Meet Ariel Montano

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ariel Montano.

Hi Ariel, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today.
When I was twelve, my mom fell ill with a disease called vasculitis. Over the months I would watch her grow weaker and weaker until she passed on Friday, June 15, 2018. For the next four years of my life, I would deal with this grief in silence, only for it to be washed away when I heard my first-ever rap song. It was Mockingbird by Eminem. 

From that day on I fell in love with the emotional side of music, wanting everyone to feel happy inside. As when I first began to be inspired by artists such as Eminem, Kanye West, Call Me Karizma, D12, Proof, Alexander Jean, Seth Bishop, G-Eazy, and Yelawolf. Just to name a few. As time went on I picked up on each of these artist’s styles and made my own. A Pop artist Infused with Rap that has a message and story to it. 

Today I have accomplished feats that few seventeen-year-olds could dream of from working with former Eminem signee Swifty Mcvay to earning the respect of a salt mine engineer in Hunter Nurse, All while being self-taught. 

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The road to get where I was was not smooth at all. At the beginning of when I first started I was inconsistent, lazy with my music, and full of myself. It’s not easy saying and admitting that the biggest obstacle you had was yourself but it was true and that was why I didn’t get much done in my freshman or sophomore year of high school. But, when it came to rebuilding my process I stuck to anything I changed.

I formed a work ethic of constantly producing once making 100 beats in a month (Shout out to salt mine engineer Hunter Nurse for bringing up that challenge) from there I started to watch videos on how to produce and add more detail to making a beat. Repeat that over 400 hundred times and you’ll get that much better than when you first started.

I accomplished so much more in eight months musically than in two years by just taking charge and taking my music seriously. I’ve been on news articles and newspapers, I’ve done work with former Eminem signee Swifty McVay and I am doing another song with him. In the end, I overcame the challenges of building a fanbase, being stagnant, and declining in musical quality by being persistent, consistent, and always learning.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I specialize in producing mostly string and piano instrumentals. I am most proud of my work done with McVay and the fact that I am doing another song with him. What sets me apart from other from others is the Daw I use while other producers are using daws that can cost upwards of thousands of dollars, I use a free Daw called Soundtrap.

What do you like and dislike about the city?
I love the peace of San Tan. Just having a smooth ride seeing horses, rabbits, and cotton fields is nice, the people there are great too. I love the pork shop and I love going to Heritage Gateway Academy by far some of the greatest teachers I have ever had (shout out to Mrs. Graffius, of all the teachers I’ve had she’s the only one to ever have had both a parakeet and candy machines in the classroom). I’d also like to give a shout out to some friends, such as Andrew Yonts, Mckenna Barton, Jacob Catlin and Zach Mounteer. 

The only thing that I don’t like about San Tan is that other than KFC there really is no place to get fried chicken. If they had a fried chicken and waffles spot in this town, I would be that place’s biggest supporter.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://sites.google.com/view/its-just-al/home
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alex._.montano/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCw4R6ECh_xZDGfxbLHkHhYw/featured

Image Credits
River Cornier