Gizmo Varillas

Gizmo Varillas (Spanish: [ˈɡismo βaˈɾiʎas] ⓘ; born Guillermo Varillas Kortabarria on 9 January 1990) is a Spanish-British songwriter, musician and record producer currently living in Brighton. He was born in Spain and raised in Wales.[1]

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

Music career & collaborations

In 2016, Varillas played all the instruments, engineered, arranged, produced and wrote each song on his debut album.[2] He then 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.[3]

In 2017, Varillas released his debut studio album El Dorado, which was named one of the top 10 albums of the year by Classic Pop magazine.[4] The title track El Dorado was featured in Cafe Del Mar XXV Compilation album.[5]

In 2018, Varillas' song "Losing You" from his second album Dreaming of Better Days was a response to the Orlando nightclub shooting.[6] It was chosen as best song of 2018 by Songpickr.[7]

In 2019, Varillas' song "Losing You" was remixed by Baio from Vampire Weekend and it was featured on the FIFA 19 soundtrack.[8] His song "Fever, Fever" was featured on the Netflix series Special in 2019.[9]

In 2020, Varillas worked with legendary Afrobeat drummer Tony Allen on his single Saving Grace, they recorded together at RAK Studios in London.[10] 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.[11] Rolling Stone chose his song ‘Give a Little Love’ from his 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.[12]

In 2021, Varillas collaborated with Calexico (band) member Sergio Mendoza Y La Orkesta on his song A La Vida.[13] In the same year, 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.[14]

In 2022, Varillas worked with Grammy award-winning producer and engineer Noah Georgeson on his song 'A New Dawn'.[15] In the same year, Varillas composed the music for the BBC documentary Transfer: The Fate of Emiliano Sala [16] and the podcast Transfer: The Emiliano Sala Story about the mysterious disappearance and death of Argentine professional footballer Emiliano Sala.[17] Varillas' song Freedom For A Change was also part of the Netflix original film I Used To Be Famous (2022) soundtrack.[18]

Live performances

During his live appearances, Varillas opened for Brazilian musician Seu Jorge, Mexican guitarists Rodrigo y Gabriela,[19] Latin singer Natalia Lafourcade,[20] Julieta Venegas,[21] French singer Zaz,[22] and Italian singer-songwriter Jack Savoretti across Europe.[23] He also played at Zermatt Unplugged in 2019,[24] The Great Escape Festival in 2018,[25] Latitude Festival in 2018,[26] and Montreux Jazz Festival in 2017.[27] He was named Artist of the Month by Cafe Nero,[28] and one of top 10 artists at Eurosonic Festival by leading Dutch music site 3VOOR12.[29]

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.[30]

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. Owens, David (February 18, 2017). "John Lennon's voice features on a record by a Cardiff musician with Yoko Ono's permission". Wales Online. Retrieved January 29, 2018.
  4. Wallace, Wyndham (December 22, 2017). "The Very Best of 2017". Classic Pop Magazine (36): 86–87.
  5. "Cafe Del Mar XXV Compilation". iHeart. Retrieved August 3, 2019.
  6. Murray, Robin. "Gizmo Varillas' Beautiful 'Losing You' Is A Response to the Orlando Shooting". CLASH Magazine. Retrieved January 29, 2018.
  7. Christoph, Holger. "Songpickr: Best Song Of The Year". Songpickr. Retrieved January 30, 2018.
  8. "FIFA 19 soundtrack: Full list of artists, songs & music on new game". Goal. Retrieved February 18, 2019.
  9. "Special Soundtrack List". Soundtrackport. April 18, 2019. Retrieved April 21, 2019.
  10. "Gizmo Varillas and Tony Allen". TMRW. October 24, 2019. Retrieved October 30, 2019.
  11. "The Independent Spotlight Artist Gizmo Varillas". November 8, 2019. Retrieved November 8, 2019.
  12. "10 unbekannte Sommersongs, die Sie kennen sollten". Rolling Stone. August 7, 2020. Retrieved August 9, 2019.
  13. "Gizmo Varillas - A La Vida (feat. Orkesta Mendoza)". SinWebRadiot. February 14, 2021. Retrieved February 14, 2021.
  14. "Jack Savoretti - Europiana No1 Album". OfficialCharts. July 5, 2021. Retrieved July 5, 2021.
  15. "Gizmo Varillas' New Song A New Dawn". tetartopress. March 17, 2022. Retrieved March 17, 2022.
  16. "BBC Documentary. Transfer: The Fate of Emiliano Sala | BBC.co.uk". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved September 23, 2022.
  17. "BBC Podcast. Transfer: The Emiliano Sala Story | BBC.co.uk". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved August 12, 2022.
  18. "I Used To Be Famous Netflix Film Soundtrack". tune-list.com. September 23, 2022. Retrieved September 23, 2022.
  19. "Rodrigo y Gabriela + Gizmo Varillas". The Sage. Retrieved October 2, 2019.
  20. "Natalia Lafourcade + Gizmo Varillas". Latino Life. Retrieved February 13, 2018.
  21. Sydney, Sims. "Latino artists bringing beats back to London". The Prisma – The Multicultural Newspaper. The Prisma. Retrieved January 29, 2018.
  22. "Zaz + Gizmo Varillas". Ents24. Retrieved May 26, 2019.
  23. "Gizmo Varillas debut album El Dorado". Europapress. Retrieved February 19, 2018.
  24. "2019 Zermatt Unplugged". OpenAirGuide. Retrieved April 21, 2019.
  25. "The Great Escape Festival". The Great Escape Festival. Retrieved February 19, 2019.
  26. "Latitude Festival". NME. March 21, 2018. Retrieved February 19, 2019.
  27. "2017 Montreux Jazz Festival". Punto Latino. Retrieved January 29, 2018.
  28. "Gizmo Varillas Artist of the Month February 2017". Caffè Nero. Retrieved January 30, 2018.
  29. "10 top tips for Eurosonic 2018". 3voor12. Retrieved January 30, 2018.
  30. "Gizmo Varillas Movember". Music Business World Wide. September 27, 2019. Retrieved November 11, 2019.
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