by Alexandra Mrozowska
— Senior Columnist —
If there’s one thing that’s certainly a blessing when it comes to the modern era, it’s the easy access to recording gear and the Internet being a massive promotional tool for the artists. These two combined enable the young musicians to finally leave the trends and opportunism behind and draw inspiration from whatever era in music ignites a spark in them… even if they’re not able to remember those days themselves! That’s exactly the case of Dani Argilés – this Spanish guitar player might have been born in the ‘90s, but it’s the ‘80s AOR/Melodic Rock influence that fuels a debut EP of his project ARGI. Recently, Dani checked in with Hardrock Haven to talk about his first release, his collaboration with the late, great singer David A. Saylor, the six-string wizards of his homeland and his ultimate ‘80s album.
Hardrock Haven: ARGI’s debut EP Dare To Dream is out now. Are you satisfied with the debut recording of your project, or are you one of those artists who always find some room for improvement when it comes to their works?
Dani Argilés: First of all, thank you so much for this interview. It’s a great pleasure for me to answer every question and discuss the possible doubts about my Melodic Rock Project called ARGI. Well, I’m satisfied because this is the first time that I’m involved in a music project where I’ve composed all songs – although some musicians have collaborated with me in the recording process. It has been many hours of dedication, effort and sometimes frustration, but above all, of great enthusiasm coming from combining the everyday life with this crazy passion for music. Obviously, when the work is finished, you think about all the things you could have improved or have done otherwise, but I think this happens to all the musicians. Anyways, I think the result for the first EP is positive.
Hardrock Haven: Speaking of ARGI, I’ve just referred to it as a project, but do you think – or hope – it’s gonna evolve into a band one day?
Dani Argilés: Throughout my music career, I’ve played in different bands from different music genres – Rock and Roll, Blues, Heavy Metal – but when I discovered Melodic Rock, I was amazed and caught by its atmospheric and massive sound. That music reminded me of the American TV series and films of the ‘80s and I needed to play it, but I didn’t know musicians that liked this music, so I designed my own logo having no idea of graphic/art design with the excitement of a child, and this is why ARGI was born as a project. For those who don’t know, the name ARGI comes from my name, Dani Argilés. If this terrible situation caused by the COVID-19 is over someday I would like to form a band under the name of ARGI with some musicians who want to join me in this musical adventure and, if possible, play concerts.
Hardrock Haven: Who plays on the EP and do you plan to continue collaboration with the same musicians with the future ARGI recordings?
Dani Argilés: I recorded lead and rhythm guitars on all songs, drum programming and keyboards on “Start Living”, “Daydream” and “Nothing To Lose”, and drum programming on “Crying With Joy”. Pablo Gaba played bass on all songs. David A. Saylor (RIP) sang lead and backing vocals on “Runaway Love”, whereas Rod Marenna recorded lead and backing vocals on “Crying With Joy”, “Daydream” and “Nothing to Lose”. When it comes to keyboards again, it’s Rafa Hernández on “Runaway Love” and Haris Patsos on „Crying With Joy”. JoseA.Pereira played drums on “Runaway Love”. I don’t know yet which musicians will collaborate with me in the future. At the moment, I only can tell that my intention is to distribute the physical EP all over the world and start composing the new songs as soon as possible.
Hardrock Haven: Can you take us through the EP track by track and reveal some stories behind each of the songs?
Dani Argilés: Every story behind each ARGI song is inspired by my personal experiences but what I try to achieve is that every listener feels they’re able to identify with the songs and that’s why I don’t necessarily write names of people down so they can let their imagination run wild.
“Runaway Love” is about a girl I met at a festival some years ago, when I was younger. The great David A. Saylor helped me with the lyrics to get an idealized story. That girl was an obsession of my adolescence, a pretty one who hypnotized me with her eyes, and sadly all finished with a simple kiss – and then she said, “Goodbye, I can’t continue this. I’m sorry, but I have a boyfriend”.
“Crying With Joy” is about the first date with Lucy, the girl that deserves all the best in this world for her way of treating people, always laughing and being willing to help others. She is always there with me in bad and good times and helps me to understand what’s truly important in life and for my happiness – and stay positive. She came to my region, Murcia, and we spent a magical weekend near the beach and enjoyed the reunion concert of 91 Suite. When the weekend was finished, I picked her up to the train station and when she left me alone in my car, I started crying with joy.
The main idea of “Start Living” was to do an instrumental song where the guitar stands out – like in some instrumental songs of guitar players such as Gary Moore, Santana, Joe Satriani, etc. – but with the essence of Melodic Rock. In the middle of working on this composition, a misfortune occurred that the pandemic hit… so I wanted to take advantage of this situation to express that feeling of nostalgia for life that we had previously, but at the same time pass on positivity and hope through a music video. This long lockdown helped me personally to think about what really matters. Those little moments that until now we haven’t known how to value due to the uncontrollable frenzy of our daily life which is fading… and we don’t realize it until something bad happens. The video was recorded in an empty Madrid, where I’ve lived during the lockdown and where I’m settled at present. It’s a tribute to Rock in these difficult times. We can see some empty places which in other times were full of people: Atocha Railway Station, Puerta del Sol, Vallecas (Puente de Vallecas Subway Station, Rocker Grandma Statue, Puente de Vallecas’ Boulevard, Cathouse Rock Bar), Bajos de Argüelles (Bastard Heavy Rock Bar), Enrique Tierno Galván Park’s Auditorium. I also wanted to make reference to some artists that I like, and that’s why there’s Gary Moore’s Wild Frontier vinyl, the book AOR WORLD by the Spanish writer Sergio Guillén Barrantes and the Spanish Melodic Rock band 91 Suite in one of the sheets of the book… Also, I appear walking exactly at the same place where the Spanish Heavy Metal band called Obús walked in one of their first music videos to the song called “Va a estallar el Obús”.
“Daydream” is about an impossible dream for a dreamy musician… one who wants to dedicate his life to playing music in a world where the established norm is to see crazy people without dreams living just to work like slaves to the system. Maybe it sounds a little more vindictive… but with a lot of melody and a positive feeling. It’s written in the first person and by my daydream, I mean my music.
“Nothing to Lose” is the heaviest song on the EP, even though it’s still melodic. When it comes to writing the lyrics, I was inspired by the fighting attitude of my father who overcame the adversities of life. Sometimes it’s even hard to make ends meet – and this rage is expressed by the sound of the song. When I was a child, my father taught me that life can be very hard but you put the limits. I owe much of my attitude to him.
Hardrock Haven: Before the EP was out, the single tracks were available on various streaming platforms. Do you think this kind of policy – of releasing your music track by track – makes more sense these days than releasing a costly full length album? And are you planning to switch from EPs to full length albums with ARGI one day?
Dani Argilés: I was releasing the material track by track on streaming platforms, because I was forming this project and getting a sound identity little by little. To do a full-length album right away would have been a big investment and maybe a risk difficult to take for a single person. I personally prefer the method of getting to know this EP by enjoying every song and once the name of the project is known, an album can be distributed more easily. But in the future – yes, of course. This first ARGI’s EP has been a challenge but a full-length album will be even a bigger challenge… I can’t promise anything about the LP yet, but I’d love to do it!
Hardrock Haven: Would you say that the EP title – “dare to dream” – is also your life motto?
Dani Argilés: Yes, I think we can’t live without dreams and this has been reflected in this global pandemic that we are living in, where culture has been hit hard. This first EP has been released in the middle of it, so it’s a kind of message that we must have this kind of attitude and dare to have dreams, dare to dream even in such a global situation – because life is hard and dreams don’t come for us by themselves, we need to chase them. Moreover, it’s a great title for a first EP of a solo project. If you dare to dream, you are be able to record and release something so simple but with a lot of work as an EP. This couple of words also represents my way of playing and composing music. On one hand, we have the word “dare” that reflects the attitude and maybe it’s more characteristic of powerful sounds of Hard Rock and classic Heavy Metal songs. On the other hand, we have the word “dream” that reflects the sweetest part and reminds us of AOR songs and ballads. On this first EP, you can find a mix of this.
If we analyze the cover artwork of the EP, we see two legs with boots – they’re mine (laughs) – in a city at night with a neon sign that says „Dare to Dream” and my guitar is under it.
In the background, there are two twin towers which are in my city, Murcia in Spain. They are the tallest buildings in the city and are illuminated at night. Although now I live in Madrid, I wanted to make reference to Murcia because it’s the city where I composed and recorded the guitars for the first song included on the EP, “Runaway Love”, and a place where I grew up, where my family lives, where I learned to play the guitar and where my music career started.
The cover also can be interpreted as the American Dream seen by a Spanish rocker of Murcia.
Hardrock Haven: As you’ve already mentioned, you collaborated with the late David A. Saylor in the early days of ARGI. So in more detail, what was the experience like?
Dani Argilés: The experience of working with David A. Saylor (R.I.P.) was very positive. I didn’t have the chance to meet him in person but I would have liked to do so. We had very close conversations through the chat and he told me some interesting stories of his life as a musician. I asked him to collaborate with me and do the vocals on “Runaway Love” because I knew that he had worked with other bands like Wild Rose or Push UK. He was willing to collaborate from the first moment, he helped me with the lyrics and sent the lead and backing vocal tracks for the mixing from UK to me in Spain. So professional! I think all the Melodic Rock lovers who knew him loved him, because he sang from the heart.
His voice is still alive!
Hardrock Haven: Absolutely! And speaking about the writing process in general, what is it that inspires you as a songwriter?
Dani Argilés: In spite of my young age, a thing I think about a lot since some time ago is that someday I won’t be in this world when my time is over… but my music will be there for everyone who wants to listen and someday may influence other musicians such as my idols did it for me. The songs are an eternal trace, a memory of the life experiences of a musician and it’s a way to leave your legacy as a person who once existed. Art never dies!
This is the magic of music and its true meaning. And when I’m still alive, I’ll keep playing and listening music because it feeds my soul.
Hardrock Haven: Very well-said! Now, that’s a question I ask many musicians I interview, and every time I get a different answer for it. As ARGI is undoubtedly a trip way back to the ‘80s musically – what do you think was so special about this decade?
Dani Argilés: Well, I’m too young [to remember the ‘80s] and I didn’t live the ‘80s actually but I don’t see my life without that music – although I like music of other eras too. This is something that happens to all the ‘80s music lovers, we spent time thinking of a time that we have never lived. I guess this is because in those years everything was more natural and even mistakes were accepted… not only with the music production but also with the movies which had no need for great special effects and still they were magic! There were no social media platforms or smartphones and people enjoyed every little moment with their friends and families a lot…
Hardrock Haven: True! But when we think about the ‘80s Melodic Rock scene, we can’t help but think about such iconic bands as Journey or Foreigner which amazingly are still mostly active. Once they decide to retire from touring and perhaps also recording, do you think the scene will continue?
Dani Argilés: The big bands will always be there, they are our influences, but I think this music genre will be kept alive for many more years only if we support the new young bands. We’re all a New Wave of Melodic Rock around the world with bands like H.E.A.T., Crazy Lixx, Chez Kane, Palace, Marenna, Wild Rose, Magic Dance and so on. In Spain, we have an awesome scene of Melodic Rock with bands like 91 Suite, Güru, Hackers, Strangers, XIX Years, La Fase, etc. We must take advantage of the fact that the flame is still burning and work together so that the history of Melodic Rock doesn’t end here.
Hardrock Haven: What’s your ultimate ‘80s album and why?
Dani Argilés: This is a difficult question for me to answer. I really love many bands of different musical genres of the ‘80s such as Heavy Metal, Hard Rock, AOR… but maybe there is an album that gives me goosebumps from the first guitar riff and this is Victims Of The Future of the legend Gary Moore, released in 1983. The title makes me think that it seems as if nothing has changed in this world since then. The cover is simple and great at the same time. It’s an album of pure ‘80s Hard Rock/ Heavy Metal with great lyrics, magic melodies, powerful riffs and amazing guitar solos. Gary Moore means a lot to me because my first electric guitar teacher introduced his music to him when I was more or less sixteen years old. I’m still impressed by his enormous legacy. Maybe this is not the best example of my favorite album if I’m presenting a Melodic Rock project where the keyboards play an important role, but above all this is a Melodic Rock Project created by a guitar player…
Hardrock Haven: Well, you can’t go wrong with Gary Moore – especially his mid-‘80s albums! And speaking still about the decade, the ‘80s culture was mostly ridiculed just a while ago, and now it seems to be getting more and more popular again. Do you think ‘80s-influenced Rock music still has a chance of getting back into the mainstream and being listened by mass audiences worldwide?
Dani Argilés: I wish I could say yes. In the ‘80s, the music industry was different, there was no Internet and this had advantages for the bands to sell their albums. Nevertheless, the Internet is also a powerful tool that lets us discover many bands of different countries or times. The mainstream music doesn’t seem to incline towards the ‘80s Rock, but there are many of us Rock lovers of that decade, and as I’ve said previously, many bands are emerging and drawing attention of a lot of fans – so the flame lives on! I just hope after this pandemic there is a new revolution for music and Rock especially because people are looking forward to going to real Rock concerts again, not streaming. The magic of the moment must be lived through live, as it happened in the ‘80s and not through a screen.
Hardrock Haven: Whenever I ask a guitarist about their influences and heroes, the answers are usually more or less the same, so let’s put a twist on it. Looking at the music scene of your homeland, is there any Spanish guitarist that influenced the way you play, or perhaps that continues to inspire you even now?
Dani Argilés: Possibly Armando de Castro of Barón Rojo and Carlos Raya of Sangre Azul are some of my biggest Spanish influences as a guitarist. There are many great guitar players in Spain I admire as well, though – like Iván González (91 Suite), Fran Alonso (Hackers), David Palau (Güru), Jorge Salán, Santiago Campillo, myelectric guitar teachers Gerardo and Miguel Ángel (Cachorro) and myfriend Pedro Navarro with whom I learned to play the first Blues and Rock and Roll rhythms when we were teenagers.
Hardrock Haven: And speaking about your early days, way before ARGI, you’ve been a part of the classic Heavy Metal band Hitten. Do you think the experience of playing in this band somehow influences what you do today?
Dani Argilés: Every experience in life of a musician infuences somehow their way of playing and songwriting. I learned much when I was part of Hitten in terms of promotion, Heavy Metal scene… even a different way of playing guitar because previously I was involved in Rock and Roll bands that were much slower in terms of the sound and tempo (Versátil, Slide). Those years with Hitten were best parts of my adolescence. We played in different countries of Europe at the age of only twenty. We were young and we had a hunger to conquer the world like Rock stars with no thinking about real life problems or work. Sadly, that changes when you have to earn a living, but I’m still a dreamer.
Hardrock Haven: That’s the paradox we all know, I guess. Now that the EP is finished, what is your next step?
Dani Argilés: The next step is to distribute the EP all around the world and introduce this project a little more – later, I would like to start composing new songs. My intention is to enjoy every song and that people enjoy it too. I’m not in a hurry to make albums, but it would be great to start as soon as possible with the next songs for a possible LP.
I still have to learn if I would do this as a studio project or a band with a lineup.
Hardrock Haven: How do you see your music career in 5-10 years from now?
Dani Argilés: I hope to never stop dreaming or lose the enthusiasmt o play guitar and make music. If I get it, I’ll let the inspiration and fate decide. For me, the most important thing is that I have to say something with the songs. It will be great if ARGI has more than one EP released in 5-10 years (laughs).
Hardrock Haven: Are you setting yourself any goals when it comes to your musical career, or do you rather take it day by day?
Dani Argilés: I prefer taking it day by day. My only goal is that people enjoy my music as much as I do, but it’s true that the releasing of a new song or album is a new challenge for every musician, so my big goal is to have new material to show every time and the result is going to get better in the future in terms of quality of the production.
Hardrock Haven: Any last words?
Dani Argilés: I’d like to thank you again for this chance to present my project to all Hardrock Haven’s readers in this interview. I hope people would know a little more about me and ARGI and enjoy my music. Thanks so much and see you all soon at the concerts!
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