Interview with Arielle, singer, songwriter, guitarist

By Martine Ehrenclou

Arielle is a singer-songwriter-guitarist with street cred galore, but you might not know it right away just by talking with her. Armed with a crystal clear, beautiful, four-octave voice, enviable guitar chops and songwriting skills capable of deep meaning, Arielle is down to earth and unconcerned with what the music business wants from her. In fact, she walked away from a sizable record deal because like many others, she was asked to be an artist that resembled nothing like the real her. She’s now an independent artist who follows the beat of her own drum.

If you want to be impressed by where Arielle has been, let’s start with her current tour with the great, Eric Johnson, and then move on to opening for Gregg Allman, touring as guitar player for CeeLo Green, recording and singing with Brian May (Queen), playing alongside Heart, Graham Nash, Country Joe and Joan Jett. She was also the hand-picked top five contestant by Vince Gill in the “Play With Vince Gill” contest sponsored by Guitar Center. Arielle was also offered to be Alice Cooper’s guitarist. The list goes on.

A fascinating person to talk with, Arielle is a musician who has followed in the footsteps of those who defined the singer/songwriter movement in the 1960s or 1970s. To embrace her music, you embrace Arielle herself. Authentic, extraordinarily talented, and downright cool.

Martine: I watched your video “Magick Again” and loved it. You are such an interesting artist for a number of reasons. Authentic comes to mind. Our followers are very interested in artists who play real music and are not creating overproduced, manufactured music.

Arielle: Oh, yay. Thank you.

Martine: You have a new album out, Mind Lion. Can you tell me about it?

Arielle: I had released my EP called My Gypsy Heart last October and I was going on this tour (with Eric Johnson) and I was like, “You know what, I should have another one.”  In December I wrote a bunch of songs and the whole cluster of them represents me attempting to tame my mind when there was a lot of the chaos and the parts of my mind telling me I couldn’t do things, and my own inner voice that sometimes is really harsh. Specific songs represent removing some of those doubts and voices in my head and silencing them a bit more. It’s also about unleashing parts of me that I was afraid of people not liking. People can’t just like everything, so I had a secret weapon in my mind that I could bring out and eventually say, “You know what, this is ridiculous. Just show yourself and if they don’t like it, it’s okay.” That’s the whole idea behind it.

Martine: Interesting and deep topic. And how prolific that you released two EP’s in a few months.

Arielle: I’m constantly creating. Each one has its own cluster of scenes and Gypsy Heart was very much my wanderlust vibe and this one (Mind Lion) is the mental kind of dissonance.

Martine: Mind Lion is an interesting EP. On “Take II” you showcase your guitar skills and “Voices in My Head” is a bluesy number, and then one that’s more folksy is, “Just Another Reason.” They’re all beautiful in their own way. I’m wondering how you chose songs for the EP.

Arielle: They all represent being in the moment and being present with wherever you are. We can find reasons to be distracted by the voices in our heads. Once you can tame the mind a bit, use it for you, then it can become helpful. This was really bringing to light the lion inside my mind, which was very unhelpful at one time, and trying to tame it to be beautiful and elegant and strong.

Martine: Do you tame it through your music?

Arielle: No. The music is secondary to where I’m at. The music has been my greatest teacher in so many ways because things come through me sometimes that I can’t really take credit for.

Martine: I understand.

Arielle: The music inspires me to be a better person because I really want to be true to that. But it’s mostly the work I do on myself, which is treating people nicely, meditating, and being curious and not critical, and that somehow merges itself through my music. And to have the courage to be imperfect and to show that is one of the hardest things I’ve been working on.

Martine: Something we all work on. You’re on tour with Eric Johnson now. Can you tell me a little about the tour?

Arielle: It’s 47 dates through the end of March. It’s been amazing. One of the doubts I had was being compared to Eric Johnson. Clearly, he has a lot of fans and they know him for his incredible, other-worldly guitar playing. Initially I was concerned, somewhat intimidated, but I grow every day and tell myself, “Just be yourself.”

Martine: Are you opening for him or playing with him?

Arielle: I’m actually opening and playing three or four songs with him. It’s been wonderful. We’ve had all sorts of guests come on stage. Paul Gilbert joined us.

Martine: Sounds exciting. What’s ahead for you?

Arielle: After this, I’m actually touring in the UK, Scotland, Ireland, Norway, Iceland in May.

Martine: That song I mentioned, “Magick Again” has a Celtic sound.

Arielle: Absolutely. You picked up on it. I love the UK. I left my heart in Ireland. The whole area is amazing to me. I can’t wait to go back and soak up the culture there, the music and history.

Martine: You seem to have a lot of integrity with your music. You signed with a record label and then moved on to being independent. Can you tell me about that?

Arielle: About eight years ago I signed a record deal. I knew in my heart it was bad. I could feel it. I wasn’t developed enough as a 19-year-old girl living in Hollywood with not much positive influence anywhere. The first thing they said was, “You’re fat.” I wasn’t fat. It was the immediate breaking down of the confidence and spirit. I fell into a place that was more concerned with how famous and how much attention I could get, which was based on my own insecurity and being young and not knowing what I was doing. My music was very shallow. I hid my feelings in these really intricate metaphors. I was hiding a lot. I looked promiscuous. The whole thing made me uncomfortable.

Martine: That was probably the label’s requirement?

Arielle: It was. I was never really sexy enough. I’ve always been a tomboy. And the idea of a girl playing guitar was awesome, so I had to dress like that. And the more it went on, the more I felt it was wrong. They didn’t force me to do it, but they sort of did, but it was still my choice.

Martine: I bet a lot of women fall into that too.

Arielle: Oh, big time.

Martine: If you’re offered a deal, I would think it would be hard to say no.

Arielle: Oh, yeah. If you don’t know any better and you don’t know yourself enough and don’t have the proper guidance and potentially the right attorney. Nobody had my best interest, so I learned a lot from that experience. It ended up getting to the point where I was stuck. I was actually stuck in the contract. I talk about this because initially it brought me so much shame. I had gone from having a song on the radio and I was making money to nothing overnight. It allowed me to realize that I had to fight for my freedom. I found out that it’s possible to follow your heart and do things morally in tune with yourself and that you can still obtain success. I’m making a living doing music. I have tens of thousands of fans. It makes me feel like I have proof that this is what happens when you are real. It’s more of a testimony to the heart, which inspires me.

Martine: I think our readers will find it very interesting that you have stayed committed to your music.

Arielle: Thank you.

Martine: You’re similar to some of the 1960’s and 70’s artists like Joni Mitchel and James Taylor. You have similar songwriting skills—authentic songwriting, storytelling, intelligent songs. How did you get into the singer-songwriter folksy flavor in your music? Were you listening to those musicians growing up?

Arielle: Very much. My parents are older and grew up during that time and I grew up listening to music of the 60’s and 70’s. I never really got into whatever pop culture in my day, which was The Backstreet Boys and Britney Spears. I skipped that one. I love the stories of those songs of the 60’s, the emotion in the moment. I love the imperfections of it. The harmonies of Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young and the Eagles, they had all that. And the really beautiful concepts of Joni Mitchell. The raw beingness of themselves and at the time it was such untouched territory. The imperfections are okay. We can use a computer as a tool instead of a crutch. It’s hard when you give access to something that can make you a singer even when you’re not.

Martine: Absolutely.

Arielle: I miss that generation. I’m trying to keep it alive. I love everything about it.

Martine: I think that’s part of what’s magical about your music. I was bowled over by that first video of yours because you were so genuine and natural. It was you playing your guitar and singing in the woods. Your voice was beautiful and pure.

Arielle: Well, thank you. It makes me very happy that you really get where I’m coming from. You have to be in tune with yourself to even get what I’m doing.

Martine: I’m wondering how and when you decided to stay true to yourself and your music? Did it come after that record deal or have you always been that way?

Arielle: It was a transition. I wish I could say I was always that kind of person. I was always a nice person, but I certainly had some ego that needed to be worked out. It started happening when I was with my label. I don’t know if you heard the songs I wrote, “California” and “This Is the End.” Those represented the last few months when I was with the label and I woke up.

Martine: Can you tell me about your songwriting process?

Arielle: It’s always different. Sometimes I’ll get the entire song in my head instantly, which is what happened with “Magick Again.”

Martine: It just comes without playing your guitar?

Arielle: Yes. Usually it’s the chorus and I’ll get the lyrics and then the melody. “Magick Again” was one of those. It’s very rare that I’ll write the lyrics first. I usually have an instrument with me, either guitar or piano. I’ll just play whatever chord matches my feeling at the time and then I’ll follow where that takes me. But for the most part they come in my head, sometimes the whole song, sometimes just the chorus.

Martine: That’s amazing.

Arielle: Yeah, it is. Again, I don’t take credit for it. I take credit that I showed up. I feel very blessed to be able to do that.

Martine: Thank you for talking with me today.

Arielle: Thank you. Take care.

 

Arielle is currently on tour with Eric Johnson, see tour schedule here: https://www.imarielle.com/tour/

For more information on Arielle and her new EP, Mind Lion:

Website: https://www.imarielle.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/the.official.arielle