Rage & Hope started with a single guitar riff. The intentions for it were simple. Originally, the track was going to be called Rage because of the mood and overall sound. In time, I found the original demo to be unsatisfactory without dynamics. When working on instrumentals, you have to be more concentrated in other aspects of the track like dynamics, sound, feeling, groove, etc.. This drove me to ask to myself: what do I really want to explain with this? Just rage? Will the audience understand the message? The recent events in the across the globe brought me additional motivation to express both sides of humanity. Human beings are capable of the best and the worst, and even though I was feeling very angry and disappointed about what I was watching on the news, I didn't want to send a lonely message of rage - but open the door to hope.
It was in that moment I started thinking about somebody to send a message of Hope that could fit in the track. Then appeared the figure of Barack Obama, and who better than him and his speech expressing that we can change the course if we really want to. I'm not affiliated to any political party, and I'm not even an activist in any way. I'm just trying to express that even with the critical moment worldwide with increasing violence, racism, ecological devastation and destruction, we still have time to change it.
The hope moment was perfect to break and provide an air of calm, adding the dynamics I was looking for since the start of writing Rage & Hope. I love those moments when everything stops and nobody knows what is going to happen next...
After the calm, it was time for a solo without time constraints and I wanted to express one side of myself with freedom. Then my friend Miguel Pino (@miguelpinomarfil) accepted my invitation to play the last part of the guitar solo and that was an honour for me, not only because is my friend but because I was sure he would his own flair to end the track, and I think I was right.
Once the song and The Corner had finished, it was the time for a video. I explained to another friend and TV director Xavi Bonet (@xavibonet) that I had a 5-track EP and wanted to make a video for one of them. He chose Rage & Hope and shaped it very well with his ideas that you can see for yourself - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZhbjSg9biY
I wanted to give him complete artistic freedom, not only choosing the right track but also for adding his own touch. The only limitation for the video was the budget for the production, he adapted the available budget to bring his ideas for the video to life.
