Fresh from mixing the first disc of the latest Vagabundos compilation for Luciano’s Cadenza Records, Argy takes on our quick-fire questionnaire, explaining why he craves beauty and how ‘being funny’ is the easiest way to make it in today’s music industry.
Why music?
Because you don’t need your eyes.
If you weren’t making music what would you be doing?
Writing.
What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?
Take notice of the present.
What inspires you?
It’s hard to talk about the past without being convicted for nostalgia.
What’s the next big thing?
Probably something easy to digest and something that people can easily relate to. Nothing for me.
It's hard to talk about the past without being convicted for nostalgia.
Best club experience?
So so so many really. Off the top of my head, anything that happens in Paris or São Paolo.
What’s the worst job you’ve ever had?
I never saw it as a ‘job’ really. Probably being a student was rather frustrating.
How do you know when a track’s finished?
When I imagine listening to it twenty years from now and I don’t imagine changing or adding anything to it.
Which song do you wish you wrote?
Vince Watson – ‘Mystical Rhythm’.
What’s the easiest way to make it in the music industry?
Seems like ‘being funny’ works a lot these days.
What’s the worst track you’ve ever released?
I would like to believe that those tracks are still somewhere in my hard drive! And there are plenty of them, too…
Recommend us a film
A Single Man looks and sounds great.
Recommend us a book.
Spalding Gray – Impossible Vacation.
What or who is underrated?
DJ Gregory.
What or who is overrated?
The bad version of lighthearted music.
What are you addicted to?
Manners.
What do you lust over?
Peace of mind.
What is your greatest regret?
Stress of mind.
What one thing would most improve your life?
Beauty! More and more beauty in everything!
What’s the worst gig you’ve ever played?
Ones where you feel like a monkey in a cage. Thankfully these one happen once or twice a year these days.
Collaboration: rich creative experience or pain in the ass?
Don’t these two co-exist somehow?
If you could only listen to one more track, what would it be?
The sound of the cicadas in my hometown.
Art or money?
Art! But money is necessary to have a decent lifestyle. Artists need that. One shouldn’t cancel the other (necessarily).
Strangest place you ever wrote a track?
The toilet?
Must-read blogs/forums?
Art or money? Art! But money is necessary to have a decent lifestyle.
What’s your single biggest frustration in the music industry?
Being fully understood. From a simple email to more complex issues.
Favourite label?
These Days.
What’s the worst thing about making music?
Having to please a person like me.
Tweet us a tip. What’s the best production advice you can give in 140 characters or less?
Make friends that tell you when your records suck! People are lacking honest feedback these days.
Vagabundos 2013, mixed by Argy and Andrea Oliva, is out now on Cadenza.