Ato Perez, a Netherlands based artist, raised by Spanish parents during the 2000s, found in flamenco music and modern English-speaking folk his obvious influences. Starting to write his own music at 12, Ato messed around with these two very different genres and manifested his unique signature sound: English-speaking folk-rock music rooted in Spanish traditional music. In is youth, he often played around his hometown and eventually, with people starting to react to his work, Ato released his first debut EP “Fools”, which was a local success.
While promoting “Fools” around Europe, Ato Perez begins the recording process of his second studio album “Smoking Inside”, an album inspired by a very nomad lifestyle in which he dives into the mixture between traditional and modern music in an almost-cinematic way.
The first single off “Smoking Inside” is this genre defiant “Death“, or as Ato puts it: “the sixth part of the life of a man.” The song tells us about a dying man, who while laying in bed, he finally realizes his eternal unsolved mystery: Dying is starting over. Featuring folk-influenced guitars, untamed low-bowed double-bass and spiritual-filled vocals, “Death” feels like reaching to the top of the place where doubt and fear are just words, making us strong enough to clarify our own place on Earth.
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