Exploring the Creative Mind of ARM: Technical Mastery, Athletic Pursuits and Artistic Reflections on "Everybody Wants a Taste"

Originally from Long Island, New York, ARM offers a rich and immersive audio and visual experience focusing on technical mastery of production. The creative mind behind it is a bit of a complex and wholesome polymath dedicated to all that life has to offer. His newest track is titled "Everybody Wants a Taste" and it was produced at The Mix Palace in West Hempstead. Labeled as a "Party Track", the song captures the euphoric catharsis of a wonderful summer, with ARM himself saying "I have a lot of fond summertime memories that make their way into the lyrics... This Song is My Baby."

ARM self-describes as an active spirit full of life and physicality who practices a wide variety of Sports and Athletic pursuits both casually and competitively, incorporating the philosophical aspects of his favorite disciplines into his art.

For ARM "Everybody Wants a Taste"  represents the crystallization of his dream and hard work, and as we've come to learn in this interview, he hopes to turn this into something way beyond just music.

LET'S BEGIN BY DECIPHERING WHAT ARM MEANS. WHAT'S THE ORIGIN OF THIS PSEUDONYM?
My initials are A.R.M.- Anthony Raymond Maragni.

SHOULD WE THINK OF ARM AS A PERSON, AN IDEA, A PROJECT, OR...?
I'm the songwriter, producer, and vocalist behind ARM music, and I create the visuals which are based on lyrics or ideas that could go along with the music, ARM is my production company, and I will have ARM products eventually using my designs, t-shirts, hoodies, mugs, I'll have a variety of ARM merchandise, numerous plans for that over time, ARM is also a platform to showcase other artists I see as experts in their field or craft, or on the cutting edge in music, audio, and visual production.

AND WHAT SORT OF PHILOSOPHY DOES ARM REPRESENT? WHAT'S THE CREATIVE INTENT BEHIND IT ALL LIKE? HOW WOULD YOU HOPE IT IS RECEIVED BY ITS INTENDED/GENERAL AUDIENCE?
ARM represents nostalgic high-quality music and visuals, creative and fun products usually based on my life or something nostalgic to me, for example, I collected pogs when I was a kid, so I plan to do a series of ARM pogs using my designs, it's all inspired by experiences or memories, that's part of what EWAT (Everybody Wants a Taste) is about, it reminds me of good times in life.

LET US ASK THE EVERGREEN AND ALWAYS FAIR QUESTION: WHO HAS INSPIRED THE SOUND WE HEAR IN "EVERYBODY WANTS A TASTE"?
My co-producer Steve K is an integral part of the EWAT sound, he handled everything with such care and precision, and that shows through, also Mic Angelo and Flex who I mixed EWAT with, Mic has worked on projects that I am influenced by, many of which are with fellow New York or Long Island artists, it makes perfect sense for him and I to collaborate, and The Mix Palace was the perfect place to record EWAT.

WHO MOVED YOU TO CREATE MUSIC IN THE FIRST PLACE?
I've written songs my whole life, and have always been a music lover, from being a kid listening to amazing artists my mom played around the house, a lot of 70s and 80s era R&B, along with many other genres, also: I've worked over a decade in the catering and party industries, I write music with that experience in mind and it's part of where the food imagery comes from, I'm also influenced by advertising, sports, architecture, and nature, all of which I incorporate into my music and visuals.

WHERE DO YOU BEGIN WHEN MAKING MUSIC? DO YOU START BY EXPERIMENTING WITH SOUNDS AND BEATS OR DO YOU NORMALLY WRITE THE SONGS OUT BEFORE WORKING ON THE MUSIC?
I write the concept, lyrics, melody, and structure of the track, when I finish it I bring the raw material to Steve K, and we start collaborating on the production from there with Steve engineering.

WHEN PEOPLE THINK OF MUSIC MAKING THEY OFTEN ENVISION THE SONGWRITING AND COMPOSITION/BEAT-MAKING PROCESS, RARELY DO THEY REMEMBER THE IMPORTANCE OF MIXING, MASTERING, AND ENGINEERING BEHIND IT ALL. HOW CAN YOU BEST DESCRIBE THIS PART TO HIGHLIGHT ITS IMPORTANCE TO THOSE WHO LACK TECHNICAL KNOWLEDGE?
The audio engineering side of music is what makes anyone want to listen to it, every element has to come together in balance for a dazzling result, it's important to work with and learn from true, reputable professionals and mentors who you can trust, because in most instances it will be the difference between something happening or nothing happening with the song.

WHAT'S LINED UP FOR ARM IN THE NEAR FUTURE?
An EWAT music video is on the way, I intend to do a vinyl release of EWAT, along with merchandise, continuing to write and produce for myself and other artists, also: there is a brand new track me and Steve have already started whipping up, get ready

ARM'S INSTAGRAM

MEET THE AUTHOR

Samuel Aponte is Venezuelan-born raised and based.

I joined Rival Magazine after a few years of doing PR work for independent musicians of all stripes; understanding their struggles to be heard in a sea of constant ADHD noise and paywalled access to platforms, I now bring a willingness to always appreciate and encourage the effort and creativity that artists put into their work. Can also find some of my writings on LADYGUNN and We Found New Music.