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Ariel Gold is a Canadian based multi-media artist. She is currently studying Drawing and Painting at OCAD University and performs as a multi-instrumentalist, singer-songwriter and poet. She has been featured on Spotify playlists such as Indie, Pop and Chill and has performed her poetry at the Art Gallery of Ontario as well as at opening night of Yoko Ono's exhibit at Gardiner Museum. Hypersensitivity is a song lamenting the loss and distanced feeling of life caused by the current global pandemic. Gold's voice is angelic and treads lightly throughout but somehow still conveys the heaviness of the sorrow and melancholy that is felt around the world for what was pre-pandemic. The song explores these feelings through a feminine scope of view, which provides delicacy while still lamenting a life of normalcy. I was lucky enough to be able to chat with her about the song, inspiration and her accomplishments. Check out the interview below and stream the song below:
Hey Ariel, thank you for chatting with me today! You just hit 1 million streams on Spotify prior to this release, so congratulations! What is going through your head after reaching that milestone? Thank you!! <3 1 million streams wasnât something that happened out of the blue, itâs been a lot of work and a lot of streams from my catalog of 7 singles and 1 EP accumulating over a while. But I have to say I am surprised by the sense of accomplishment I feel looking back and acknowledging this as a milestone. I donât spend enough time reflecting or positively affirming my artistic accomplishments but it feels really good to see that the art that I essentially make for myself as a therapeutic practice is being received and appreciated somewhere else. Your new single, âHypersensitivity,â has an angelic yet still melancholy sound to it throughout. Where did your inspiration for this single spur from? I wrote and recorded Hypersensitivity during the height of the Covid-19 quarantine. It was a lament and a love song for experiences outside my sphere of isolation. I was especially missing being in feminine spaces as I was living with a cis male partner at the time. I didnât feel like my subtleties, sensitivity and queer femininity  were being held and acknowledged within the survival mode of the quarantine. Making this song was my way of affirming to myself that those qualities still exist within me. I also missed women-- their softness and their power. Specifically one woman. This song is for her. In this new single, is there a part of the lyrics that you hope resonates most with listeners? My favourite part of the song is the outro. The lyrics are â...I cant fall asleep without this communication, hope you like me, like you've been saying, I had to pray it wasnât lost in the translation.â I really hope to emphasize the value of clear, honest communication in this line. So many of us hide behind texting, power dynamics and manipulation while navigating the modern dating world. I know I have. Iâve found through experience how much better it can be, although challenging, to be vulnerable and articulate about your wants, needs and desires within these discourses, and being realistic about what you want out of a situation.Â
I was listening through your catalog and you have a very unique, beautiful sound through your vocalization and instrumentalization. How did you get your start in music and what gravitated you towards your sound?Â
Thank you so much!! I started playing the cello when I was 5 years old, my mom is a classical french horn player and really pushed my sister and I with our intensive classical music studies throughout our childhood. So Iâve now been playing cello for 17 years! Whew. Through playing the cello I developed an ear for pitch and a repertoire of classical music. I also grew up very immersed in the Jewish community, going to Jewish school and synagogue every day. Traditional Jewish songs and prayers were mandatory for us to sing out loud together every morning of my childhood. I write a lot of my songs in A minor for this reason, the same key that most of those hauntingly beautiful Jewish prayers are in that I grew up singing. But I really came to singing and songwriting on my own as a form of self soothing therapy. I taught myself guitar, piano and basically how to sing in isolation in my room with the door closed throughout high school and then started my recording career at 17 right out of high school in NYC with my producer Arthur Pingrey and the help of my cousin Melanie. Who had already been in the industry as an artist for 10 years!
Youâre a multi-medium artist and in school for drawing and painting; what has it been like to still be creative amidst a global pandemic? Any tips that you have used to stay motivated and afloat during these times?
Iâm the last person anyone needs to be taking motivation advice from lol. Iâm extremely ADHD and find I am most productive when I am procrastinating doing something else. School creates a sort of baseline of structure for me which I end up blowing off to make music. I use my independent painting practice as a therapeutic process. It grounds me while music floats me up into the sky. Iâm deeply inspired by my painting studio mates Marina Faw, Lucas Biagini and Erin Loree. They are incredible people and artists.Â
For the fun of it, what artist (any medium) dead or alive would you most like to meet?Â
Leonard Cohen, that 'ole self deprecating Jewish icon. May he rest in peace!
Thank you so much for taking the time to chat! Before I let you go, what piece of advice or encouragement would you like to pass on to the readers?Â
You are an artist. If you feel any kind of creative draw, are moved by my or anyone elseâs music, paintings, dancing, writing⌠follow that movement and pursue it in a non-judgemental way. See where it takes you. I hope you discover new parts of yourself in the process. Also, f**k shame. If the motivating factor stopping you from being creative or liberated in any way is shame, share that with someone you deeply trust (usually not your parents) or me and ask for positive affirmation. Journal to yourself and tell yourself you have nothing to be ashamed of. That you are enough. Write it over and over again to yourself until you start to feel the change within you. At least 15 times, even if it feels pointless. Donât stop! I love you!
á§The song is available to stream on all platforms, let us know what you think and highly recommend going down the rabbit hole of her discography afterwards.
Links for Socials: Spotify: Ariel Gold Music
Apple Music: Ariel Gold Music
Soundcloud: Ariel Gold Music
Instagram: Ariel Gold Music
Facebook: Ariel Gold Music