Today we’d like to introduce you to Diego Rosales.
Hi Diego, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
My start in music began at a young age. A lot of my knowledge and understanding of music comes from being an instrumentalist where I grew up playing the trumpet since I was 11-years-old. Since then I have been a student to music and all that it has to offer. A lot of my early years as a musician were spent playing in orchestras and jazz bands where I got a lot of experience in live performance.
As the years progressed I found myself starting to be interested in other avenues of music and started teaching myself music production, applying all that I had learned in the years prior to this new craft I started to develop.
After finishing school at The University of Texas I felt burnt out and unsure of what the future looked like for me. I knew I didn’t want to pursue a career in trumpet playing and needed something else to fulfill me. During that time I decided to lean into music production which would then lead me to start teaching myself how to DJ as well.
I had prior experience with DJing thanks to a friend who inspired me to learn more about the craft and after teaching myself the basics I was desperate to look for any sort of gig to start getting my foot in the door to play in the city. During this time I got my first big breaks to DJ at Saturn cocktail club and Marlow. They took a chance on me and both of those bars are a big reason why I’m here today doing what I love.
After a few years I was able to quit my daytime service industry job and commit to DJing and music production full time and since then I have been incredibly fortunate to perform at various venues and curate my own dance party here in Austin.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
The road to success is never a smooth one, plus that would be boring. I’ve been through my fair share of struggles since moving to Austin. I suffered a massive loss at the end of 2023 and lost a lot of my possessions in a terrible house fire. All my equipment for making music, clothes, instruments, all of it gone. Luckily I was able to keep DJing and making music thanks to the friends I had who were generous enough to let me use their old equipment.
After spending the next year getting back on my feet I was able to rebuild and grow in the scene. During this time I was slowly getting tired of my day-time service industry job and felt like I really wasn’t getting where I wanted to be. The future is never certain but I knew if I didn’t go all in on music production and DJing then I’d never be able to see my full potential and without thinking much about it I quit my day job and started hustling to DJ as much as I could. It was a tough road and I struggled looking for work at times, not knowing if I’d be able to make ends meet and knowing I didn’t have my day job to fall back on.
Since then I’ve been able to look back on my life the past few years and be so thankful that I had a will to never give up and to keep chasing my goals and dreams.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I am a DJ, music producer and event curator living in east Austin. I throw a dance party called Club Fuego which specializes in open-format music with an emphasis on global sounds and world music. I’m honestly most proud of Club Fuego becoming a safe space for people to be together, dance shamelessly and feel apart of a community of people who love and support each other through club sounds and world music. The thing that sets me apart from others is my infectious energy, and constant mission to deliver amazing events for the Austin community. I want to always bring out the best in people whether it’s other DJ’s or people who want to be put on to great music.
So, before we go, how can our readers or others connect or collaborate with you? How can they support you?
I love working and collaboration with others. If anyone out there reading this is interested in partnering up please send me a direct message over Instagram at @diegothefuego or email me at @diegothefuegomusic@gmail.com.
Coming to Club Fuego events, DJ sets, sharing flyers or recommending my shows is always the best way to support. I am forever grateful to all the support I’ve gotten in the past few years so thank you Austin.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/diegothefuego?rpxt=MXBhYnc3NDM5YW53MA%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
- Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/diegothefuego?ref=clipboard&p=i&c=1&si=9F3AE32EEDCB444B9D09151E1809E02B&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing
