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FINALLY, this year 2020 is coming to an end.
Probably one of the worst years for most people, due to the COVID-19 pandemic and its effect on the world and the health of some people, certainly overshadowing the timing of the end of the year holidays and making us wonder “what are we celebrating?” And I think what we want to celebrate is that this frustrated, unusual and difficult year that we had to go through is ending.

Personally, the year 2020 for me was even more complicated. I’m going to tell you a little more!

2019-2020 (Australia)

I received the 2020 in Sydney. I was in Australia since July 2019. The situation in Argentina had me rotten for a long time. I spent the winter and spring 2019 working on farms in eastern Australia, near Coffs Harbor, NSW.

I worked as a blueberry picker, the pay was not very good at first, until you start getting the hang of it, and find yourself a better employer xD Actually, the farm is hard because you have to get up VERY early, depending on the fruit it starts between 4 and 5 AM, the days are very hot there, and a lot of physical effort is made, not to mention that you have to be quick with your hands working since you are often paid by “piece-rate agreement” instead of hourly on most farms.

At the end of 2019 we headed south with my girlfriend, to Sydney, one of the most important cities in Australia, with the aim of finding other types of jobs as a waiter, bartender, barista or something similar and live in the city. My goal was to save money and then start performing live in bars and making some money from music.

We had never been to Sydney but everyone told us to go, that there was a lot of movement and work, and we would definitely find a job quickly. They also warned us that it was extremely expensive, especially compared to rental prices in remote areas of Australia (roughly double).

Summer at Maroubra Beach (Sydney)

We took the night train from Coffs Harbor to Sydney, a journey of about 7 hours.

We rented a room in a share house in Maroubra Beach, one block away from the ocean, with an ocean view. The location was perfect. The house was not what it appeared in the ad, and we did not have the best experience with the hostess, nor did she with us.

This added to the fact that it was VERY EXPENSIVE to pay that rent per week, without having an income. We started eating the money we made so hard on the farm.

We arrived in Sydney on December 8, 2019, and we started looking for work like crazy, but nobody had warned us that arriving at this time would not be ideal: in December, the year comes to an end and in Australia everything stops, in Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve and during January, the “work” is on pause, so that businesses do not have open searches for job positions, they are all covered. You really start to lose your mind when you see your finances vanish due to such expensive rents without getting an income. Every day I walked different areas of the Eastern Suburbs handing my resume, looking for a job in a cafe, restaurant, or whatever. But it was difficult. I did everything I could and nothing came out. So the rest of the day I tried to enjoy being in Sydney, a block away from the beach, and relax after several months of working on the farms.

I bought a surfboard and spent the middle of December looking for work and applying to every online job that exists, and learning to surf the waves of Maroubra Beach, a really beautiful beach.

Getting a job in Sydney

By mid-January I managed to get a job thanks to a piece of information that a friend I made on the farm, my great friend Germán.
It was a SHUTTLE HOST job at the Sydney cruise terminal, I had to receive cruise passengers and guide them on their excursions. It was a long shift job, 8-12 hours a day, but they paid by the hour, and I didn’t have any income so obviously I took it. At the same time, I kept applying for sales jobs and whatever. I managed to attend 3 interviews for working as a salesperson, from which I was selected to 2 of them. Suddenly I had three jobs, the port job and two more sales jobs. One selling solar energy (solar panels) door-to-door. Yes, we were going to knock on people and ask if they wanted to install solar panels. Tough! But when you don’t have the dough, you can’t act as a playboy. The other job was as a salesman inside a shopping mall, in a small stall, selling subscriptions for Hello Fresh.

In February, we went from Maroubra’s house to a shared house with 4 other Argentines in Bondi. We needed to change the air. Almost a month after successfully doing the work at the port, another backpacker who worked with the company informed me that there was a position in the office, if I was interested, obviously I said YES! and my friend Marta recommended me to process receipts and approve payments, an embarrassing job! but much better than standing only 12 hours in the sun with an umbrella. Thanks MARTA!

Moving to Bondi and the nightmare

In Bondi’s house, everything seemed to be improving. We both found work, the guys from the house made us feel home, my girlfriend was working as a Bartender, and I was about to get into the office. Everything was going well until… on a day off, we decided to go for a walk along the coast of Bondi Beach, in the area of ​​Ben Buckler, a cliff overlooking the sea. We always spent as much time as possible close to nature, walking, discovering places, and enjoying the outdoors. Australia really has amazing places. Unfortunately that day we had no good luck and on that walk my girlfriend slipped on a stone and her ankle broke … we both fell to the ground and instantly I knew that something was not right. She started screaming in pain and her foot was very twisted, in an area where there were no people around, and they were all irregular stones. I tried to sit her down on a rock, I started screaming for help from people around us, but they were too far away, no one was close to us. Her pain was so strong that she almost fainted, we had almost no water left in our the bottle, and it was evident that the accident was something serious. One of the most stressful situations that we went through… I had to adjust the foot that was twisted, to avoid more pain, I don’t know how I did it but I just took a deep breath and tried to align the foot with respect to the tibia.

Since then everything turned to hell, what was our day-off of relax at 3 o’clock in the afternoon we ended up spending in an ambulance, arriving at the hospital, getting films and x-rays, to determine his triple ankle fracture (trimalleolar fracture) one of the worse injuries as all 3 bones were damaged. She was left in a wheelchair and everything turned uphill from that moment. THANK GOD we had travel insurance (ASSIST CARD saved us) and paid the transportation costs (just the ambulance to the hospital was about 500 Australian dollars), supplies, surgery costs (yes she had to get surgery ABROAD), and more.

Despite this misfortune, luckily I got the office job, and Soni could no longer work in the restaurant because she could not walk. Suddenly my office job was our only livelihood, and I had to take care of her because she couldn’t even bathe alone. March 2020 was striking hard, and as if that were not enough, that is where the issue of coronavirus began in earnest in the world and in Australia as well.

Luckily the boys in the house, Emma, ​​Leti, Flor, Vale, Lu, Luri, were amazing and helped us with everything they could 🙂 but it was difficult to endure the day to day working and taking care of everything, cooking, buying injections in the pharmacy that she had to apply to control blood clotting, and see my girlfriend fractured, in another country, unable to move and having to go to the hospital for surgery. This month I had my first panic attack, I was going through a lot of tension and uncertainty, and to top it off, it felt like the pandemic was advancing at full speed, there was talk of border closures and repatriation flights … it was very uphill from there and shortly after it was confirmed that at the end of March the airports would close, I worked in the office with cruise ships (tourist services) that would be affected by a pandemic, and I had already been informed that by May my temporary contract would not be renewed given the situation.

End of our Journey (Flight back to ARG)

Shortly after we got a flight to Buenos Aires, via Santiago. We were with all the bags, backpack, I had my acoustic guitar, and she was on a wheelchair with a broken foot, another shitty moment!

We took the flight on March 23 from Sydney to Santiago de Chile, and when we got there we found out that several days ago there had been MISCELLANEOUS people at the SCL airport, waiting for connecting flights that were not being executed due to administrative and governmental situations of each airport, and the airline reception was a riot. A total mess, no distancing protocol whatsoever in the middle of a “pandemic” situation, all of them complaining because they are located at once on their canceled flights. With Soni in a wheelchair and all our belongings, after a few hours, we were able to be relocated to a flight that would leave 36 hours later. We had to sleep in the airport, after the 14 hour flight from Sydney, and with Soni’s broken leg. A lot of stress… really shitty moments that leave a mark on you…

Fortunately after all that QUILOMBO we arrived in Buenos Aires on March 24, 2020, our trip to Australia was over and we are still waiting for the borders to open to resume our migration effort abroad. Once I decide to travel, a pandemic breaks out and my girlfriend breaks her ankle, now that’s some accuracy!

Back in Argentina (March 2020)

Since then, I reunited with my family and I was able to relax a little. Given the situation of preventive isolation, it was hard to return and not be able to meet with friends or relatives that I had not seen since I left the country. It was ugly that my trip to Australia was kind of forgotten and went unnoticed.

I progressively gave back priority to my musical project, which had been on hiatus during 2019.

In April I resumed work on my next album “Cyan”, which already had some demos and electric guitars recorded, and continued to advance with the creation of these songs. I spent all of May, June and July working primarily on these issues, and also shaping the idea and content for my YouTube channel, to bring more visibility to my artistic endeavors.

Getting COVID-19

In August, I don’t know where or how but I got coronavirus. Probably when I went to the market or to buy fruits, I am not sure; but I started to feel bad and after two days of sustained fever I decided to do that swab and I had to isolate myself by government measures in a hotel for 10 days. The first 2 days were horrible, a tremendous headache, and a significant feeling of fatigue. I had no trouble breathing, no loss of taste or smell, but the headache was the strongest I ever felt. Fortunately, on the fourth day I started to feel good, until I was able to go home.

After this pause forced by my health I continued with the production of my next album and the goal of developing my YouTube channel.

I finished composing and producing the songs that will be the singles on the album, recording guitars, basses and vocals. I managed to move almost twice as fast with creating the themes for Metamorphosis.

Indica Stout (November 2020)

In November I decided to try to put together a band to present the new material “Cyan”, since the Australian border does not seem to open until March or July 2021, it would give me enough time to form a group and rehearse these songs to maximize promotion of the new album with live performances and streaming shows. I contacted musicians I knew to see if they were interested in the project and if they were available. I also contacted studios and rehearsal rooms to find a place where we could prepare.

Shortly after I consolidated the base of the band, with Christian on bass and Paul on drums, two musicians I already knew, and who were interested in integrating the project to give shape to this version of Indica Stout.

In December we started rehearsing the singles for the next album “Cyan”, and we are preparing songs from the previous album “Metamorphosis”, and also other new songs.

Metamorphosis is an album that revolves mainly around the electric guitar, while Cyan orbits more on the piano and keyboards. It is something different but it maintains the essence. Those who already listened to the singles were delighted, and if you haven’t heard them, you can still do it for free at my music section on my website.

Musical evolution & piano progress

Musically this year will be marked as the year where I was able to prepare my second solo album, but mainly in which I started to make considerable progress with the piano. I’ve been playing the piano for about 5 years, but this year I really spent many hours improving my piano and keyboard skills, and little by little it is paying off. Before I always felt it was kinda mandatory to incorporate a keyboard player in the band, however nowadays I still think that it would be great to have a keyboardist, but that I can also occupy that role myself, and thus continue to develop. I’m going to try to get the CHARLY GARCIA out of myself xD

Undoubtedly during this bloody pandemic, isolation, distancing and all that sh#t in April, I made it my goal that this entire period be productive, although I also spent a lot of it playing Counter-Strike xD
I invested a lot of time in my songs, practicing with the piano, creating the contents of the YouTube channel, etc. And now at the end of 2020, to see all these things done after pushing and all the learning involved, is quite satisfying; seeing that all effort is now visible in my YouTube channel, it will be seen in my new songs, in my new band, and especially in the future when I go out into the world again, with a second album under my arm and more experience.

Wrapping Up…

Certainly 2020 was a difficult year for everyone and for me too. Probably one of the hardest of my life. But this also came with a lot of learning, and I continue to reassure what I want to do and the direction I want to take my life.

Sometimes we don’t know why things happen, but over time we can see that what happened happened for a reason, and it will be up to us to learn to understand the outcome of things.

And how was your 2020? Did you have coronavirus? Leave me a comment and tell me. I sincerely hope that 2021 is better for everyone. Cheers!

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Hello, I’m Gio De Marco, but… What is “to be”?

Who are we really? Are we conscious beings? Are we energy?

Are we a perfect machine, that creates from our birth its own interpretation of “reality”?

Or … might we simply be a beam of light that controls the body we inhabit? An energetic particle that will wander the universe for the rest of eternity? But … what is eternity? Does time really exist, or is it just an illusion?

But … what is the universe? Is it a multidimensional perimeter area, of infinite extension and depth? And is there only one, or will there be different universes, perhaps one within the other, or multiple coexisting?

Many questions, few answers … constant that are maintained throughout my existence. Whatever that is.

I must admit that on several occasions I have felt like sharing the intimacy of the humble creator that lives in me. Although the feeling that this “would make no sense to others” was frequently imposed with greater presence. But none of this really exists for others, but for myself. For trying to manifest my true essence. For trying to create something unique that lasts over time. Whatever that is. I think I do this for myself.
Because it is my way of expressing myself.
Because I enjoy it.
Because since I was a teenager I felt that this was my path.
Because it’s what I was created for.
For celebrating my existence. And honor life.

A few years ago, I convinced myself that I would do the impossible to make the rest of my life revolve around an activity that gives me pleasure and satisfaction from investing time and effort. As a sculptor who dedicates years and years to acquiring unreal sculpture techniques, being able then to reveal shapes and characters hidden in what previously seemed like a simple stone, my passion resonates with the artistic from creativity, perfectionism, detail. Known as artistic production, it is something that has been in my head for more than a decade, although I did not know this profession. I did not know that it was a possible way of life.

My Music Beginning, Trovadicta & Subduction

My bond with music started when I was little …
My mother had studied piano and singing. I grew up listening to music on the radio, Queen, Beatles, Rolling Stones, although it was only at the age of 13 that I felt an urge to learn to play the drums. My musical taste, at that time fed by MTV, began to lean towards sounds and groups like Nirvana, Soundgarden, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Green Day, among others. Around this time, I began to develop a strong interest in skateboarding and the music that accompanied the sport. Quickly and with the progressive penetration of the Internet, I began to meet “new” artists who accompanied the movement, such as NOFX, Bad Religion, Lagwagon, Pennywise, Millencolin, among others. This style fueled my desire to be able to master the drums and play fast rhythms.

In 2002 I started taking drum lessons with a jazz teacher. Shortly after, with financial help from my grandmother and my uncle, I acquired my first battery, a Mapex Mars, which I couldn’t use much because the neighbors complained. Anyway, I soon put it to use since at the age of 15 I joined my first group, Trovadicta, with origins related to artists such as Silvio Rodriguez, Joan Manuel Serrat and Joaquin Sabina. Although light years away from the musical genre that I wanted to explore, it helped me to practice and progress on the instrument, get together to rehearse, and experiment with live performances.

After several neighborhood recitals, I had my first experience in a recording studio, as a drummer. We recorded a 5-track EP with Trovadicta to show the songs we had. Unfortunately I don’t keep those songs …

As I went through my adolescence learning more and more about music, I began to develop a skill that would be fundamental: to be self-taught and multifaceted. At 15, two years after starting to study drums, I started my guitar journey. Borrowing an old, dilapidated classical guitar that belonged to my mother.

A string was missing, some pegs were not working. But it was not an impediment to start building a base. I started by playing one string at a time and understanding the intervals between strings and frets, and soon I understood that there were great similarities to bass. In this way, by 2005 and at the age of 16, I had already performed at multiple concerts and recorded a demo as a drummer, and now I was taking my first steps playing bass in Que Nos Queda, a rock and roll band.
Meanwhile I kept learning guitar and started writing my first songs. In 2006 I bought my first electric guitar, a luthier stratocaster. By then I had composed several songs and decided to start my own punk rock band. When I was 16 years old, I founded Subductor, my first project with friends, where I was the composer, guitarist and singer. Of course … that band SUCKED because of my little experience, but it was already a hint of things to come.

Have Fun (2007-2008)

By 2007 I was already taking my first steps in recording demos and home demos. It featured a 15w Peavey Rage 158 amplifier that belonged to my uncle and a HORRIBLE computer mic. Those recordings did suck, but they helped me to continue building my first songs.

I used FLStudio to create digital drum beats. Meanwhile, he continued to play bass with QNQ and Suboduction underwent changes of members and name. New musicians that I met on the internet, Ashi on drums and Maly on bass, would now shape “Have Fun”, an “evolved” version of Subduction, which was still STINKING xD. With HF we played many more times, we toured the coast, and we had the experience of recording a demo (my first guitars and vocals), with which I was able to continue meeting people, other musicians and gaining experience. He was composing more and more music and lyrics, while studying a tertiary degree in Web Design and Multimedia.

Forever (2008-2010)

In 2008, after two intense years of Have Fun, I embarked on a new musical project, a little more melodic and ambitious. Through the contacts that I met thanks to Have Fun, Forever was born.

At this time skateboarding was still very present, and I already had more idea of how to assemble demo songs at home, although I had few tools. I remember connecting the guitar directly to the Microphone minijack, and using the guitar rig to texture the sound, there weren’t many resources and I didn’t have much idea but at least I tried.

By 2010, after some shows and positive feedback from the public, Forever faded due to various circumstances in each one’s life, but the friendship lasted.

Artistic Energy Records Birth (2015)

After almost 5 years of uninterrupted focus on music, I was immersed in the reality of having a full-time job, and being “a prisoner of the system” which made me lose interest in music. After a few years of professional career in the IT industry, in 2015 I traveled to New York and equipped myself with some necessary tools to strongly resume my musical activities and set up my own home studio. This is when I decided that I wanted to get fully involved as a musician, music producer, songwriter, session player, whatever. I spent a few months studying and learning more about the world of mixing and recording, and with my self-taught ability I recorded my first complete song (all instruments and voices) that I mixed in a small room at the time my house in Belgrano, Buenos Aires. Aires. A rock version of the song “Chandelier” by Sia.

Indica Stout (2016-Present)

Satisfied but not satisfied with the results, I used remnants of songs that had never been published in Have Fun and Forever and transformed them into improved material for a new project, my latest musical project: Indica Stout. It was also the moment when I decided to create my own record label, Artistic Energy Records. Aimed at helping develop artists with little knowledge and resources, what I would have wanted to have when that was me.

Metamorfosis (2018)

After 3 years of work, in December 2018 I finished my first solo album, “Metamorphosis”, a conceptual work for which I composed and performed all the instruments and voices, as well as produced and mixed the entire album in my humble home studio. It was a lot of work that I describe in detail in my next video.
Right now I am working on “Cyan” my next solo album and my second to be released through Artistic Energy Records.
Since then, I have been working every day to improve my skills and be able to earn a living as a music producer, mixing and / or recording engineer, guitarist, bassist, drummer, among other activities. It is undoubtedly a long road and it is still developing.

If you liked this video, please help me by leaving a comment and a like, and if you can share it a friend even better!

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Hi, I’m Gio De Marco, a multi-instrumentalist songwriter, self-taught recording and mixing engineer.

Nowadays you don’t need a professional studio such as Abbey Road to record incredible music. It is possible to create high quality mixes, with lots of clarity and depth, while maintaining its dynamic range right from your home or bedroom studio.
But possible doesn’t mean you automatically know how to do it.

That’s why in 2015 I founded my own independent record producer, Artistic Energy Records, created for helping musicians and artists develop their art by providing them with tools and resources to do so. Back when I started -18 years ago- I didn’t have a lot of resources, equipment or knowledge, and had to go through this myself, so I’m hoping some of the things I’ve learned during these years might be useful to fellow creators.

As an independent musician, I’m constantly challenging myself, experimenting, defying the limits of the unknown, and doing things I may not have a lot of experience doing. With this recipe though, I’ve self-taught myself 100% to compose and play instruments such as piano, guitar, bass guitar, ukulele… as well as the foundation of recording, mixing, music production, among others. Nobody told me about it, I figured it out myself. By lots of trial and error, failing and learning. Using my ears, putting my hands to work. Good news… If I could do it, you can do it!

Artistic Energy Records’ debut release was my first solo album, “Metamorfosis” a progressive-rock concept album in 2018, which was done completely by me (Gio De Marco) almost completely in-the-box on my humble home studio. My next album, “Cyan” is actually on the process and will be the next label release.

Through these videos, I’ll try to share my own experience and the things I’ve learned so far in this amazing trip of creating and producing music on a budget and with not a lot of resources, such as bedroom studios, home studios, or on-the-go setups.

Subscribe to Artistic Energy Records channel to dig in the behind-the-scenes of my work in the studio, recording and mixing sessions, music production tips and audio tutorials for indie musicians, guitarists, songwriters or composers who might be interested in recording their own music.

Join my trip of making music for a living!