING IN THIS WORLD? WHEN DID YOU GET INTO MUSIC? WHAT INFLUENCES HELPED SHAPE YOUR SOUND?.

ARIEL: Thank you so much! Music has always been a form of escape and happy space for me. I was that kid that wanted to stay inside and learn the lyrics to the new Mariah Carey or Brandy record instead of going outside to play. Music was a big part of my upbringing – my mom had a pretty eclectic music collection from The Doors to Michael Jackson to Erik Satie to Biggie. So, I definitely inherited my love of music from her and was influenced by the stuff she played around the house initially and then later by other artists. I would say Beyoncé, Erykah Badu, and Amy Winehouse are my biggest vocal influences. I’m also a big fan of Stevie Wonder, Prince, Burt Bacharach and Carole King’s songwriting and Q-Tip and Dilla’s production. I started singing when I was a kid and playing around with songwriting shortly after.

YOU HAVE WORKED ALONGSIDE MANY TALENTED INDIVIDUALS.

YOUR WORK IS TIMELESS AND COMPLIMENTARY TO MANY OTHER CREATIVES. YOU HAVE WORKED ALONGSIDE KYRE (LA), MOSEL (GRAND RAPIDS), QUELLE CHRIS (DETROIT), AND SASKATOON’S VERY OWN CHARLY HUSTLE. WHAT IS YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH COLLABORATING?

ARIEL: Thank you! I love collaborating with other artists. Maybe it’s the Libra in me, haha. Collaboration elevates who I am as an artist. I learn so much from my peers during the process. For example, MosEL and Quelle Chris make so much music at such a high caliber which taught me to drop some of my perfectionist tendencies and just let the creativity flow from the initial to the final stages of a song. A lot of the stuff I did on MosEL’s project “RAY: Rise Above Yourself” was written and recorded in a matter of like, two nights. Once I stopped trying to make everything ‘perfect’, I really got in the zone. It was amazing. My good friend and collaborator Charly Hustle has such a light and breezy approach to creating while still being incredibly technical. I try to carry that energy with me in my songwriting and performance style. Kyre has a very holistic way of conceptualizing a project. He really considers how all of the visual, musical and lyrical elements of the music should come together in a way that is reminiscent of some of the greats. I learned a lot from him while working together on Libra even though we’ve never met in person! Moving forward, I plan to keep collaboration at the centre of my creative work. I’m so excited to keep working with my favourite artists (ahem… Tyler… Pharrell… if you’re listening :P).

“I LEARNED EARLY ON THAT I SHOULDN’T RUSH THE PROCESS”

– ARIEL

Click image to listen to “First”

“FIRST” DEBUTED ON JUNE 18TH 2021.

“FIRST” WAS THE FIRST RELEASE OFF THE DEBUT ALBUM ‘LIBRA’, WHICH WAS ACCOMPANIED BY A FULL LENGTH MUSIC VIDEO. “FIRST” IS BOSSY, CONFIDENT AND CELEBRATES POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT ON YOURSELF. WHAT MADE YOU DECIDE TO RELEASE “FIRST” AS YOUR DEBUT SINGLE? DID YOU PURPOSELY PLACE THIS UPBEAT SUMMER JAM AS YOUR LAST TRACK OF THE ALBUM? TELL US ABOUT “FIRST”.

ARIEL: Libra is all about self-discovery and “First” is the conclusion of that journey which is why it’s the last track. I thought it would be cool for people to experience the end of the album’s story before hearing the beginning and climax. I liked the idea of dropping this assertive braggadocious single and then having people understand what’s actually going on underneath the surface after listening to the album. I think a lot of the time we assume confident people are just naturally that way. That’s a myth. It takes work and I’m still working on my own self-love and acceptance. Plus, “First” just felt like the right choice for the debut single and for summer sonically speaking.

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Born From Small Batch – 5% alcohol

THE DEBUT ALBUM IS ALWAYS THE MOST EXCITING AND NERVE-RACKING.

YOU HAVE A STRONG SUPPORT SYSTEM IN YOUR CORNER. CONSISTING OF LONGTIME SUPPORTERS, FRIENDS, AND FAMILY. YOU WROTE AND RECORDED THE EIGHT-TRACK ALBUM IN YOUR HOME. THE ALBUM WAS THEN PRODUCED BY KYREKYREKYRE IN LOS ANGELES. ANTHONY KALABRETTA TOOK ON THE MIX AND MASTERING IN TORONTO. DEVON HANOFSKI WAS FLUENT WITH FACILITATING YOUR PROMO GOODS, PHOTOS AND MUSIC VIDEOS. HOW DID YOU END UP WITH THIS AMAZING TEAM? HOW DOES IT FEEL TO HAVE SUCH A STRONG SUPPORT SYSTEM AND TEAM IN YOUR CORNER?

ARIEL: I love my team so much! I met Kyre at the beginning of the pandemic on an Orion Sun Instagram live stream and we started making the album shortly thereafter. With Anthony, my good friend Cam introduced us (thx Cam!!). Devon is an incredibly talented visual artist and creative person in general. It also doesn’t hurt that we’re so in sync when it comes to the visual components of my music. I’m blessed and couldn’t have done it without these people. It feels good to have such a creative and talented support system, too. My mom and friends are always there for me to lend an ear or opinion. I played all the different iterations of Libra for them along the way. They were my sounding board for sure.

Click image to listen to ‘Libra’, releasing July 9th 2021

“THE ALBUM AS A WHOLE EXPLORES THE PURSUIT OF BALANCING…”

– ARIEL

THE ALBUM ‘LIBRA’ RELEASES ON JULY 9TH 2021.

THE EIGHT-TRACK ALBUM CAREFULLY TRAILS LISTENERS THROUGH WELL-WORDED BLENDS OF 90s INSPIRED R&B, SOUL AND POP. THE PRODUCTION PAIRS WELL WITH YOUR SWEET AND SOULFUL VOCALS. HOW ARE YOU FEELING HAVING YOUR ALBUM OUT FINALLY? WHAT MADE YOU DECIDE ON YOUR TITLE? WHAT IS YOUR SUN, MOON, AND ASCENDANT SIGNS? WILL THIS BE A THREE PART ALBUM?!?

ARIEL: Damn, that’s a good idea. I think I’ll jot it down if that’s cool with you. I feel very excited about Libra coming out. I’m a Libra sun, Libra moon and Pisces rising. Back when I was listening to the album and trying to come up with a name, I landed on Libra because I realized the songs had a very Libra vibe to them. Without getting too astrology nerd here, Libra is represented by the scales in astrology and the album as a whole explores the pursuit of balancing between themes of isolation/togetherness, selfishness/selflessness, and codependence/autonomy. Libras have a tendency to prioritize their relationships and other peoples’ needs above their own which I can identify with. I set up the tracklist to reflect my own personal balancing act. The first half of the project focuses on relationships and understanding others, while the second half explores self-love and acceptance. The cherry on top is that I had just gotten my birth chart read right as I was working on Libra so I had the perfect voice-over material for the album’s interludes which really brought the astrology theme together. If anyone is looking for a birth chart reading, hit up Ashley (@miss_dulce_astro). She’s the other voice on Libra and an amazing astrologer.

YOU UTILIZED YOUR TIME AT HOME TO FOCUS ON YOUR CRAFT.

WHAT ABOUT TIMING FELT RIGHT TO YOU? NOW THAT YOUR ALBUM IS RELEASING TO THE WORLD AND THE WORLD IS RETURNING TO THE NEW NEW VERSION OF ITSELF – WHAT DO YOU HAVE PLANNED FOR THE REST OF 2021?

ARIEL: I started working on Libra while I was finishing my degree in the spring of 2020. I decided halfway through grad school that I was going to put all my energy into music as soon as I graduated. The nice thing about being in lockdown was that I had more time to make music than I normally would have. The timing felt pretty serendipitous. Libra was actually only supposed to be a four-song EP, but Kyre and I had such good creative chemistry that we ended up making it eight songs. As much as I tried to plan everything out, the project and its release came to be pretty organically. I learned early on that I shouldn’t rush the process, so I tried to just let the album take form until it felt complete. Now that it’s out, I’m going to be working on more visuals and a merch drop with Devon. I’m also getting back in the studio to do work on a few collaborations and new music for my next project. I can’t wait.