Ariel Rose Talks New EP “In Paraíso,” Living In Miami and More with Contrast News

When you think of Miami the beach is most likely your first thought, but what about people and culture? Ariel Rose is a wonderful example of the diverse and beautiful people to come out of Miami. Born and raised in Miami, Ariel is a shining example of the local talent. Knowing from an “early age” that she wanted to pursue music, she infused Latin flare into her new EP ‘IN PARAISO.’ Hailing from Miami, would you expect anything less? Ariel is as thoughtful as she is sweet. She came bearing gifts for our interviewer, Gigi Rivera, who adores her new ‘IN PARAISO’ swag! A bracelet to accentuate any outfit is always a welcome surprise!

“Your EP, your baby,” opens Gigi!

“Yes! My EP is almost out!” says Ariel.

It seems as if Gigi and Ariel have been friends for a long time as Contrast’s interview kicks off. Ariel is bubbly and full of life as she talks about her new EP ‘IN PARAISO.’ Ariel put a year’s worth of hard work into her EP by being a part of every step. From concept art to instruments used, Ariel immersed herself in it all. Ariel gives Contrast an inside look into her creative process and just what she admires about her beloved city, Miami.

How did you come up with the title? “I have the whole EP about a tropical paradise. It’s all inspired by growing up in Miami. I thought ‘IN PARAISO’ was perfect because it’s ‘Spanglish.’ I was kind of debating on whether I should go full Spanish or full English. I decided that ‘IN PARAISO’ was the focus. It’s a ‘Spanglish’ EP.”

Did you know from the beginning that you wanted your EP to consist of a little bit of everything? “I did know from the beginning! The first song that I wrote was ‘En El Paraiso’ and I knew everything was going to be about a paradise. From there I just knew that I wanted to incorporate all these rhythms and I love Latin music so much. There’s so much diversity here in Miami. There are so many fun types of things to do. There’s so much amazing music here. There’s so much culture. I knew right away, that I love Salsa! Who doesn’t love to dance Salsa?! I love Reggaeton, I love Bolero, and I love Pop! I said you know what? This EP embodies me and it is also who I am. That style is who I am.”

You also have visuals for each song, was that also something you knew from the beginning you wanted to do? “You know, I didn’t know exactly if I was going to do it for the whole EP or if it was just a couple of songs. I decided it makes sense because you know the whole EP as a whole tells a story. I wanted the music videos to tell that story also. It kind of completes it. We had a director, Jose Alejandro Gonzalez, who did the videos. He did a great job. He took my vision and elaborated on it and was able to make it come to life with the videos.”

How involved are you with the creative process, making songs and making videos? “I am so involved! Every little detail. I mean you’re wearing the bracelet I made, okay! I’m involved with everything! The looks, the shoes, the graphic design, the font, the music, the writing, down to the instruments we use, the lyrics, every single thing that arises, I’m involved in! I feel lucky to be able to do that because I know it’s not easy and a lot of people don’t know how to do everything. If I don’t know how to do everything, I figure it out because I have no choice!”

What’s your goal with the EP? How do you want the audience to receive it? “I hope that when people hear it, they can connect to it. I hope that it makes their summer even better! ‘Atrapada’ is the summer jam! I just hope it makes people a little bit happier and able to enjoy the summer just a little bit more.”

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Who did you grow up listening to? Did you have any influences on who you grew up listening to? “I grew up listening to Ricky Martin. He has a self-titled album and I would listen to it on my boombox! This kind of ages me, but I had a little boombox. I would play his music on repeat and you know he had a lot of ‘Spanglish’ influences in his music. Just from listening to that, I was inspired by that. A lot of rhythms as well. I love his music! It was also my first concert. I was six years old! I work with some of the musicians now that use to tour with him, that was at that concert.”

As far as collaborations, who would you love to collaborate with? “I love Camilla Cabello! Miami-based artists! We have so many amazing talents that come from this city and I really wanna celebrate that! I love working with people that are from Miami because it’s special to be from Miami! We’re just so different. It’s a different city.”

You said you were born and raised here in Miami, if you didn’t live in Miami, where would you wanna live? “Oh my gosh, you know… L.A. It’s a vibe. I haven’t felt like I have belonged in any other city, but I would say that L.A. is the place where I said okay I could live here. It’s not that bad. I’m here to stay for a while in Miami.”

What are three things you would suggest to do in Miami, that someone visiting might be interested in? Come to the beach! Hello! Go to the Design District! It’s a cool place to go and there are a lot of fun restaurants there. Go check out a museum! We have a the Perez Art Museum! We have a lot of fun places here! There’s the Frost Science Museum!

What advice do you have for upcoming artists? “The advice I would give is that if you have a dream, you have a vision, create a goal, and make a list of things you can do every single day to get to that dream. If it’s a dream, it’s unreachable, if it’s a goal it’s reachable. So make it a goal and go for it every single day. Put your all into it. If you’re just doing a little more every day, you’re gonna get there ultimately.”

The definition of Contrast is ‘to be strikingly different,’ what makes you ‘strikingly different?’ “I do think there is not a lot of female young representation in the Tropical Salsa and Latin music field. So I feel like I wanna inspire the younger generation to love Salsa and to love Tropical music and I hope that through this EP I’m able to connect with more people and bring more awareness to the genre.”