A Household Name In The Making, Get To Know Centineo

Meet the past, present, and future of Centineo in this exclusive interview. There’s no doubt, the multi-faceted brothers Tim and Rob are rising talents in the global dance music scene. It should be highlighted they produce, sing, and write their own upbeat tracks. Top-notch compositions with Pop sensibilities are their specialty. Learn more here.

1 – First of all, what made you decide to form a duo?

It happened very naturally, we’re both very musical and taught ourselves how to play multiple instruments. Rob had been more into rock/punk music and Tim was writing songs/raps early on, but we both got into dance music and the scene around the same time – showing each other songs and artists we discovered, etc. Sharing the same genetics, we both had similar tastes and it just naturally progressed from being listeners to want to learn production and create our own music together.

2 – What does the name Centineo mean?

Centineo (Cent-In-Ayo) is our last name – it’s of Italian origin. We’re told by our relatives that it means “hundreds of beautiful flaws”.

3 – Do you remember the first piece of equipment you bought for this project?

The first purchase we made was a Windows Desktop and the software “Mixcraft”. We’ve upgraded to Ableton and Mac computers since then.

4 – How do you deal with arguments or decisions during the production process of a new song?

Both of us are musicians and producers but Tim has more of an executive role in terms of musical/creative decisions. He’s an incredible talent with a great ear and sharp musical instincts – he almost always gets it right. Rob prefers to be more behind the scenes but he’s a tech- wizard engineer with degrees in music theory and audio production. When we have different opinions, we both write/present our own ideas and hash out which one we think works best.

5 – What about songwriting? Who is responsible for writing the lyrics?

Tim is our primary songwriter. He writes the lyrics himself and moving forward will be the featured vocalist performing them as well. Rob is the only set of ears/opinions I trust during the writing process. He always gives me critical feedback and helps me bring the song home.

6 – What are the benefits of working together as brothers? Is anyone else in your family musical?

The best part of working with your brother is how honest you can be. If an idea sucks or someone has a strong opinion – there’s no holding back, no judgment and no one’s feelings get hurt. Whether it be making music or business decisions – the degree of trust we have provides a great environment for creating and being comfortable/vulnerable.

Our family is full of creatives in the music & entertainment industry. Our cousin JoJo Centineo is an extremely talented producer and recording engineer, and our cousin Noah Centineo is a Netflix/Movie star. There’s a lot of creative talent in our family.

7 – Where can we stream your latest single? Why should we listen to it?

We’ve released multiple remixes more recently that are available on our Soundcloud, but our last single was ‘Otherside’ released on Revealed Recordings. You can listen to it on any major streaming platform of your choosing (Spotify, Apple Music, etc.)

“Otherside” is an emotionally charged story about conquering fear, mental health, and injustice with love. Something that is critical and very relevant given the state of the world today. It’s also a great introduction and indication of the music we are releasing soon:
BIG and emotional.

8 – Big names in the industry like David Guetta and Hardwell have praised your tracks. What’s the key to reaching success in this competitive industry?

We wish we could be more helpful but there’s no sexy answer/real secret to success.

It’s multi-faceted but simply put: You need to work your ass off relentlessly, never give up and ignore the competition – Focus on yourself. There are a lot of skills necessary to be successful in the industry: technical ability, artistic ability, and last but not least business/administrative ability. All of which require a lot of time, hard work, sacrifice, practice, and failure to develop.

Our advice would be to have patience in the pursuit of developing these skills, trust the process, surround yourself with the right people and believe in yourself delusionally while having the awareness and perspective necessary to make good decisions.

9 – Do you live together? What’s an average day like for you?

At the moment we don’t (Tim in FL, Rob in NJ) but we have plans to live together in the near future. (Tim) An average day for me consists of working on music all day. Whether it be production, writing, or administrative – I don’t leave my home studio, or as everyone who knows me likes to call it, the “cave”. I lock myself in my studio and take breaks to workout, eat, and occasionally relax on the beach/by the pool with family & friends. I’m also a huge movie buff so I always find a way to sneak a movie in before bed.

(Rob) I spend most of my day in front of a computer – writing, mixing, and drinking coffee (My coffee cup is always full). If I’m not at my desk I’m somewhere in my apartment with a guitar in hand. How I spend my day really depends on where I draw inspiration from. I consider myself forever a student of music. I educate myself and expand my knowledge in as many aspects of music as possible. When I need a break – I love to cook, hit the gym, and dive into new synths and plugins.

Despite this quarantine and global pandemic, our lifestyles haven’t changed much and we’re not sure whether to be concerned or impressed. We’ve been social distancing for years now!

10 – Tell us more about Centineo’s upcoming plans or ideas for the next months.

So, we took a break from releasing music for the entire 2019 calendar year. Despite the fact that our music was being received well and supported – it wasn’t enough. Something was missing.

We felt like we were chasing validation (support and label releases). We realized we would never get to where we wanted to be if we just waited in line with everyone else relying on the gatekeepers/bigger names & labels to make it happen for us. This became glaringly obvious after two separate events: First, we submitted a track to a major label for signing (*which we had already received huge support on) and after weeks of waiting for a response, we were told, “Your hi-hat is too loud, pass.” Second, A great conversation we had with an executive at a major label who told us, “I’ll tell you a secret that no one else will – the labels will only want you when you don’t need them”.

This was as eye-opening as it was invaluable. It became very clear to us that in order to get to where we wanted to be, we needed a new strategy and we needed to do this on our own. Artistry should never be about pandering or compromising your expression, let alone giving someone who could care less about you, power, and influence over your work. Now more than ever, it’s possible to be a successful independent artist – and after those interactions, we spent the next year and a half strategizing, building our brand, developing our voice/product, and becoming self-sufficient.

On top of all that, we want to connect with people in a more meaningful way than just music that they party to. We want to bridge the disconnect of being an “EDM” producer and being considered a true musician/artist in the eyes of the listener. In an industry where the shelf life of a song is a handful of weeks, we also want our music to have longevity, to truly touch and impact people’s lives for years and years to come. Artists like Axwell, Sebastian Ingrosso, Steve Angello, Alesso, Martin Garrix, and Calvin Harris have been successful in doing just that with their timeless classics and crossover hits. (*See: Don’t You Worry Child, Reload, Calling, In the Name of Love, Sweet Nothing). We’re pretty sure they didn’t wait around giving a f**k about someone’s opinion of their hi-hat! The only way we were going to accomplish our goals would be by taking the time to adjust our trajectory, rethink the music, and incorporate more of ourselves into the listening experience.

In the coming months, we’ll be releasing music ranging from Progressive House all the way to Pop/R&B. All of the songs are produced by us and feature Tim as the vocalist and lyricist with the exception of one. The exception being our first release (in over a year) which is coming out very soon. It features a legendary writer and vocalist that has worked with the biggest names in the industry – it’s a bomb. We’re super proud of it and can’t wait for you to hear it.

We’re so excited to begin and share this new chapter of our journey with the world, and we hope to inspire some of our fellow artists to push themselves and follow in our footsteps. We’re confident that among the new music coming out, there is something here for everyone. Stay tuned!

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