Tom Aragon II Interview

Julie: Where are your from and how did you start making this type of music?

Tom- I presently live in Oroville Ca. and have just recently moved here from San Jose Ca. I have always been interested in electronic music since the early 70's but didn't actively pursue it until about 9 years ago. I've played Hard Rock Guitar for 35 years but around 1991 I took a detour and plunged into the wonderful world of Sythesizers/Samplers/Electronics because of the much wider range of tonal possibilities.

Julie: For those who have not heard your musical sound, can you describe what they might hear?

Tom: Hmmmmm that's a tough question because it seems as though everyone seems to have a different impression of what I do. It's almost like that story of the three blind men describing an elephant ya know?. I cover a multitude of genres including Minimal, Noise, Ambient, Film Music, Techno, Rock, Alternative, Asian, Goth, Electronica, African, Spoken Word, Russian, World Fusion, Experimental, Piano, New Age, Industrial, Medieval etc.

Tom: Personally, I just view it all as Soundscape type of music. Very much like soundtracks to Movies. No matter what style or genre the music is, the common thread would be Tone. I love to layer many tones to create specific moods. Along with the vast number of tones comes a wide variety of stylistic influences. The music is not traditional in one specific genre. By that I mean, even though the songs need to be placed in a particular genre, you'll hear elements of other genres combined to create a hybrid.

Julie: How have you been influenced by the Dead Can Dance and Kraftwerk?

Tom :Dead Can Dance is one of my favorite groups. They obviously have a wide variety of international influences and they like to mix them up. The majority of my material was already recorded before I had even discovered who Dead Can Dance was. My favorite thing about them is the percussion arrangements. My song Initiation is sort of a tribute to them. I saw Kraftwerk live in 1975 and was very impressed by them. My main thought was I was witnessing some of the future of electronic music. Their mastery of Robotic like perfection was an amazing thing to behold in a live setting. I guess I was influenced by their simplicity and precision more than anything.

Tom: When I am influenced by a group I try to not copy them sound wise but instead capture some of their emotion and spirit and incorporate that into what I do. Off course it's impossible to not let your influences show through somewhat. Everyone wants to categorize what they hear and will always make comparisons.

Julie: How is your music multidimensional?

Tom: It is created with the intent of taking the listener on a journey to wherever it is they would like to travel.

Julie: How is your music refreshing change from most of the music today?

Tom- The music is not the sort of thing that is in your face with any specific message. It can be played in the background quietly as ambience or it can be played loudly and have the ability to move you in ways that you may not be aware of. It seems to take on a different personality with multiple listenings. I get many listeners writing to me about how the music has helped them deal with issues in their lives and some that say they've traveled subconsciously to past and future realms.

Julie: What kind of fan response have you got from the most recent recording?

Tom: The latest thing I did was a Techno piece called March To The Starz*Z*z. Many artists remixed this tune and created their own version of it.

Julie : How well is your music excepted in your hometown?

Tom: I just moved here and haven't played live in the area. I'm sure the majority of folks here don't know I exist because it's a small country town and the last time I checked there was only one other band in my town that had music online.

Julie: Are you getting any sort of airplay on stations? I've gotten some airplay on PBS stations and the song "Eagle Falling" has been played on the Syndicated show "Hearts of Space".

Julie: How about record sales, how are they?

Tom: They keep growing daily.

Julie: Where can people get your music?

Tom: At this time it's available at https://mp3.com/tomaragon and https://mp3.com/tomaragonII.

I have 11 CD's available there.

Julie : What kind of gateways have you got from your music?

Tom: Being on line has opened a number of doors. I've been contacted by folks that want me to work on video projects and commercials etc. I have some material that is scheduled to be released on a video by Headcandy and I'm sharing the bill with Mickey Hart of The Grateful Dead as well as other artists.

Julie: How does your music play with deep emotions?

Tom: By what I gather from listener response, the ability to travel into the subconscious with the music seems to have a profound effect on some. The results can vary enormously even with the same tune and same listener but with multiple listenings. It's like the songs take on different meanings at different times.

Julie: What are some of your favorite on-line zines?

Tom: I'm a little new to the e-zines but I currently am enjoying Gothic Topic and Starvox.

Julie: What does the future look like for your solo work?

Tom: I have recently been contacted by a major label and we are in the "talking" stage right now.

Julie: What are you currently working on?

Tom : This coming week I will be working on putting the finishing touches on an album I'm doing with my great friend David Hayden. The name of our collaborative project is called "Sound of Light". We are both very excited about finishing the album up this week and as of yet we have not decided on a title.

Julie : Final word?

Tom: I'd just like to say thanks to all the listeners that have bought the music as well as downloaded it over 600,000 times and for all of their wonderful letters of support. I'd also like to thank Mike Ventarola for his tireless efforts and his undying passionate support of the music.

Thank you Gothgirl for this interview.

Tom: Thank You For Listening!

Tom Aragon

Thanks -Julie - aka gothgirl

Music style:

Ambient/Ethno/Tribal

Musical influences:

Jimi Hendrix, Dead Can Dance, Pink Floyd, Eno, Seal, Alan Parsons, Joe Satriani, Michael Schenker, The Beatles, Cream, Michael Hammer, Kraftwerk, Larry Fast, Jeff Beck, Suzanne Cianni, Frank Zappa, The Animals, Queen, Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis,etc.

Similar Artists:

Music you hear in Movies. Vangelis, Dead Can Dance, Pink Floyd, Eno, Mike Oldfield, Kitaro

Instruments:

Synthesizers, Samplers, Sequencers, Guitars, Vocals

Albums: 11

1)Centered and Living the Dream

https://artists.mp3s.com/artists/39/tom_aragon_ii.html

Please Sign the GRAVEBOOK!

 

Read my GraveBook! Sign my GraveBook!

---

< Prev