Meet Gabriel Blondel | Musician

We had the good fortune of connecting with Gabriel Blondel and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Gabriel, looking back, what do you think was the most difficult decision you’ve had to make?
The hardest decision was moving away from my country Bolivia, leaving behind family and friends. The culture clash was hard to overcome but at the same time beautiful to find so much diversity and learn about different cultures of the world. It was a hard decision but necessary in order to grow as a human being and develop my career as a musician and I am so grateful for the opportunity.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
What sets me a part of others is my honesty at the moment of make my music. When I compose I don’t think about what other people is gonna like I compose what I want to listen and what I want to express. I am excited about the album that I’m making with my new project I.N.T.I. and it’s a dream fist get to share my music and ideals with others and to have one of the best drummers on the planet Marco Minnemann for this album.
It was hard to get where am I right now there were so many challenges. I think one of the biggest ones was to fight against my own self and where I come from. I’m not a super talented person naturally you know I had to work hard every day to push myself not to be lazy and keep working, also in my country it is really hard to take music as a career because of the lack of incentives and the way of thinking that is traditional. I am from Bolivia by the way. To overcome these challenges I had to prove first to my parents and society that I was making these for real not just for fun, I wasn’t taking music just as a hobby. Then to fight against myself I had to find motivation almost every day, I found that motivation on videos of people that I admire, also on having a specific date for a gigs, working on different projects, listening different musics of the world and just to have a plan for what is coming next and why are you working for.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
You know I will take them to the common places around here because that’s what everybody wants to see even though they are not my favorite, Like the walk of fame you know like universal studios Warner studios Disney, the Harbor. Then I will show them things that I like the most and I find them kind of unique, going kayaking in Alamitos Bay or if they want more adventure on the open ocean, show them the cliffs on Palos Verdes, show them the cost of Long Beach, the surfing on Huntington Beach, Redondo Beach, Laguna Beach and the crazy Venice Beach. I’ll show them the mountains like go to signal Hills, go to Griffin observatory, go hiking to the Hollywood sign. Some good places to eat I think it’s actual show them the variety of foods that you can find around here like from around the world, Thai district it’s a really good place for Thai food, flaming curry for Indian food and Rak n Ramen for Ramen also show them vegan food because I’m vegan and there is really good options for vegan food here like there is this fast food plant-based power, Vegan Nirvana, Panchos for Mexican food. I don’t drink that much but I will take them to the breweries I think it’s really unique from around here to taste this fusion beer.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
There is a lot to said here. My family was so important for giving me so much support, a healthy environment to grow up, protection, moral values, a humble life, chores at home, great skills to survive and unconditional love. That was key to where am I right know and the person I am becoming everyday. One person that inspired me so much to follow the music career seriously is my first mentor, friend and colleague Luigi Jordan. His discipline and determination encouraged me to study harder when I thought I was good enough at guitar. I have so many great teachers at the Conservatory of Music of Bolivia, Hector Osaky, Oscar Peñafiel, Marcos Puña, Rolando Peña, Einar Guillen, Juan Carlos Hiza, Ernesto Gutierrez, Oswaldo Ruiz. My teachers from McNally Smith College of Music were great as well Chris Olson, Joe Elliot, Tim Lyles, Eva Beneke. The band Symphony X was a big opening to progressive music, virtuosity and help me to experiment with time signatures, It is still one of my favorite bands. Two composers are my main inspiration that really shape my way of thinking about music composition Steven Wilson and Igor Stravinsky. Both are amazing at experimenting with sound, form, dynamics, melodies, just mind blowing since the first time I listen to them. Finally one of my biggest examples, guide and inspirations on my life is Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, great example of humbleness, of become a better person every day, being empathetic, morality, hard work, pacifism, justice, peaceful revolution, devotion, wisdom and more.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gabobloco/

Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/#!/Gabobloco

Youtube: https://youtube.com/channel/UCzOb9w18nviYQzrrvsZtS9Q

Other: My projects INTI links: https://youtube.com/channel/UC33EuqFY9Kim-hWfXJ7Tw6Q https://www.instagram.com/i.n.t.i._/