Today we’d like to introduce you to Hector Gomez De Mendieta.
Hi Hector, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I went to my first rave during my senior year of high school and immediately fell in love with the music and the culture. After going to my 2nd rave, I knew I needed to be on stage. Halfway through college, I started teaching myself how to DJ and, soon after, how to produce music. I downloaded FL Studio and watched a bunch of tutorials on Youtube. I did this for about 2 years while DJing at any parties I could. As soon as I graduated with an Economics degree, I enrolled in Icon Collective College of Music. I knew that I wanted to make music my life. I moved back home to Austin and got a full-time job while I took online classes for a year and a half (I learned Ableton Live and left FL Studio behind). It was a lot of work, but I loved every second of it and made some like-minded friends from different parts of the world. During that time, this place called Scratchouse had open decks every Monday, so I went to play for basically nobody almost every week. Covid started soon after I graduated from Icon, so I just focused on my craft and kept practicing everything I learned. When the world “opened” again, I started going out to more shows in Austin to meet people in the local EDM world and find opportunities for myself. I now play shows regularly, am part of a beautiful community, and make fantastic music that will take me to the next level. My solo project is called “Capochino,” I just started a duo project with my friend Keylo called “Crash Course.” Keep an eye out for both!
Would it have been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I started from the very bottom, music-wise. It could have been smoother, but I never expected it to be. When I decided to learn to produce and DJ, I knew nobody else who was DJing or making music. I had no money. I had zero musical experience/knowledge other than playing the recorder in elementary school. My parents didn’t have any musical knowledge or connections in the industry either. I didn’t even have friends who were into EDM as much as I was (many times, I went to shows by myself). I began working towards this dream purely for the love of music. It’s been challenging but gratifying. It’s been difficult to ” accomplish ” things, build a career, and find my sound. But it has been easy to keep going because I love doing this.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. What can you tell our readers who might need to be more familiar with what you do?
I’m a music producer and DJ. I mainly create and play bass music, including midtempo, trap, dubstep, bass house, and melodic dubstep; I’ve also produced a few hip-hop songs. I like mixing it up with different bass music styles when I play a show. A lot of DJs will play an all-dubstep set or an all-house set. Something that sets me apart, other than my original music, which I include in my DJ sets, is that I will not play only one or two genres for a whole hour. I also have unique ways of mixing life. I am most proud of the music I’m currently working on. The quality and creativity are much better than most songs I’ve released so far, and I’m also getting closer to finding my unique sound, which is very exciting.
Any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general?
I had several mentors during my time at Icon Collective. I learned a lot very quickly from them. I also met a lot of like-minded producers there, and we were all at different levels/stages in our journey. If you didn’t go to a school, try to meet people doing something similar to what you are doing. I also did that after Icon, which has worked well so far! Meet people more advanced than you at your craft, and they are likely to help you out if you are a nice person and you also help them out in some way. Also, go network with people that know less than you. You’ll be surprised at how much you can still learn from someone that is a beginner. Everyone knows something you don’t, regardless of their experience.
Contact Info:
- Website: capochinomusic.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/capochinomusic/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/capochinomusic
- Linkedin: https://www.instagram.com/krashcoursemusic/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/capochinomusic
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCyy9KsBV4D-fA49TwpnA1lw
- SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/capochinomusic
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@capochinomusic
Image Credits
Nicole VanLoon, Sam Wilkinson, Miguel Muzquiz
