Tell us about yourself and your music?
My name is Aries Marquis (my first and middle name), and I hail from Baton Rouge, Louisiana of USA. I have been a music artist for quite some time, now, and I feel I am only growing and getting better as time progresses. When it comes to my music, I write my actual experiences, mostly, or I take the experiences of others, and put them into song. I want my music to always show positivity and/or empathy. I want the listener to know that they aren't alone when it comes to heartbreak, or
needing encouragement, or even simply being joyful and optimistic about things in life. I want to always relate to my listener. This is why I am not too familiar with just writing songs to "cash in", but to make an impact.

How would you describe your sound?

I describe my sound as a diverse mixture of soul, Pop, and R&B. I get my inspiration from so many artists, past and present, that I would love to just be classified as genre-less: from Justin Timberlake to Boyz II Men to Donny Hathaway to Shawn Mendes. I think I am all over the place, lol. Nevertheless, what I will do is always put my heart and soul into every single song that I sing, produce, write, and record, so that my sound will be authentic.

Talk about the experience making your single?

The single, Ghost, is based on a true experience about me and this lady that I was truly attracted to, and I felt like we were just a match made in Heaven. We were getting to know each other, and things were going good, although there seemed to be some signs that I noticed after she "disappeared" for unknown reasons. She stopped answering my texts, and that was that. No arguments, or anything. The reason I named this song, Ghost, was because, shortly, before she disappeared, I told her that I would start calling her "Ghost", because she was getting difficult to keep in touch with. I took this story, and wrote questions on why we "split". I did not compose the music, itself, as I normally do. For the first time in years, I decided to seek out a producer, and collab with their sound. When I heard the composition, I said this would fit perfectly for what was am trying to make, thus, Ghost was created.

What are you currently working on? Any new projects? Shows?

At this present moment, I am working to complete my new album titled, Experience. Ghost is one of the singles on the album, and, to be honest, my growing base of listeners inspired me to put this together. I actually contacted my most active listeners via their inboxes, and even posted a poll on my Instagram story, receiving feedback on the type of music they would want me to make, so this album is a dedication to that experience. It is also based on more true experiences, and it is an album I am creating with so much experience gained throughout this music journey.

What has been your biggest highlight in your music career thus far?

My biggest highlight in my music career was probably winning a showcase in 2018 using a song that I wrote, that is my actual theme song titled, "Love Me for Me". It was a single I wrote on my first album titled, Imperfections. I didn't think anyone would be receptive to it, and the competition was too high to risk singing a song that no one actually knew...or so I though. According to those that watched me, I stole the show, although I didn't think I had a chance to even come in third place. I was so shocked at the announcement of first place that I actually broke into tears and couldn't fully stand, Lol. Their were singers, instrumentalists, dancers, and more, and I came out on top using my favorite self-written song... I felt, then, that my music belonged!

Name your ideal collaboration: mainstream or independent artist(s)?

When it comes to an ideal collaboration, this is where that "inspired by too many artists" comes into play, but I will give only a few, Lol. I would love to collaborate with Allen Stone, an indie artist who is an amazing singer, and songwriter. His voice is ridiculously underrated. Another is Sonny, from the UK, who is also an underrated, yet amazing singer, which is shown on one of his songs, Wage a War! The two biggest artists I want to collaborate with are Adele and Justin Timberlake. Adele is beyond amazing, and I'm just a JT fanatic, Lol.

Name something random that people do not know about you?

I don't think people realize that I am an introvert. The reason I know that people don't know this about me, is because I just realized this only a year ago about myself. Lol. I love to be in my own space to just read, think, and create. I am not a party-goer, and my ideal date is dinner and a movie. I love privacy, and quiet settings. I am very reserved, and being to myself brings me so much peace.

What’s one thing you have learned or discovered while being in the indie music scene/industry?

One thing that I have learned about being in the industry is that you will not succeed unless you are consistent on ALL fronts. What I mean by "all fronts" is you have to stay active in your music creation, your marketing and promotion, and overall presence in order to succeed. You can't sit still, and think that the listeners will wait; you have to keep working, keep pushing, and become, in a way, normalized in the view of music lovers, and then people will gravitate to you.

What can we expect from you in the future?

After my album, Experience, I am going to go back and revamp my previous two albums, re-release them, and continue my album trilogy, which started with my last album, "Salvation: The Arrival". I have so much music that is ready to be released, but I have been trying to build a listener base to release the music to, and now that I have a growing listener base (that is steadily growing), I am excited about the new music ventures ahead!