Aries

Songwriter and producer Aries first gained notice by uploading clips that broke down the inner workings of other musicians’ chart-topping records, then pivoted toward crafting his own understated, sample-driven pop material laced with rap production sensibilities. Several of those tracks quickly amassed millions of streams, prompting him to assemble a selection of fan favorites into the 2019 full-length Welcome Home. Two years later he returned with the follow-up LP Believe in Me, Who Believes in You.

Born Arshia Nicholas Fattahi and raised in Orange County, California, Aries started making beats while still in his teens. In 2016 he launched a YouTube channel that showcased both his original music and tutorial-style videos focused on production techniques and beat construction. One recurring series examined the sonic architecture behind hits by Future, Kendrick Lamar, and 21 Savage, with Aries dissecting and rebuilding each arrangement in roughly two minutes. Although he debuted his own material that same year with “Mr. Fantastic,” his approach evolved alongside the channel throughout 2017, shifting from nostalgic, sample-centric textures toward tracks influenced by trap and mumble rap. The brooding single “Upside Down” appeared first, followed later that year by the atmospheric cuts “Deadman Wunderland” and “Less Than Friends.”

By 2018 his audience had grown to more than 300,000 subscribers who regularly watched both the production breakdowns and his original songs. Early in that year he dropped “Carousel” and “Sayonara,” then in 2019 he gathered nine of his strongest pieces for the debut album Welcome Home. The 2020 singles “Fools Gold” and “Conversations” both found a home on his next project. Released in November 2021, Believe in Me, Who Believes in You pushed the stylistic blend of pop and postmodern hip-hop psychedelia even further.