Meet Daniel Argota | DIY Artist & Producer

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

Hi Daniel, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
The original thought process was very misconstrued as I started making music at 16 with the intentions to be the greatest musician which is fair and pretty normal for any teenager, after spending much time mastering my craft (which I still have a long time to go before I consider my self a master at what I do), I realized that the true reason I make music is to heal myself, after releasing my music online I noticed through personal DMs that it was also capable of healing other people, Ever since I was a child at 6 in Montreal all I could ever want to do is help others, I remember this story my mom loves to tell about me at that age. We were walking home and we both had bags to our shoulders of groceries, I noticed a blind woman trying to cross a busy street, I couldn’t for the life of me let the possibility of her being hurt because I didn’t stop what I was doing to go help, I knew ever since I was a baby that actions have consequences. So with this gut feeling influencing my decisions, I urged my mother to drop all her groceries and help me help the lady cross the street safely and we did thankfully she was safe and went on home. That interaction was the building block for my current mantra which is to help others regardless of how much weight I’m carrying. I bring that ideology to my music and the way I promote it, I’m always spending time trying to figure out how I can help others with what I love to do.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
My art is a reflection of my deepest and truest self unhindered and unjudged, I’m most proud of my ability to keep going and not sit in a dark pensive state for too long (usually when I feel this way I know a song is coming). At this very moment in time, I’m most excited about my newest release “Ultraviolet” which is coming out March 26th on all streaming platforms, what excites me about it is not the song itself but the handful of other songs I’ve been meticulously crafting for the month after “Ultraviolet”. To get to this point we have to travel back in time to 2017 I was 17 I just dropped out of Highschool not because I was bad at it, I was actually an honor student. I just did not feel fulfilled it was as if nothing in me or my brain was really evolving. Looking back maybe it was my attitude that hindered me at that time or maybe it was the public school system. After dropping out I found I had too much time in my hands I was already experimenting with audacity before I dropped out, making diss tracks with my friends and it was all in fun. So I decided to learn how to use a real “DAW” which stands for Digital Audio Workstation, I picked up FL studio and started watching a lot of youtube videos on how to EQ, how to record vocals, how to make progression, how to build and craft an actual song. After the first few videos I realized I had been spending months on end religiously learning and watching and experimenting on my own, I would go two sometimes three days without sleeping much just learning. I found I was addicted to learning about this new world of music and technology and knobs and all these weird things that can affect the way a sound is made. It was something that didn’t need to grab my attention, it was already at the forefront of my thoughts every morning and every night. During this period I was dealing with the transition of adolescence into adulthood, I wanted to move out on my own, I knew that being comfortable and relying on my parents to sustain me was going to ruin my work ethic and hinder my personal growth. Referring back to when I was a child I knew to follow my gut and I did, I moved out at 18 after a couple of depressing months due to a stagnant mindset, I had to change my environment completely in order to realign myself to grow and learn again. Through that period of living alone and being homeless (a path which again, I chose) I learned a great deal about gratitude, the value of everyone’s time, I was working 2 jobs as a server, a barista, and an uber eats driver. Through these disciplines, I was able to learn so much about giving, about service about people in general and thankfully I was a barista at Barnes and noble they had this system that allowed you to rent a book for free as long as you returned it within 2 weeks. I would rent a book a day, I remember my manager looking at me in a peculiar way, she probably thought I was indecisive but really I was reading and finishing every book, I read a Beatles book about songwriting, a few music business books and a few self-help books and a couple of books about wealth. It was as if the world was helping me every step along the way, I had all these beautiful assets come up in my life that really kept me going. Throughout all this, I still managed to make time for my music, my website, my whole business model which I would spend a lot of time at my local Starbucks on a borrowed laptop making music, building my newsletter, reaching out to whoever would listen to my music at the time. You could imagine that it was difficult to really know what specific lane I should have cracked down on given the fact that I was pressed on time with 2 jobs and a half, I didn’t have much time to think and that was a beautiful thing for an overthinker but a bad thing for my musical growth, looking back I should have spent more time on one specific skill instead of stretching myself out thin. After a while of this rhythm I grew exhausted I got promoted in my serving job and I quit my second job to work there full time as it would have generated more money and more time for me to make music. After a while, I found I was spending most of my free time having fun which granted I never really allowed myself to have much fun so I thought why not? I deserve to let loose and be present it was something that was difficult to be, present. As I mentioned earlier the only thing at the forefront of my thoughts in the morning and at night were music, I found because of that I lost a lot of time with people I love, friends, family, girlfriends I was so caught up in the end goal that I couldn’t detach from it, because of that I was burnt out for a while. Then covid-19 happened and I was laid off from my job it was difficult but I finally had time to think, to really dive deep into myself and figure out how to be present how to be happy. I knew the material things that I would preach were just rehearsed it wasn’t what I truly wanted. I wanted to be happy and spread that happiness that love that experience with others. I released an EP during quarantine and it was my deepest reflection of myself. After that it became pretty uninspiring since we were on lockdown, I decided to move out of Miami and to Puerto Rico because my girlfriend’s family owns a farm in Puerto Rico and I always wanted to experience that side of life and get in touch with the roots of my self. I’m still currently in Puerto Rico making music more inspired than ever, understanding myself and where I belong more and more each day. I’m practicing patience, not making any assumptions, trying my very best at everything. Sometimes I don’t, some days are harder than others, but as long as I’m always giving it my best I know I’m okay.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
In Miami, I would definitely take them to Wynwood at night, they always put on local artists in certain venues and have great vegan options.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
It’s hard to pinpoint a specific source, It’s been a culmination of experiences that life brought my way, lessons that my family and friends have been able to share with me, and access to the internet. One person I’d love to credit is my girlfriend she’s a fashion designer and runs her own zero-waste brand with a strong dedication towards helping the planet and limiting consumption. She’s been a huge inspiration for my music and my general way of living. As-far as books go I’d have to say “The four agreements”, “All you need to know about the music business”, “12 rules of life and the “Art of learning” have been a huge help to building my current mental success!

Website: https://argota.net/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/arg0ta/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Arg0ta

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/arg0ta

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/argota?sub_confirmation=1