Ari Gold As Gold Nation Rocks It With Album "Soundtrack To Freedom"

A while back, beloved New York LGBT scene staple Ari Gold decided it was time to shake things up. He found it was time to do something different, and with that he brought on a new name. For this project he goes by Gold Nation, and as Gold Nation, he is bringing you Soundtrack to Freedom. Get into it, and quick.

There are so many surprising things about this album. I had no idea what to expect going into this, and let me tell you I was pleasantly surprised. There are so many undiscovered gems on this release it's not even funny. It's style may be a bit hard to swallow for those who have come to love Ari over the years, but the new name is very symbolic of the break away from the past, and allows people to approach the album with fresh ears to hears something unexpected -- and that is certainly what he has brought.

The title track "Soundtrack to Freedom" really sets up the whole album. We get a nice taste of the electronic/dubstep vibe that flows throughout the album. It also introduces us to the chorus that accompanies Gold, giving the techno-focused album a very gospel inspired tone, almost as if this album is the Gospel of Ari Gold (which would be a cool album title, by the way). The gospel theme continues on into songs like "Personal Apocalypse" where he goes from saying Jesus is all of us, to damn near starting a church for Oprah. I don't know if it was intentionally hilarious or not, but it was.

Songs on this album are also very misleading with their track names. When I think of something like "Take Your Shirt Off" I think of a trashy club anthem to buffed up pretty boys. This isn't really what Gold was going for here. During the verses he goes into a spill about how it's more about LGBT visability, for everyone from hairy chub boys to transsexuals. Everyone needs visibility, and for this reason this is probably my favorite track from the entire work.

One thing I really appreciate is that the vast majority of the album is Ari on his own with only one (real) feature. "Back In High School" features Adam Joseph in a total throwback to 90's RnB. But other than that the only other features on the album (in "Turn Out The Night" and "Leave The World Changed") are featuring non other than Ari himself. While this baffles me a bit, I'd have to say it's probably because he falls back moreso into his older style of singing in these two songs, so he decided to credit his other persona. It's unclear why this decision was made. Either way the lack of features really gives us a moment to see Ari's vision. We don't have random distracting rap verses crammed into a track or a familiar face to up sales -- it's all Ari and what he wanted to make. That's what really makes this album beautiful.

There is so much you could say about this album, but instead of me blabbing on, why not check it out for yourself? Soundtrack To Freedom is out now on iTunes from JRED Music. Get it now, while it's still steaming hot!