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Six Strings with... Guillermo Guareschi


So I wanted to introduce you to one of the Howlin' Wolf Record's latest composers Guillermo Guareschi and the release of "Phase 7". It happens to be the seventh release and the title makes it connect well as does the score to the film. This gritty electronic score will be enjoyed by all as it tweaks your senses and is very pulse pounding. So I wanted to introduce the man behind the score and let you get to know what makes him stand above the rest. It was a complete pleasure to able to talk with him and wanted to thank him again...

Thank You!
Jeremy [Retro-Zombie] 

Bio: Born in Buenos Aires, Guillermo Guareschi discovered his passion for music while studying architecture at the age of 20. At that time he began to study classical counterpoint and composition, piano and guitar, jazz, tango and folklore. He moved to Boston where he graduated from Berklee College Of Music with honors, specializing in film scoring and orchestration. Guillermo then moved to Los Angeles where he won several scholarships including the prestigious BMI Film Scoring Competition award in 1995. Earle Hagen, Mike Post, Dave Spear and Fred Karlin personally taught him advanced scoring techniques and orchestration. He wrote the music for many successful Argentinian TV series such as: Los Simuladores, Montecristo, Hermanos y Detectives and for the blockbuster feature films Tiempo de Valientes and Musica en Espera, both nominated "Condor de Plata" for Best Score.
   With orchestral works such as "Esferas" and "Random Walk," written for full symphony orchestra, Guillermo is recognized as an emerging contemporary composer in Argentina and abroad.
   His rock band "LOBO" was featured in the prime time drama Montecristo and the movie Los Paranoicos. Guillermo is currently composing for films, television, and orchestra. He works from his studio in Buenos Aires for local and international projects. 


How did you get started in the field of music and how did that lead you to composing?
Guillermo Guareschi: I was studying architecture at age 20 when I met a student there that happens to play guitar, I liked the idea of learning an instrument so I picked up a Spanish guitar… from that moment everything changed. Six months later I was writing my own songs, no more architecture, music brought a meaning to my life. At first I wanted to be a rock star (probably like everybody else) but then I realize that to be prepared as a musician I needed to study composition, counterpoint, traditional harmony, orchestration, etc. So I grabbed my luggage, sold my guitars and piano and went to study to Berklee College of Music in Boston.


What are you working on now currently and what have you completed?
Guillermo Guareschi: This year I decided to focus on my postponed projects and goals, which are; a piano solo release cd, a modern tango Cd I’m working on, preparing a show live with musicians, and a bunch of electronic designs and ideas I’ve been working for many years. Later project I did was a black & white silent movie with a lot of tango music. Loved that project. I used to joked and tell the directors I’ve worked with, that movies should be mainly images and music, because  Argentinian films loves to go for extended dialogues, so with this silent movie I get what I wanted, just images and music.

In your circle of composers who do work with and what is the best part of your contributions?
Guillermo Guareschi: I work alone in my projects, just enjoy the whole process of it, composing, orchestrating, recording the instruments as well as playing guitar, keyboards, bass and percussion. I will like to work with great orchestrators, they know their stuff and can contribute great ideas to the project.


Who inspires you musically and who do you listen to?
Guillermo Guareschi: Great music inspires me. There is so much good music to listen to. Talking about classical; I got a lot of inspiration and learning from the works of Ravel and Debussy. Morricone, John Williams, Jerry Goldsmith and Herrmann are the main ones that I listened much for great film scores. But at the end of the day I listen to some Beatles of course.

Out of all your released work, which gives you the best feeling of accomplishment?
Guillermo Guareschi: It’s hard to choose one because each work has something that I considered special, but I can say which type of scores are the one that I enjoyed more and those are the projects where I’ve had total freedom in the composition, there I feel very relaxed and can expressed myself directly.


Walk us throughout a typical day?
Guillermo Guareschi: Wake up early, drink a squeezed grapefruit and orange juice, then answer some mails. I spent most of the day in the studio. I organized my day in small compartments, one dedicated to compose, next one to play guitar, then designing my projects and jumping between each one so I don’t get burned with one thing, play more guitar, fine tune later mixes and compositions, get mail and answer them, listening to music, then go back again and give some more time to each project. This philosophy is the one that I like the most so I don’t get obsessed with one thing, spending weeks and weeks in it, I can be more objective with a clearer mind this way.

Bonus: You can ask me a question or tell us something you would like us to know about you or anything you want?
Guillermo Guareschi: Music is changing these days as well the style of filming and editing. It looks like everything is more about the looks and not the substance, then the final works starts to look similar to each other, things are becoming standardized. Seems that people in the industry is afraid of the outcome so they look for proven ways, missing the point. The public is looking for new things, those new things are the ones that take people out of the tedious routine and accelerated life we lived in. Of course going for new ideas can be risky but, aren’t we here to take chances?

1 comment:

youngelfman said...

VERY VERY interesting interview. THANKS for sharing this!