We’re looking forward to introducing you to Jorge Arenas. Check out our conversation below.
Good morning Jorge, it’s such a great way to kick off the day – I think our readers will love hearing your stories, experiences and about how you think about life and work. Let’s jump right in? What do you think is misunderstood about your business?
I think a lot of people have the impression that writing music (or any other creative endeavor) starts with a spark of inspiration, an idea that just comes into you effortlessly and unannounced, and that you follow until completion. In my personal experience that only happens about 10% of the time. The majority of the time if I’m trying to start a song I simply just sit down and start making something, without thinking much or waiting for inspiration. Sooner or later something happens that sparks excitement, and you just follow those little moments until the song is done.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
My name is Jorge Arenas, I am a music producer and composer originally from Madrid, Spain and now based in Los Angeles. I work a lot of different jobs within the music world but the main two are writing music for TV (my music has been featured in shows such as “Catfish”, “Real Housewives”, multiple news shows on CNN, multiple games during the NBA…) and producing music with artists (I’ve worked with artists such as Tonina, Abigail Barlow, OnCue, Farinas…).
My main focus is creating music that transcends genres, that takes elements from a wide variety of sources and doesn’t try to fit into one box.
Appreciate your sharing that. Let’s talk about your life, growing up and some of topics and learnings around that. What did you believe about yourself as a child that you no longer believe?
As a child (and an early adult) I believed life was a path that we all went into individually, but I now believe we are all interconnected, wether we like it or not, and that we can’t separate ourselves and our path from others. But of course fully realizing that and putting it into practice is easier said than done.
What fear has held you back the most in your life?
I would say simply the fear of what could go wrong. Picturing every possible way in which a decision could create pain in the future, before even making that decision. I’ve learned, and continue to learn, to just trust life, not overthink things and embrace uncertainty.
Sure, so let’s go deeper into your values and how you think. What are the biggest lies your industry tells itself?
That numbers are important. I think in the internet age we’ve gotten so used to see success measured through numbers, wether it is followers, streaming numbers, likes, etc. In reality those numbers are often hiding a more complex situation, if not simply fake. Success can look very differently for different people, and sometimes people with impressive “numbers” struggle to make a living out of music, or make a great living but feel unsatisfied.
It is easy and simplistic to just look at numbers as a way to measure success, and we all do it. Even though I believe numbers aren’t important I have to constantly check myself as I get caught up in numbers time and time again.
Thank you so much for all of your openness so far. Maybe we can close with a future oriented question. If you knew you had 10 years left, what would you stop doing immediately?
Taking all the little things in life for granted, not appreciating how amazing it is to wake up every morning and how our routine is full of amazing short moments.
I try my best to do that now, but having a specific time frame for how long my life will be would definitely push me harder.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.jorgearenasmusic.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/musicbyarenas/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@musicbyArenas
- Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/musicarenas
Image Credits
Emma Axelrod
Quetzel Herzig
