Music first knocked at Gizmo’s door when he was growing up in Santander, a port city in northern
Spain. His neighbour was a guitar teacher, “every time I passed his apartment, I’d hear him play. The sound he made spoke to me: I was ten and asked my father if I could learn – he got me a guitar and I started taking lessons, learning flamenco and classical techniques.”
“I then formed my first ska-punk band in Cardiff with friends when I was 16,” says Gizmo as he considers the long apprenticeship he undertook in making music. “I was a shy kid, introverted really, and music became a comfort to me. It might sound surprising that I started by playing in a ska-punk band considering the music I’m making now, but it got me started.”
His musical origins, flamenco learned in Santander and ska-punk in Cardiff reflect on Varillas’ duality: he was born to Spanish parents who raised him in Santander then Cardiff before returning to Spain and then back to Cardiff again – where he completed his secondary education.
“My mum is Basque and was always interested in the Celts and this is, I think, why we first shifted to Cardiff when I was five. Once there, my parents’ relationship began to fall apart and so begun a period of deep turmoil for me and my family.” His father left for Spain soon after, and Gizmo was raised by his mother in Cardiff until he was ten. He then moved to Santander to live with his father, grandparents and uncle. This upending of his roots, finding it difficult to fit in, the distance from his mother, who had relocated to Bilbao, the poor health of his uncle and grandfather who shortly both passed away led to a deterioration of Gizmo’s emotional state. “I was so unhappy; I would skip school and sit on park benches listening to music – it was the only thing that gave me comfort when everything else seemed bleak.” It wasn’t long until his mother learned of his truancy and quickly moved him to live with her, an hour outside Bilbao at his grandmother’s house. Unfortunately circumstances only got worse. He was now commuting an hour to and from a new school, distant from his father and was starting to lose all connection with the outside world, retreating inwards. The degradation was stark and all those around him knew something urgent needed to happen. It was then his mother and him decided to return to Cardiff.
Back in Wales Gizmo started to regain a sense of feeling. Primarily through music, which led him to meet lots of like-minded teenagers: “we went to gigs, formed bands, we supported one another.” This upheaval left its mark and from then on, making music became a source of resilience and a way to relate to the people and world around him.
If Gizmo’s Cardiff years are typical of many young musicians – play in bands, start writing songs, go to college, shift to London hoping to get a record deal – his dual cultural status lent him both a rich vein of musical references to draw upon and a sense of being something of an outsider.
Upon finishing college, Gizmo embarked on a trip that took him to the Southern Atlantic coast of France and onto the Northern coast of Spain during which he did everything from work on farms to cleaning dishes and eventually reuniting with his father in Santander where he would help with handy work and painting jobs. With only the clothes on his back and a Ukulele in hand, his one constant companion remained music. As that summer came to an end the path had never been clearer.
His next stop was London. Accompanied by his then partner Gati, under the guise of attending University, Gizmo became a founding member of indie band Crash Island “We played all the dive pubs in London and beyond, self-released an album, worked with Gordon Raphael (The Strokes) and tried our best but just couldn’t get a break. Inevitably members drifted off and I found myself working on music as a solo artist.”
Although London did not initially go to plan, Gizmo’s resolve was undeterred. Together with Gati, he immersed himself into the turbulent yet pulsating bohemian life of East London. Finding time to dedicate to music whilst studying and working whatever jobs came his way to pay the bills became a constant challenge. Looking back, one can say, he has done it all. Be it working at food markets, in kitchens or at the fishmongers. Some of these however, had some real benefits, in particular working at Rich Mix in Shoreditch where they programmed music from all around the world. “Hearing wonderful African, Asian, Latin and Caribbean musicians there inspired me to go home every night and work on my songs.”
It was the strength of these songs that led to Varillas receiving early support from BBC Introducing in 2015 and that gave him his first break which in turn led him to signing a management deal.
At this point, Gizmo was faced with a choice, follow the well-trodden path of signing a record deal or continue the indie DIY route. With the support of his new management, Gizmo chose to remain independent whilst working odd jobs to make ends meet. He was prepared for the challenges that awaited him, and was resolute that he wanted to pursue a longer-term plan that would allow him to retain control of all his musical rights and artistic integrity.
And so, Gizmo began work on his debut album. “Admittedly, it was challenging recording in our bedroom as I was constantly worried that I might annoy our flatmates. I mean, we were living in shared accommodation in Bethnal Green, Rotherhithe and Crofton Park and not always with the most understanding of landlords or flatmates.” No doubt a feeling so many emerging artists can relate to.
As recording progressed, this path led him to a unique collaboration that would soon attract a lot of attention. “I’d written No War, and it had an instrumental passage in the middle. I wanted something different, not just more lyrics or guitar. I always thought John Lennon spoke so eloquently against war and so I scoured YouTube, watching interviews with him and everything he said resonated with me. In particular, a recording of him speaking on the insanity of war in 1968. I sampled it and we then approached Yoko Ono – what did we have to lose? If she said ‘no’ then I’d simply have to start again. But she said ‘yes’ and apparently loved the song! Considering how protective she is of John’s legacy; it was amazing.”
Varillas’ self-released his debut album El Dorado in 2017 and it was not long until fans started writing him from all over the world. Invitations to open for larger and larger shows started flowing his way, amongst them some of his very own heroes including Seu Jorge and Rodrigo & Gabriela.
Even whilst accomplishing what most musicians could only dream of, the reality of being independent was a perpetual effort. “Financially I was always stretched. However, even though my numbers were low I could see the music was connecting.” Before long, Gizmo began work on his sophomore album, Dreaming Of Better Days (a prophetic title).
Dreaming Of Better Days was another bedroom production with Varillas playing all instruments arranging and recording the album. “It was a very slow build. I was getting feedback, going to work, and gigging a lot. With hindsight however, this gave me and my music time to develop naturally. Whatever frustrations I had financially or personally, I was fortunate to be writing for artistic purposes versus commercial objectives. It meant each song or recording had no predetermined destination but rather the space and time to follow its own journey.”
Gizmo’s sense of integrity began paying off, as more and more fans started discovering his music and relating to his simple yet uplifting message. “Between the second and third albums I was able to give up my day jobs and focus fully on music. It was a great feeling.” With more time to dedicate to music it was not long before the release of Out Of Darkness (another prophetic title) in 2020, his third album.
One of Out Of Darkness’ standout tracks is Saving Grace – here Varillas is joined by Tony Allen, the Nigerian master drummer who, amongst his many achievements, was the godfather of Nigerian highlife and Afrobeat. “Tony’s always been one of my heroes – I used to listen to his music and analyse all the beats and rhythms. That day in the studio was inspiring! He said that he’d like to work with me again – I was hoping we could meet in Paris (where he lived) and jam. Then he died suddenly. I was one of the last people he recorded with. It’s an honour to have him on my album.”
Out Of Darkness literally lifted Gizmo into the light. He was collaborating with a growing list of incredible artists, from Baio (Vampire Weekend) to Sergio Mendoza (Calexico), his recording business grew from 1 million to 10 million streams each month, his music was picked up by Netflix shows, popular computer games (FIFA) and he even witnessed one single become the top trending track on Instagram.
As he and Gati, his now wife, celebrated their tenth anniversary they moved to Brighton. For the first time since arriving in London, they had their own place and a home studio where Gizmo could play as loud or as late as he wanted to.
New music started to flow instantly, but life was about to interrupt this long-awaited moment of stability.
His father suddenly fell ill. Having lived distantly from each other ever since he moved back to Cardiff, they had always remained in touch and though he could hear his father putting on his bravest voice, Gizmo instinctively knew time was running out. He travelled between Brighton and Santander, working on his new album, while spending as much time as possible with his father while fulfilling all the obligations that come with a successful career.
The diagnosis was not good, so once again whilst albeit for different reasons, Gizmo’s music became a test of endurance as well as a source of resilience.
At the young age of 60, his father passed away.
As Gizmo mourned, many of the bends in the road he had followed since childhood started to take on new meaning “through loss, change, love, exploration, and growth, I’ve come to see the world in a richer, more nuanced way. I titled my latest album The World in Colour to capture the full spectrum of emotions I’ve experienced - moments of joy, sadness, and all the shades in between.”
From the opening trumpet fanfare played by Mexican-Cuban musician Alfredo Pino (Natalia Lafourcade, Silvana Estrada), we hear an evolution in the sound “I used the time in between records not just to work on songs but learn more about producing and engineering, even about mixing. I’ve learned to keep things simple. Don’t overcrowd an arrangement. Focus on the core elements of songwriting. Everything has a specific purpose.”
The World In Colour is again, almost entirely, a Gizmo Varillas solo work with elements we have not yet heard on Gizmo’s records alongside some notable guests. On Into the Night Gizmo is joined by Welsh harpist Amanda Whiting, on Where is the Love string arranger Rob Lewis (Dave, Noel Gallagher) and on Hijo del Mar he is accompanied by Latin Grammy nominee Cande Buasso’s operatic voice to name just a few.
These combinations reveal a depth and elegance in the arrangements Gizmo provides for the lyrical themes on the album. From standing in between the known and unknown on Crossroads to channelling the impending passing of his father on Ojos Nuevos. In his own words “Each song represents a different chapter in my life.”
With the release of his fourth album The World In Colour, Gizmo Varillas returns with not just his most intimate and moving album but also an inspiring story of authenticity, independence, unflinching dedication and sacrifice to an artistic vision and resilience in the face of all kinds of adversity. If Gizmo has been on a journey since the beginning of his career, then The World In Colour must be some sort of destination. Ultimately, the story of Gizmo Varillas is still unfolding, but it’s one that holds a great deal of hope and inspiration for anyone trying to do something different and on their own terms.
