Robex Lundgren virkblogg.

Have any of you played in other bands? I used to play in a band of traditional italian and neapolitan music called “Gli Scugnizzi” (something like “The Street Urchins”), but we've only played one show, and then the band was finished.

How is it that you started playing music? I've bought my first guitar (a nylon-stringed one, and of very poor quality) around the age of 14, and started to learn some things on the internet. At that time I was interested mostly on hard rock and the rock of the 60's.

What are your names? / Who plays what? / How old are you? My name is Augusto Mazzoli, I'm 27, and I play guitar and mandolin. I started to learn piano, recorder, trumpet, harmonica, melodica, and some other instruments, but never really achieved to properly play them.

Did you make music even when you were young?

Until my 12's or 13's I didn't listen to music at all, with the exception of some movie soundtracks (mainly by John Williams). The other musical genres just didn't make me interested on them.

Then, I started to hear some music that played in some video games I used to play, and the first bands I was interested in was Black Sabbath, AC/DC and Kiss. Thanks to them, I've made the decision of buying my first guitar and trying to learn to play some of the things I've heard them playing.

Where are you from? I'm from Santos, a seaside town in the São Paulo state, Brazil.

What's your style of genre? I try to make arrangements in order to give the musical pieces I play and record a feeling of the traditional italian music, basically thanks to the mandolin techniques I apply on them. But there's always many inspirations by different genres of different periods.

What inspires you? The life itself inspires me. Everything that I compose or arrange I do because of something I've felt or thought in some situation of my own life. I let the feeling guide me on the musical directions I should take, and then I try to rationalize them into something less abstract and more suitable for being listened to.

How have you developed since you started with the music? In the music area I was always self-taught and I think that if I had a teacher I could be more prepared. But, in a way, I was always forced to search for the things I wanted to know, and I think that helped me developing my perseverance and my intelligence. That, and musical knowledge itself, helped me to be a more committed, disciplined and serious person.

Do you have other interests of work outside the band? I'm planning to offer my services to anyone who wants soundtracks for their movies, games etc.

Are you looking for a label, and what are your thoughts around that? So far, I record and do all the work with my own equipment, so at the moment I don't think it would be an advantage to be on a label.

What made you decide to make this music? The will to make a contribution, even if small, to the history of music in general.

What are your songs about? About feelings, moments, places, situations and mysteries of life.

Who does the composing and writes the lyrics? I compose everything. Regarding to the lyrics, until now there are only instrumental pieces.

Do you compose in a certain inviroment? I like to compose on my piano, where I can test each idea that comes up, but sometimes I have an idea when I'm doing something else, and I try to write it in a piece of paper, or record my own voice with instructions.

What was your first gig like? It was in the university where I studied. About 200 people were in the audience, and our band (Gli Scugnizzi) was very applauded.

What do you think about people downloading music instead of buying records now a days? I'm very nostalgic about the CDs and LPs, but I think we have to accept that these are new times, the technology is always transforming our society, and we have to learn how to do the things in a different manner. Not everybody could afford to have the physical recordings, therefore it was more difficult to get to know many bands or genres. Today, it's definitely easier. The same can be said about the publishing of material. Today, we can do all the work in a home studio and put it all online to the whole world to hear it.

What do you think of my work? I think it's really nice. You give us artists the opportunity to talk about our art, our history, and it makes us think about ourselves before answering, which is great because most people don't do it very often. It's also a great opportunity to people getting to know our work.

How do you think and know that this interview will help you in the music business? I think it's a great reference, and people might be interested in my work and make contact with me.

Do you have any role models or idols? I don't try to imitate anybody, but I'm inspired by the actions of those who never gave up and never hurt anybody to get to their objectives. I prefer not to mention anyone in particular, but I'm sure everybody can recognize this pattern of people in their own lives.

Why do you think that they exist? Maybe they exist to make the world better? I don't know. But surely they guide people who need guidance. And I think everybody, at least in some moment of life, needs some sort of guidance.

Is it easier to find inspiration from older bands, or bands that are more active today? For me it's easier to find inspiration in older bands, and mostly in the work of people who no longer lives but that gaves us so much.

What have been your biggest obstacles? Not being able to fully dedicate myself to the music yet, having to work in another job.

What advice would you give other bands or artists? First of all, learn everything you can about music. When you're already working with it, you'll have much less time. And don't try to please everyone, because it's impossible. You have to be sincere to yourself and your music to be sincere to people.

Do you have any new material? I'm publishing one video per week on my YouTube channel, mostly arrangements, covers of famous songs, but I'm also composing new material which will be soon published on the main streaming platforms.

What are your web sites? I'm yet to create my website, for I'm yet making the material that will be there, such as examples of orchestral movie soundtracks, alternative arrangements of my own music to different instrumentations etc.

How can people reach? People can find me on Facebook and YouTube, or in my e-mail [email protected]

What are your plans for the future? Continue to publishing videos on YouTube while I create my website to offer my services for those who are interested.

Do you have something to add? I thank you very much for giving me the opportunity to talk about myself, my music and my projects. I wish you a very successful career!