aRios Reaches For Love In “When Leaves Fall”
With a unique sound blended into chill vibes, aRios has delivered a full project with its lead track “When Leaves Fall” leaving us astounded. The album of a shared name was written, recorded, mixed, mastered and performed by aRios himself. The Zion, Illinois based artist also employed the help of his good friend, Peps, who produced every single track on the project. Four years in and aRios finds himself with a strong album to end the year. “When Leaves Fall” is titled as such to serve as a run on the famous poem “When Great Trees Fall,” which focuses on losing someone or “great” people. With excellent delivery and vocals, aRios does an excellent job of conveying his emotion and message through song. It’s groovy, smooth and overall pleasant to listen to.
Regarding the inspiration behind the project, aRios told us “I’ve wanted to create a body of work with Peps for some time now, but when we first met our sounds never collided and we definitely weren’t where we are today. The inspiration behind this project was my last project “Sprung” that I also dropped this year, it’s essentially a continuation of that project. “Sprung” was a story from start to finish about wanting a relationship with said person but concluding that it might not work out.” While listening through the project, you begin to understand how the two projects connect. “When Leaves Fall” speaks on the relationship and not letting go. The tracks have more of a loose feel to them, allowing for some more creative freedom without focusing too heavily on the story behind it. Per aRios, “I wanted to make it more sporadic and not so focused on a storyline which allowed me to have more fun with putting the track list together.”
Each release has its issues, and aRios shared with us that his obstacles involved chemistry. “The biggest obstacle we had to overcome was getting on the same wavelength. If you were to listen to Peps discography and then listen to mine, you wouldn’t think we’d work well together.” The beauty of music is that it brings people from all different walks of life together and through my experience, blending genres and expertise can be hit or miss. Luckily for aRios and Peps, “When Leaves Fall” is a hit. With the help of patience and attention to detail, Peps was able to hit the mark when matching aRios sound. The two took this opportunity to step out of their comfort zones and we are more than happy with he results. Fans of melodic Hip Hop will also be happy with this project as its loosely story driven, full of beautiful samples, and catchy melodies. Be sure to listen to the whole project as it is now available everywhere.