Meet Singer and Music Producer Alejo Stivel in this Domestika Diary

Alejo Stivel talks to us about his creative routines in this Domestika Diary

Alejo Stivel @alejostivel is a singer, composer and one of Spain’s most prestigious music producers. He founded the band Tequila, and has produced over 200 albums, including 19 Días y 500 Noches (19 days and 500 nights) by Joaquín Sabina.

In this Domestika Diary, he reveals his creative process and explores his daily rituals in Madrid.

Check out the video.

Alejo Stivel was born in Argentina and moved to Spain in 1977, where he started a music career he’s still enjoying. In 1977 he joined the Spoonful Blues Band along with fellow man-from-Argentina Ariel Rot, before the group changed its name to Tequila.

The band had a series of non-stop hits over 6 intense years. Until 4 albums later, and having left numerous songs for posterity, Tequila broke up in 1983.

Stivel became a music producer after bidding Tequila farewell. He’s now one of Spain’s most prestigious names and has produced over 200 albums that have sold more than 8 million copies.

He has worked with some of Spain’s biggest bands and groups including: El Canto del Loco, La Oreja de Van Gogh, M Clan, La Cabra Mecánica, Jarabe de Palo, Estopa, Fito Páez or Charly García and Fer from Maná. “Every album goes through a very different process,” Stivel reveals. “Each artist comes up with a very different way of working,” he adds.

One of the stand-out albums in his career is one of singer-songwriter Joaquín Sabina’s greatest hits: 19 Días y 500 Noches.

This iconic album sold over 500,000 copies to go platinum and was one of Alejo’s most unique productions. “Sabina’s album was special because it took longer than usual to record: a year. We worked so hard on it,” he remembers.

These days, he combines his solo singing career with his own radio show on Rock F.M: Music for Animals. Once a week, Alejo goes into the studio to record the program. In it, he analyses some of the most famous songs in music history.

“I always had very broad tastes. There are some songs you don’t enjoy because of the type of production that’s been used, or the nature of the singer, and you’re prejudiced against that kind of artist or that type of sound. But if you just listen to the song, you make some amazing discoveries,” Alejo explains.

Love this Domestika Diary? Gain in-depth knowledge of the music industry and learn how to produce a great song with Alejo Stivel, in his online course: Music Production: Discover the Secrets of a Great Song.

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