We were lucky to catch up with LUPO recently and have shared our conversation below.

LUPO, appreciate you joining us today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

One of the most meaningful and impactful projects that I have worked on in my life is my debut single FullMetal. This project propelled me forward and forced me to learn many things in the industry that I didn’t even have any idea they existed. I am extremely proud of how the single turned out and I have plenty more music and content coming very soon! FullMetal really did make me an artist and it gave me the experience to challenge myself and dive into unknown territories for me as a Pianist. I taught myself everything along with taking some courses and learning from professionals in the industry that are well-known, recognized and respected for their music.
Being my first release and my first single, FullMetal holds a special place in my heart. The song is based on my life story and my life experiences that shaped me to be the man that I am today. I lived all around the world and I have seen many tragedies and many miracles, if you would like to call them that. As I grew up I realized that everyone in this world has their own problems and the problems are different for everyone but there isn’t a single person in this world to whom life doesn’t give challenges and problems to. I was really able to express my full self with the song FullMetal and I am so honored that I have had many people tell me that they can relate to the song in some sort of way. Which to me means that I have achieved what I was looking for with this song. Even though my problems and “your” problems are not the same, we live on this world together and we should be good to each other, because unfortunately, life is already bitter enough and creates hard times and challenges in order for us to grow and become better human beings and most importantly, better than we were yesterday.
FullMetal has led me to collaborate with so many people and meet so many beautiful people in this world and in this life, especially in the United States in Los Angeles, the city of music.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I have been involved in some sort of way with music since I can remember. Honestly, I cannot remember a single day in my life where I didn’t touch the piano or write a song or ANYTHING to do with music, SERIOUSLY. This was also due to the fact that my father is a musician as well, more specifically a guitarist and a singer. I studied piano from the age of 4 and I am still learning a lot, the process NEVER ends. I later decided to make this a career for myself as I realized I couldn’t live my life without music and I couldn’t live with myself if I didn’t try to pursue it in my life. I attended Loyola Marymount University as a Piano Emphasis Music major and received a Bachelor’s Degree in Fine Arts in Music with a triple emphasis in Piano Performance, Theory, and Composition in 2017 since then I became a chef in order to pay my dues in life and did my music on the side. I realized in my life that music was the only thing that was always there for me when I felt down and, more important when I felt GREAT about life as well. It is the one and only constant in my life that I have had since I was born, obviously after my family. I would be nothing in this world without the support of my family and my loved ones. Music has pulled me out of extremely dark corners and dark events in my life that may or may not have impacted whether or not I would be walking this earth to this day. Either way that is beside the point, music brings happiness to MANY MANY people in this world including myself, and I like to believe that music is a love language that warms my heart I have always seen it connect people and bring people together rather than create walls between us. Music made my world brighter as I had to work as a Chef for 7 years, and I would never trade that for anything in this world. In my life, I always got dragged back in a way to music. It’s like an inexplicable love and connection. As I grow up, I have liked to become more positive and less of a pessimist in my life and I like to believe that everything in this world happens for a reason. Now the reason may not be apparent for a looooong time or the reason may never even show up or pass you by without you ever realizing it showed up. However, I have always found myself in a situation where I could look back and tell myself “If someone told me I’d be standing here doing this or that or what not, a year ago, a month ago, two years ago, or any amount of time I would never have believed them.” So in this world, I like to think everything happens for a reason. Therefore, in the end, I did end up in the music industry and doing the thing I love, which I, unfortunately, cannot say that a lot of people are given that gift in life, to do what they love and hopefully be able to eat and have a career with and from that love. Currently, I am working on a lot of music – originals, covers, and collaborations with high-quality video shots, and I could not be more excited to share them on my social media and YouTube!

Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?

1. I lived with people who questioned my way of life because they want to have a paycheck at the end of the month, and a lot of times, music can’t guarantee you that in the early stages of your career

2. It is a lot of work – many think we just perform, but they don’t see the other side of it – social media, press, producing, paying for expensive plug-ins, spending days and nights mixing and mastering… and most importantly, inspiration comes and it goes as it wishes.

3. Music is, like any art, a very hard profession, and you can only succeed if you take it on as a full-time job. Most of the time, we have to have a side job that pays our bills, and if you don’t have a passion big enough for it, it’s going to be quite difficult.

4. If you don’t have a budget, you won’t make it without friendships and good connections. It is hard to get your name out there, and social media keeps changing their algorithms, so having people you appreciate and love is really important in your life as an artist, because everything is easier when you have help, and I couldn’t thank them enough for all of their support.

5. You have to be your No. 1 fan, even though you’re usually your No. 1 hater and critique. I can expand on this point but you will be stuck on this article forever. Trust me.

Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

Yes! First off, the BIGGEST resource that I would absolutely have LOVED to know about is Logic Pro X and plug-ins. When I was young and deciding to do music as a career because I loved it so much, I was too young and it was not affordable at that time to own something like a DAW and the equipment required to make music at the professional level. Releasing tracks and being an independent artist was something that I was not introduced to when I was young. However, in spite of this, I focused mostly on becoming a better musician in every kind of aspect so that when I became older I would have the opportunity, resources and skills to be in a recording studio. Also one of the biggest things that I was surprised by in this industry is how much we all rely on each other and the roles that we can fulfill with our set of skills. An Independent artist gives off the look that they are doing it on their own. I promise you this, EVERYONE has a team of people that they trust in order to release professional recordings and tracks at the level of the industry standard. Having a DAW and the plug-ins required would have opened my eyes and ears to a new world that as a classical pianist I didn’t even know existed.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://linktr.ee/lupotheartist
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lupotheartist/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100095284027992
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gualtiero-minelli-43776b122/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCN4wC22BZjt30VWWNMLfSVA
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@lupotheartist

Image Credits
Ben Shipley, Godspeed Photography, Finlay Mathias, Raven Polanco