Paul Angelo & Don Argento is surely one of the hottest duos to follow at the moment. The duo from Cyprus has rapidly become top sellers artists on Beatport and enjoy now a weekly presence in Beatport’s Top 100 with labels like Timeless Moment, FSOE UV, Movement Recordings, Sprout, and many more. Their effectiveness in the studio is astonishing, working flawlessly on several projects at the same time, both separately and together. They let their ideas breathe freely, without putting limitations on their workflow, but always pushing their trademark sounds.
EG caught up with Paul Angelo & Don Argento to talk about their latest releases, their workflow, views on the current state of the scene, and more.
EG: Hi guys! Welcome to EG! It’s great to have you with us. How have things been going this year?
Paul Angelo & Don Argento: Thank you for having us. Things are going really well. Great to be back on the dancefloors after so long.
EG: So, what have you been up to in the studio? We really enjoyed your ‘Kyla / Dorcha’ EP for Movement Recordings recently.
Paul Angelo & Don Argento: Thank you so much, really happy with how the release did. At the moment we are working on a couple of remixes and some original work that you will listen to hopefully soon.
EG: What’s your dynamic like in there? Do you have specific roles by now? What are your strengths?
Paul Angelo & Don Argento: We actually have 2 separate studios. We both are working on several ideas at the same time changing projects back and forth. When we feel that we have something that is ready to be finished we sit together and put the finishing touches. Our strengths are that we both always are club-oriented and that all our tracks must have a spot in our sets. We have great chemistry in the studio and we mostly agree on how we want our tracks to evolve.
EG: And what is your workflow like? Do you guys work mostly inside-the-box? What are your favorite bits of gear?
Paul Angelo & Don Argento: So far, we are ‘all digital’, although we have some analog synths on our shopping list. We have the VSTs we like & know how to use super fast & try to use them at their maximum. Our favorite ones are some of the Arturia ‘V Collection’, Omnisphere, Diva, and of course, Sylenth.
“We always find the tracks we are missing for our sets and try to make them. And as we love long sets you will see a lot of different tracks from us, for all the moments in a DJ set”
EG: For how long have you guys been together now? How has your sound evolved since you first partnered up?
Paul Angelo & Don Argento: We have been together musically since 2013 although we know each other quite a bit before that. Since the time we started releasing music our sound has changed but we always try to keep some of our trademark elements. We always find the tracks we are missing for our sets and try to make them. And as we love long sets you will see a lot of different tracks from us, for all the moments in a DJ set.
EG: What about inspiration? How does inspiration work for you guys? Do you have creative routines? Is inspiration overrated?
Paul Angelo & Don Argento: Inspiration always comes at the most unexpected times. Usually, for us, it comes when listening to all kinds of music when in our cars or at a rave/concert, and then an idea pops and we rush to go back to the studio and give it life.
EG: What piece of advice would you give to someone starting out and looking to make the most out of their career?
Paul Angelo & Don Argento: Be ready to work hard both in the studio and networking. The music scene now is so demanding that you need to be good at a lot of things. You need to be good in the studio, a good DJ, a good marketer, a good PR, and of course a good person. But the most important thing for us is that you must do it for the love of music.
EG: We’ve all had a chance to slow down in the past years and reassess. What would you like to see more of in our scene? What would you like to see less of?
Paul Angelo & Don Argento: We believe that the electronic music scene will be bigger than ever before. We would like to see more opportunities for smaller artists that produce and play superb music. There’s a big opportunity for the scene to grow now and it’s crucial for all the people involved to work together and keep other issues aside. The scene is still struggling not just because of the pandemic but also because of the war. Cooperation and understanding are vital.
“Be ready to work hard both in the studio and networking. The music scene now is so demanding that you need to be good at a lot of things”
EG: What else can we expect from Paul Angelo & Don Argento in the future? What new milestones are you looking forward to in the coming months? Any plans to return to Movement Recordings anytime soon?
Paul Angelo & Don Argento: We have some great original work coming in the next few months and some really amazing collaborations that we have been playing since last Summer. Our aim is to see our tracks played in packed dancefloors again. We actually have an upcoming remix for Supacooks on Movement which you will be able to listen to very soon.
EG: Thank you for your time, guys! We wish you all the best for the future!`
Paul Angelo & Don Argento: Thank you so much for the opportunity. We wish you all the best with the amazing work you are doing for the scene.
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