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5 Questions With - Ariana & the Rose
I’ll spend a few minutes with a fashionable girl in a leather dress any time. I got to do just that not too long ago with Ariana & the Rose, an up-and-coming NYC singer-songwriter who might just make her name in the fashion world before music. Website Facebook Twitter Soundcloud |
1. Why are you a good mix of fashion and music?
Most literally I just did a whole run during fashion week--London, New York, Paris--where I was performing. In New York I did the afterparty for Charlotte Ronson at Marquee. I did a party for a magazine called Twelv Magazine. I did a party at Chipriani’s for Dolce Fashion Week, which is an independent fashion week. In London I did several afterparties for a magazine called Shön. The band came over and we played a bunch of venues, which was so fun. People in England...at least in London...they go out to see music, so the venues are packed, which is so wonderful. And they have nights of music, so people are like “let’s go out and dance”.
2. Where did you grow up exactly?
I grew up in Long Island, and then I moved for high school, and then I moved to the Upper West Side. I went to a performing arts high school in the city, and then I stayed and went to NYU. I lived downtown.
I went to Tisch. I was a drama and journalism double major, and I segued into music pretty naturally. I’d been working with some record producers, and a record that one of them had done got distributed by a record label. The label really loved the track that I had written and sang on. I went to LA and had a meeting with them, but ultimately didn’t end up signing a deal or anything. It wasn’t the music the music I wanted to be doing, and it wasn’t really a great deal. That got me doing music.
3. What would you describe your music as?
I would describe the music as electro pop. Thats a huge spectrum these days. It is a marriage of singer songwriter melodies with an electro setting underneath it.
I love dance music, but I wanted to find a new way to do it. Everyone keeps saying “why do you do dance music?”, and I say that it’s sort of slow dance music. It’s not straight up dance music. It’s fun. Its given me a freedom to play with melodies, and a different setting to tell stories in.
4. You’ve come into this role of becoming fashion’s new pop girl. Fashion always seems to grab these pop girls and they become muses or they're in shows. Is that something that you want to stick with, or is that something you’re just in now because of your upbringing and your parents?
To be welcomed by the fashion community in general is such a compliment, so I’m very happy to take that role on. When I made the music, I wasn't thinking of that. I was just making music I loved and that I wanted to make. When I was thinking of a good home for it and a way to get it out, my team and I thought “Why don't we see how the fashion community responds. Why don't we see if there’s people that are interested in that”, and they were. It was a bit of an experiment, and it worked out. I’m obviously more than happy to be doing that. Who wouldn’t want to be able to create with people? It’s another outlet to do that. Music is so visual these days, and working with people in fashion helps you do that.
5. Who are you listening to that people might not know and they should go and try?
The Bird and the Bee. Not enough people know The Bird and the Bee even though they’re not new. The last album from The Killers was really good. I know that came out a while ago but I'm still listening to it. I've been listening to Banks. I love her. Her stuff is so cool. I wish I could be as cool as her. I'm a big fan of hers and also The Weeknd. They are sort of similar.
Most literally I just did a whole run during fashion week--London, New York, Paris--where I was performing. In New York I did the afterparty for Charlotte Ronson at Marquee. I did a party for a magazine called Twelv Magazine. I did a party at Chipriani’s for Dolce Fashion Week, which is an independent fashion week. In London I did several afterparties for a magazine called Shön. The band came over and we played a bunch of venues, which was so fun. People in England...at least in London...they go out to see music, so the venues are packed, which is so wonderful. And they have nights of music, so people are like “let’s go out and dance”.
2. Where did you grow up exactly?
I grew up in Long Island, and then I moved for high school, and then I moved to the Upper West Side. I went to a performing arts high school in the city, and then I stayed and went to NYU. I lived downtown.
I went to Tisch. I was a drama and journalism double major, and I segued into music pretty naturally. I’d been working with some record producers, and a record that one of them had done got distributed by a record label. The label really loved the track that I had written and sang on. I went to LA and had a meeting with them, but ultimately didn’t end up signing a deal or anything. It wasn’t the music the music I wanted to be doing, and it wasn’t really a great deal. That got me doing music.
3. What would you describe your music as?
I would describe the music as electro pop. Thats a huge spectrum these days. It is a marriage of singer songwriter melodies with an electro setting underneath it.
I love dance music, but I wanted to find a new way to do it. Everyone keeps saying “why do you do dance music?”, and I say that it’s sort of slow dance music. It’s not straight up dance music. It’s fun. Its given me a freedom to play with melodies, and a different setting to tell stories in.
4. You’ve come into this role of becoming fashion’s new pop girl. Fashion always seems to grab these pop girls and they become muses or they're in shows. Is that something that you want to stick with, or is that something you’re just in now because of your upbringing and your parents?
To be welcomed by the fashion community in general is such a compliment, so I’m very happy to take that role on. When I made the music, I wasn't thinking of that. I was just making music I loved and that I wanted to make. When I was thinking of a good home for it and a way to get it out, my team and I thought “Why don't we see how the fashion community responds. Why don't we see if there’s people that are interested in that”, and they were. It was a bit of an experiment, and it worked out. I’m obviously more than happy to be doing that. Who wouldn’t want to be able to create with people? It’s another outlet to do that. Music is so visual these days, and working with people in fashion helps you do that.
5. Who are you listening to that people might not know and they should go and try?
The Bird and the Bee. Not enough people know The Bird and the Bee even though they’re not new. The last album from The Killers was really good. I know that came out a while ago but I'm still listening to it. I've been listening to Banks. I love her. Her stuff is so cool. I wish I could be as cool as her. I'm a big fan of hers and also The Weeknd. They are sort of similar.