Pablo Naranjo

“THE BLEND OF STYLES IN MY MUSIC IS SOMETHING THAT PEOPLE HAVE BEEN INTERESTED IN, AND I’M ALWAYS GRATEFUL FOR THIS”

PABLO NARANJO

Country of origin:  Colombia.

Occupation: Music teacher, performer, composer, producer. State of residency: VIC. Favourite place in Australia: Tasmania. Upon arrival: Surprised by how multicultural Melbourne was and the vast array of options for food, festivals, etc.

Edited by Zoe Gleeson.

Pablo Naranjo’s talent and love of music travelled with him from Bogota, Colombia, to Melbourne, Australia. His migration story is anchored to his diverse musicianship. From training at Box Hill institute in Composition and Film Scoring, to playing at restaurants, live music venues and Government House. Naranjo is an expert in his field – committed to passing on his skill and intellect to the next generation of young guitarists.

TELL US YOUR STORY

I had completed my 2nd year of music at the Universidad Javeriana and El Bosque universities in Bogota, Colombia and was keen to finish my degree somewhere else. I applied to Box Hill Institute in Melbourne for the course Composition and Film Scoring. I was accepted and within 3 months, in 2004, I was living in Melbourne. I didn't have any contacts but after a few months, I found my first job teaching at a local music school and also did some work in hospitality for the first couple of years. I also started playing background music in restaurants and university events such as graduations and award ceremonies.

Over time, I started to get residencies playing at different venues, weddings and corporate events. After completing my bachelor’s degree in composition, I completed a graduate diploma in education in 2007 and started teaching music at primary and secondary schools. Prior to that, I had only been teaching music privately or at local music schools. Since my arrival in Australia in 2004, I have taught guitar and music to hundreds of kids all around Melbourne. Now, almost 20 years later, I sometimes run into students I taught when they were 10, now they are 25 or older, and tell me that they still play guitar and remember some of the things I taught them. That's always a big thing for me, to know that I've helped others in their journey playing music. As part of my teaching, I have led guitar and ukulele ensembles which have performed at charity events such as the Oxfam concerts held at the Box Hill Town Hall each year.

When I finished my graduate diploma in education, I started to record and produce again. 'Ambiente' (2008) was my first album recorded in Australia and it included some of my arrangements as part of the guitar duo, 'Ambiente'. We played extensively in corporate events and restaurants and we also wrote music for two guitars under the name of Orbeum. In 2009, we recorded the album 'Passages' and we invited a cellist and a violinist from the MSO (Melbourne Symphony Orchestra) to record the string parts.

I then traveled for two years, and when I came back, started focusing on playing my original music at bars and festivals which is mostly what I play now. I released my first album as a solo artist in 2013 ('Here in the Distance') which was described as 'a journey for the soul' by UK music blog Audio Pulse. Then in 2017, I released 'Black Euphoria' which included the song 'Hot Air Balloon' which was amongst the winners of the Summer Song contest in 2018.

Pablo playing his guitar

In 2019 I released the four track EP 'Currents' and 'Ecos del Frío', my latest album, was released in December 2021. I recorded all the instruments in this album and mixed it, so it became my therapy during the long lockdowns of 2020 and 2021. 'Ecos del Frío' has been well received by my audience and praised for the guitar work by several music blogs, radio and magazines in Australia. It has been described as 'an expansive and meditative journey'  by Sydney magazine Happy Mag - you can read the reviews here and of the first single 'Dissolve' here. The album was also featured on SBS Spanish , Indie AM (Mexico), Beat Magazine, blog Black of Hearts and radio stations around the country.

I also produce and mix music for other artists. For example, I recently completed the mix for Geelong's iconic punk band 'In the Esky!'. Film-scoring is another one of my passions. I completed a degree in film-scoring in 2007 and have written music for ads and short films. Music from some of my albums has been licensed for ads in the UK and Brazil.

I have been invited to perform at Government House (for the Governor at a state's official event); at some of Victoria's most prestigious hotels and wedding venues such as Stones, Leonda by the Yarra, Crown, Abbotsford Convent, Flemington racecourse, Balgownie Estate among others, and at a great number of live music venues including bars and restaurants all around Victoria, NSW and South Australia.

CHALLENGES

Managing studies and work - The biggest challenge was to be a full-time student and at the same having to work very hard to pay for my living expenses and saving to pay for the following semester's university fees which were very high being an international student.

Finding a home - I lived in so many share houses during my first few years. That made it hard to feel settled for quite some time.

Finding stable work - By nature, music is a very unstable profession, but starting in a new city and finding long term, paid work as a musician has always been a challenge. In general, in the arts world, a lot of people expect you to do things 'to get more exposure’ but are not necessarily prepared to pay you for your work. So, choosing the type of work I took on more carefully, was a big learning curve for me.

CONTRASTS 

Pablo with his wife and son

Safety - The feeling of safety when walking or jogging at night.

Quiet streets - How quiet streets are in the suburbs. Streets are so much louder in Latin America.

Organisation - How organised and well ran things are generally.

PIECE OF ADVICE

Use your skills - Learn English well and make use of all your skills when you arrive, no matter what they are. There may be things you love doing and are very good at but are not exactly what you initially came to do. It may be those skills that take your life in a whole new direction.

Do what you love - Stick to what you love doing and enjoy the journey. When things are hard, remember that as long as you are moving forward even if it's slowly, good things will always come. 

Be patient - Life moves in cycles. There's always something new coming around the corner and we have to be ready to welcome it.

IN THE NEXT FEW YEARS…

Pablo sees himself being creative, still writing, performing, recording and teaching kids which he has always loved doing. During lockdowns these last two years, he wrote the songs for 'Ecos del Frío', the album he just released, but he also wrote a lot of other songs. So, he would like to start working on a new album in the next year and that will be a two-year project. He sees himself immersed in that, experimenting with new instruments and hopefully completing it by late 2024. He also looks forward to working with other artists mixing their music, as well as scoring projects such as documentaries or movies.