Strings of Success: Daniel Padim's Journey from Brazil to China's Guitar Star

By That's, September 28, 2023

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More than halfway across the world Brazilian guitarist, Daniel Padim answers our call for an interview on Zoom. He is considered one of the most talented acoustic guitar players in the world. In 2013, he started his musical career with his solo debut album "Looking Up to Giants." The album was well-received as Daniel's style of funky and snappy acoustic guitar playing was both rhythmic and melodic. Signing with Candyrat Records and a cover of Coldplay's "A Sky Full of Stars," his popularity surged globally.

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Daniel's music has hit 10 million streams on the Netease platform, showcasing his popularity in China. He has similar stats on QQ Music, where multiple songs from his debut album had more than 10 thousand 'favorites.' 'I heard that Chinese (people) have some way to understand better non-linear thoughts because of their language and in Brazil, you know, musical culture here. The people are not so interested in classical music. Daniel Padim tells his thoughts on his popularity here compared to back home. His style is not that popular back in Brazil, as many other guitarists in the genre don't see Fingerstyle as a way of creating original compositions.

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He is currently on an 8-date tour through China, starting in Taiyuan and finishing off in Shanghai with Japanese guitarist Okapi Kimura. 'I love Okapi. I played a few shows with him in Poland; our styles are very different, and I'm looking forward to learning from him, Daniel tells us. They, among other acoustic guitarists like Pierre Bensuan, Alexandr Misko and Kenta Ebara, are on tour around various cities around China to showcase acoustic-style guitar playing. Many of these men are considered some of the very best in their field, but Daniel prefers to see his music as something original.

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Daniel's first album was an appreciation of the other musical talents that paved the way for this style. His second album 'Legitimate' is described as still tributing the past guitarists but mixed with his own stylings in theirs. His new album"Undarkening Light", released on May 26th, 2023 and later on music platforms, is Daniel reaching a new level of maturity in ways of expressing himself. New singles Kingdom Gates and Temple Spire are beautiful pieces of classical guitar showcasing the excellent uses of pitch harmonics, creating a realm where darkness and light coexist together. Both songs have cinematic and atmospheric music videos shot in a castle of Ljubljana in Slovenia and Andres Mountains in Chile.

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The tour is Daniel's first time in China, and he wants to see The Great Wall of China. He tells us that he is really looking forward to finding out about China as the country is very unknown to the country of Brazil. We gave him some advice to learn a few Chinese words for the tour so he could thank his fans and he laughed and thanked us for the recommendation.  Many fans are printing the faces of the guitarists and wearing them as masks as a way of showing their fandom at the gigs. Another big request is fans asking Daniel to play with them, to which he responds that, of course, he would love to. Following on his Instagram and website, it is clear that the tour has been a success, with many fans coming to meet him and wear masks, as well as him getting to play with many of his friends.

Find Daniel's website: https://www.danielpadim.com/

His music on Netease Music, QQ Music and Spotify

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