One of the words that came to my mind after reading about Aradia and listening to her was “empowerment.” Before I listened to her music and read about her I was hoping I was going to love it.
Aradia first got inspired to make music by listening to Kraftwerk. Yes, Kraftwerk, the not so commonly known German group that is one of the pioneers of electronic music. Since then she has been making her own original music and hoped other females would do as well. According to her bio “She’s eager to contribute to creating a more equitable world, and hopes to encourage more women to take up production, too. She loves being at the board, but wants more people like her in the room.”
On her titular album Aradia she takes concepts, themes and narratives that unequivocally point to a total net positive. She owns it but does so in a way where she wants you to be your own leader. Aradia may just give you the impetus to make some changes in your own life, reflect on things you have and get rid of all the toxicity.
This album is fire and some songs I will be spinning for quite some time. “Gamma” is a wicked tune with vibrant synths, a super fun hook and deep beat. The song felt elevating. Multiple vocal harmonies wrap in a cascading waterfall of joy.
Back in high school I was a huge fan of Ravi Shankar and when I heard the tabla and sitar on “Keep On” I smiled. This is not a straightforward Eastern; it’s heavily transformed into a robust dance song. I would say this feels especially ripe and even necessary in today’s world. Aradia sings “Hold your head up / You never know when the world’s going to end so keep on dancing.” That’s pretty much the same thing my friends and I have been saying for the last decade.
“Soar” to me felt a little retro with a modern day sound. The music itself didn’t feel too far from a band like New Order or Duran Duran. There’s a lot going on here with the music but it is undoubtedly the type of song that makes you sweat. I love the hook on here and something about it felt reminiscent of ’80s synth pop songs. Aradia sings “I’m ready to soar into the sky.”
“The Light” is another incredible song. The music is really well done on this song. I also heard some guitars on top of the pulsating electronic drum and synths. The song takes you down a number of musical detours and eventually you get back to the main groove.
In my own mind Aradia and I are already friends drinking cosmos’ and painting the town because we can. I do love some Taylor Swift but dear lord I swear my feed is sending about a dozen articles a day at this point. People can please put the spotlight on this mega star, diva and queen known as Aradia.
Garth Thomas