Gizmo Varillas

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Gizmo Varillas
Birth nameGuillermo Varillas Kortabarria
Born (1990-01-09) 9 January 1990 (age 31)
Santander, Spain, ES
GenresSinger Songwriter, Indie, Funk, Latin, Tropical, Acoustic, Folk, Rock
Occupation(s)
  • Songwriter
  • musician
  • record producer
InstrumentsVocals, guitar, charango, bass, keys/synths, percussion...
Years active2014–present
Associated acts
Websitewww.gizmovarillas.com

Gizmo Varillas (Spanish: [ˈɡizmo βaˈɾiʎas] (About this soundlisten); born Guillermo Varillas Kortabarria on 9 January 1990) is a Spanish songwriter, musician and record producer currently living in London. He was born in Spain and raised in Wales.[1] Varillas played multiple instruments, engineered, arranged, produced and wrote each song on his first two albums.[2] Rolling Stone chose his song ‘Give a Little Love’ from his debut album El Dorado as their #1 most beautiful undiscovered 2020 summer hit of the moment. They also named the whole album as the perfect summer playlist.[3]

Collaborations[]

Varillas sampled John Lennon on his song "No War" after getting permission from Yoko Ono. The dialogue is taken from an interview with Lennon, aired on BBC 2 as part of the arts program "Release" on 6 June 1968.[4]

Varillas worked with legendary Afrobeat drummer Tony Alen on his single Saving Grace, they recorded together at RAK Studios in London.[5] The music video was premiered and featured by The Independent and Varillas was chosen by music correspondent Roisin O'Connor as her spotlight artist. In an interview with the newspaper, he said that he wrote Saving Grace as a homage to music. Throughout the toughest times in his life, music has always been one of the few things he could count on to lift him back up.[6]

Varillas' song "Losing You" was remixed by Baio from Vampire Weekend and it was featured on the FIFA 19 soundtrack.[7] His song "Fever, Fever" was featured on the Netflix series Special in 2019.[8]

He also collaborated with Calexico (band) member Sergio Mendoza Y La Orkesta on his song A La Vida.[9]

In 2021, Varillas co-wrote the song 'Calling Me Back to You' with Jack Savoretti. The song was part of Savoretti's album 'Europiana' which made it to number 1 on the official UK album charts.[10]

Music career[]

Varillas' career began with his debut studio album El Dorado (2017), which was named one of the top 10 albums of the year by Classic Pop magazine.[11] The title track El Dorado was featured in Cafe Del Mar XXV Compilation album.[12]

During his live appearances, he opened for Brazilian musician Seu Jorge, Mexican guitarists Rodrigo y Gabriela,[13] Latin singer Natalia Lafourcade,[14] Julieta Venegas,[15] French singer Zaz,[16] and Italian singer-songwriter Jack Savoretti across Europe.[17] He also played at Zermatt Unplugged in 2019,[18] The Great Escape Festival in 2018,[19] Latitude Festival in 2018,[20] and Montreux Jazz Festival in 2017.[21] He was named Artist of the Month by Cafe Nero,[22] and one of top 10 artists at Eurosonic Festival by leading Dutch music site 3VOOR12.[23]

The song "Losing You" from his second album Dreaming of Better Days is a response to the Orlando nightclub shooting.[24] It was chosen as best song of 2018 by Songpickr.[25] The song was later remixed by Baio, and included in the FIFA 19 soundtrack.[26]

Charity[]

In 2019, Varillas worked alongside Movember where he donated half of the profits of his cover of I Put A Spell On You by Screamin' Jay Hawkins to Movember projects that tackle mental health, suicide prevention, prostate cancer and testicular cancer.[27]

Discography[]

Studio albums[]

  • El Dorado (2017)
  • Dreaming of Better Days (2018)
  • Out of the Darkness (2020)

References[]

  1. ^ "INTERVIEW: GIZMO VARILLAS". Retrieved July 5, 2020.
  2. ^ "INTERVIEW: GIZMO VARILLAS". Retrieved February 19, 2019.
  3. ^ "10 unbekannte Sommersongs, die Sie kennen sollten". Rolling Stone. August 7, 2020. Retrieved August 9, 2019.
  4. ^ Owens, David (February 18, 2017). "John Lennon's voice features on a record by a Cardiff musician with Yoko Ono's permisson". Wales Online. Retrieved January 29, 2018.
  5. ^ "Gizmo Varillas and Tony Allen". TMRW. October 24, 2019. Retrieved October 30, 2019.
  6. ^ "The Independent Spotlight Artist Gizmo Varillas". November 8, 2019. Retrieved November 8, 2019.
  7. ^ "FIFA 19 soundtrack: Full list of artists, songs & music on new game". Goal. Retrieved February 18, 2019.
  8. ^ "Special Soundtrack List". Soundtrackport. April 18, 2019. Retrieved April 21, 2019.
  9. ^ "Gizmo Varillas - A La Vida (feat. Orkesta Mendoza)". SinWebRadiot. February 14, 2021. Retrieved February 14, 2021.
  10. ^ "Jack Savoretti - Europiana No1 Album". OfficialCharts. July 5, 2021. Retrieved July 5, 2021.
  11. ^ Wallace, Wyndham (December 22, 2017). "The Very Best of 2017". Classic Pop Magazine (36): 86–87.
  12. ^ "Cafe Del Mar XXV Compilation". iHeart. Retrieved August 3, 2019.
  13. ^ "Rodrigo y Gabriela + Gizmo Varillas". The Sage. Retrieved October 2, 2019.
  14. ^ "Natalia Lafourcade + Gizmo Varillas". Latino Life. Retrieved February 13, 2018.
  15. ^ Sydney, Sims. "Latino artists bringing beats back to London". The Prisma – The Multicultural Newspaper. The Prisma. Retrieved January 29, 2018.
  16. ^ "Zaz + Gizmo Varillas". Ents24. Retrieved May 26, 2019.
  17. ^ "Gizmo Varillas debut album El Dorado". Europapress. Retrieved February 19, 2018.
  18. ^ "2019 Zermatt Unplugged". OpenAirGuide. Retrieved April 21, 2019.
  19. ^ "The Great Escape Festival". The Great Escape Festival. Retrieved February 19, 2019.
  20. ^ "Latitude Festival". NME. March 21, 2018. Retrieved February 19, 2019.
  21. ^ "2017 Montreux Jazz Festival". Punto Latino. Retrieved January 29, 2018.
  22. ^ "Gizmo Varillas Artist of the Month February 2017". Caffè Nero. Retrieved January 30, 2018.
  23. ^ "10 top tips for Eurosonic 2018". 3voor12. Retrieved January 30, 2018.
  24. ^ Murray, Robin. "Gizmo Varillas' Beautiful 'Losing You' Is A Response to the Orlando Shooting". CLASH Magazine. Retrieved January 29, 2018.
  25. ^ Christoph, Holger. "Songpickr: Best Song Of The Year". Songpickr. Retrieved January 30, 2018.
  26. ^ "FIFA 19 soundtrack: Full list of artists, songs & music on new game | Goal.com". www.goal.com. Retrieved July 26, 2021.
  27. ^ "Gizmo Varillas Movember". Music Business World Wide. September 27, 2019. Retrieved November 11, 2019.

External links[]

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