Born in Spain, Adrian Rodriguez aka Arodes was surrounded by music since he was a child. His bohemian parents introduced him to a wide range of genres and he grew up touching vinyls from Reggae to Classic Rock. At eighteen, Arodes attended his first music festival and saw firsthand the power and connectivity of music. He was captivated and knew from that moment on he wanted to become a DJ and producer. He soon moved to Los Angeles and became well known in the event and club scene. Around the world, he has been heard playing in cities such as Marbella, Ibiza, Barcelona, Amsterdam, Tulum, Sao Paolo, Los Angeles, and Miami.
Arodes sets forth on a mission with his attempt to make us re-connect, and fundamentally at its core, to make us feel more. Even though his music belongs to the underground scene, his melodic engaging sound is enjoyable for any kind of ear. Deep and sincere music.
Currently, Arodes shares his residency between the magical island of Ibiza and Los Angeles.
Electronic Groove: Hi Arodes, thanks to be with us today. This has been a difficult year, where have you spent it?
Arodes: Thanks for the invite, The truth is that it has been a complicated and strange year. I started the year in Los Angeles and I was there until mid-June when I came to Spain to be closer to my family. We spend the Summer in Ibiza like every season and I am currently in Alicante enjoying with my close ones.
EG: How has the confinement and the pandemic been for you?
Arodes: It has been difficult, we have had to adapt to a new reality that has changed everything, with fear above all for the health of loved ones. And of course, at a professional level everything is conditioned by the Covid-19. In the music scene, practically most events have been canceled.
I have tried to take it as positively as possible and instead of falling apart and becoming contaminated with that negative feeling, I have taken it as an opportunity to reinvent myself, look from outside the forest and look for new possibilities and opportunities.
EG: What is the story behind Arodes?
Arodes: I was born in Alicante, Spain 10 years ago, before moving to the United States I was involved in the world of marketing. I was trained in business, economics, and was closely linked to sports. My dream was always to be a soccer player, my life until I was 19 or 20 was focused on that sport. I dreamed of reaching high, but that dream was cut short. At the age of 24, I moved to Los Angeles, United States. It was when I started to get more involved in the music sector, but from organizing events and promotions in discos, at the same time I became more interested in electronic music. First, as a public attending the biggest festivals in the world. That passion was there.
I remember the first time I went to Tomorrowland, I saw the DJ and 100,000 people enjoying themselves and I understood that this person had the opportunity to transmit his music to all those people, move them and make them a little bit happier. At that moment I thought: “Wow. Being there would be amazing”. From that moment I sowed that little seed in me. Then I got closer and closer because I enjoyed it. The jump to move to the other side of the plates was almost by chance. It was at a party in Los Angeles, the DJ who came home left the stereo. I woke up the next morning and thought I want to learn, to have the possibility of knowing how to do it. I called two experienced friends and asked them to give me some classes. From there, I put all my energy into it. Day by day I was learning, and I saw that I could transmit the music that I had in my mind, that was infecting me with more energy, and it was encouraging me to continue. I spent hours and hours practicing. I bought the equipment and I just spent hours and hours. I got into it, as time went by, they gave me the opportunity to play at different parties in Los Angeles. The first time I played it was spectacular and I decided that I wanted to dedicate myself to this because from that passion that I said before that I had for soccer, I did not feel something like that. Then I have been lucky that in the short time that I have been in this, less than 2 years, they have given me the opportunity to play in very important places and with a large audience, that feeling is addictive.
When you have someone in front of you and you see him dancing, enjoy, you see him happy, he smiles at you, it is what encourages you to keep going and try harder and harder. Many people do not understand that this has many hours of effort behind, preparation and sacrifice.
EG: You created your Arodes brand. What is Arodes to you?
Arodes: They are the initials of my name and surname. Adrián Rodríguez Esteban. I decided to use it as my stage name because it represents my family, who I am, and where I come from. In this crazy world, always traveling, it is a reinforcement of my roots and a reminder of who is behind me.
“When you have someone in front of you and you see him dancing, enjoy, you see him happy, he smiles at you, it is what
encourages you to keep going and try harder”
EG: You are like a globetrotter, always moving. Is it something you wanted, or did it come naturally?
Arodes: The truth is that from early days I have loved traveling, discovering new things, getting into the unknown, and feeling that emotion of not knowing what is going to happen. That continuous challenge makes me feel alive, it comes naturally to me. Since I was very young, I have always traveled a lot, for pleasure, for work, for business … And because of that desire to advance and explore, I changed my residence to the United States. It is also true that due to my other activities, I am also dedicated to the real estate sector, and now with music, they are hiring me in different parts of the world and I also have to travel. In recent months I have not stopped: different continents, traveling practically every day, it is also very tiring, sleeping little, from airport to airport, but I get along well because I like it. Each trip is like a turning point in our life.
EG: This contact with different cultures and countries is transmitted in your music?
ARODES: Yes of course. Those trips allow me to get to know new music, new sounds, new trends, meet other artists… And all of those are reflected in my sound and my sessions, which are very diverse. I like to combine different styles. For example, an afro house track that comes from African house, with yet another Berlin-type techno theme, with something funky from the 80s. It all adds up and enriches my music.
EG: You just performed a very special set in Tulum. How did the idea come about?
Arodes: I wanted to connect my music with a place as special and magical as Tulum. When I discovered Papaya Playa, I saw that we could teach people, with that audiovisual transmission, that feeling of being between the sea and the jungle with the sound that I wanted to transmit.
EG: What connection did you have with Tulum?
Arodes: The first time I went was about 15 years ago. Then I came back 5 years ago and that was when I fell in love with Tulum because it combines many of the things that I like. It is a beautiful place with a beach, jungle, it is protected, very well preserved. They hardly allow building. And for a few years, there has been a movement of people and of underground music, pioneering, where a lot of new music is created and the energy that is breathed there is very special. I think I got a bit contaminated from all that.
“I not only want the audience to enjoy and
dance but to feel, to be excited”
EG: What can we expect from the transmission?
Arodes: It is a special video in which I try to convey that magic that Tulum has. We have included a couple of musicians with Mayan instruments, dancers, elements from there, the environment, and so with my music I try to create an atmosphere of magic.
EG: What is your creative process when you play? Do you have an established script or do you let the audience mark the journey?
Arodes: It’s a combination of the two. I have a lot of respect for every place where I go to play. I think of the people who are going to see me and deserve that I give my best. That is why there is a priori preparation and depending on the place, the type of audience, and the number of attendees, I make a skeleton of how I think the session is going to be. But then, during the set, I leave open the possibility of varying as the audience reacts. What is sought is that the public have fun and feel. May that day be remembered.
EG: How would you describe your sound?
Arodes: It’s a combination of quite a few styles as I said before. It’s melodic, afro-house, a bit funky, I like to take various remixes. It is electronic music but I think that my greatest characteristic is that it is melodic and sentimental music, so to speak. I like to convey feelings. I not only want the audience to enjoy and dance but to feel, to be excited. It is the music that I like to listen to and the one that I like to play.
EG: What was it that attracted you to that sound?
Arodes: For me, music is sensations. I like music that makes you feel, that makes you remember positive situations, always.
EG: What vision do you have of going back to clubs and festivals?
Arodes: Now with the vaccine I hope that this summer season we can go back to the clubs in Ibiza and from the summer back to where we were before. Let the clubs and discotheques open and the festivals in the world reappear. And of course, hopefully being able to attend them.
EG: What can we expect from Arodes in the next year?
Arodes: I’m working very hard on production. I’m going to publish two or three songs next month; in fact, one is already ready and will be out in the next few days. I will publish it on a label in January and we can expect new music produced by me and, if the world allows us and we finally overcome the pandemic, we can count on quite a few performances in different parts of the world.
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