Meet Carlos Levario | Music Artist aka Dante Levo

We had the good fortune of connecting with Carlos Levario and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Carlos, how has your perspective on work-life balance evolved over time?
For me, it has been really hard to find a good balance. It has changed so much over the years. There was a good amount of time where I had put nothing but time into my music business. This was the time where I did get the most success in my music business but I was burning myself out quick, many friendships were going through a rough patch because of it. I did not have much of a balanced life. It simply was not sustainable.

You can have a well balanced life if it is planned well. Now I have a full time job that I work 40+ hours, and my music business that I try to put as many hours as I can while still trying to workout, play some video games, hang out with friends and family. To find balance you have to see what you can let go and others how you can optimize the time spent. Being productive has helped me a ton to get things done right and in a timely manner so I have the time to do the other things that I want to do.
Balance is very important so you have the longevity in the business. Balance is such a big part of my brand as well, hence why my logo looks similar to the yin and yang symbol. A symbol of that is well known to be the symbol of balance.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
What I think sets me a part from others is I try to find the balance in my music. I really like to have something that is the best of both worlds. For example I have several tracks that have multiple drops that are soft and then hard on the next. I really try to find things that might not work together but find a way to make them coexist.

It was not an easy journey, I started with a Numark mixdeck that I bought off my buddy when he moved out of state. This got me started on my journey. I practiced for countless hours, which finally lead me to play for people and this started with house parties. As I continue to get better as a DJ, I started playing for bars and then sooner or later I got my first club gig in LA, in a venue called Belasco. I heard through Facebook they were looking for DJs for upcoming events. So I joined their team and have started my music career. I stayed with them for a year or two and gathered more and more events under my music resume. Later a great opportunity fell on my lap. I was asked to play in the a smaller room of a venue called Exchange LA. Which is owned by a company called Insomniac. This was great way for me to start working with a bigger company that their main focus was to throw big parties. As the years went by I got to open for many big artist such as Nurko, San Holo ,Tritonal, Said The Sky and many more. I still continue to grow and look toward the future for bigger and better opportunities. Biggest thing to take from this is consistency. Consistency will always beat motivation. There will be times were you wont be motivated but if you stay consistent, you take more steps in the right direction then stopping and waiting for the right time. Take the opportunities that are aligned with what your main vision is for yourself.

Some of the lessons I have learned is not everyone that is offering help has the right intentions, so just be cautious. Another is find people that are well aligned for you and truly believe in you. Lastly, is to find your balance, your vision, your why, and enjoy the journey along the way. Love yourself and believe that what you want is already in your grasp.

I want create memories for people with my music. Just like I did with my favorite music artists, creating and revisiting a core memory tied with all the emotions I felt on those days.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
This is very hard, because I can always find ways to entertain a group and myself. To start I would take them to get some Acai bowls at place called Juju Bar, they make some great tasting classic acai bowls. They come with strawberries, blueberries, bananas, granola, and honey. I like to add a scoop of peanut butter, it just adds to the flavor. Then after, we would go to a Round 1 with a Sparta attached to it, to have even more activities to do. Round 1 itself has arcade, bowling, karaoke and a bar. Sparta is a sports park of sorts, you can play volleyball, basketball, soccer and they also have batting cages. Tons of activities to stay busy and active. For dinner, we would go to Buffalo Wild Wings and get some hot wings and some seasoned potato wedges. Specifically Mango Habanero and Asian Zing for the wings and the chipotle seasoning for the potato wedges. This would be one day but through out the week, go out to Downtown Disney to enjoy the bars they have down there. If it was the winter season we would also go to the mountains and snowboard in big bear. That would be some of the things I would do with my best friend and I’m sure my friend would be tired by the end of the week.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I have to say a huge thanks to all my fans and friends. It has been an insane journey so far and I would not be where I am without all the people that have stuck with me from the very beginning. I am truly grateful to have people in my life that believe in me just as much as I believe in myself. So Shoutout to Nick, Kevin , Daniel, Jon, Jin, Matt, and Vivian for always believing in me. I have met so many people that were fans at first and have become to be great friends to me and have been the biggest supporters. I would like to shout out Nik Cherwink for his amazing podcast! I was glad to see I was not the only one going through struggles and it was good to see other successful people having the same mindset as I do. This just lets me know that my desires are soon to come. Another big support is the team at DAW Nation, where I took my masterclasses, which helped me level up as a melodic bass producer. I would like to shoutout Team MBL for helping me get though the struggle with social media as a music artist. They helped me level up my social media skills to share my music with the world in a way that I can express myself. Finally, thanks to Shoutout LA for having me and sharing my own story with the world.

Website: https://dantelevo.wixsite.com/website

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dantelevomusic/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/DanteLevo

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DanteLevoMusic

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPRyXvzCOW81CmEIXJwmH0w

Other: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/7JaG1CAOp3sGb17IR1YDbY?si=IHFCuwg3QZ6_cJG8sW97JQ