I was born in 1975, in Ploiesti, Romania. I had my first contact with music in my uncle’s house, where I used to play on his upright piano, along with my cousins. Later on, I started playing with my grandfather’s mandolin.
It all became more serious when I reached 15 years of age and I got to the rehearsal room of a local rock band. I got instantly fascinated with the incredible energy that emerged from that small basement where my friends were playing.
I went to my father’s workshop (he was a sculptor), I used a piece of wood lath, a broken skateboard, a few nails and some fishing line, and made myself a guitar. It only had 4 strings; it was “fretless”, almost impossible to tune… but I got something to play on.
After a while, I convinced my father to buy me a guitar, a classical one – we only had access to electric instruments with considerable efforts – and that was the instrument I began to rehearse on, improvising most of the times.
At a certain point I bought a bass body with a functional pick-up, so I was able to build my first electric guitar, gluing the neck of the classical guitar on the newly bought bass body. In the same period of time, I succeeded in putting together various guitar amplifiers, all sorts of electronic devices – radio, tv, tape recorders… almost anything that comprised an audio amplifier. I built my first overdrive by tying electronic components with wire (didn’t have the patience to build the plate and glue the pieces on it), in a jungle of strings insulated with tape and fitted into a soap holder. Surprisingly enough, it worked.
I believe that this first-timer period lasted about a year; after that, I was able to find an old Romanian electric guitar and I started to play with local bands and had a few concerts.
In 1995, I started, along with my best friend, a rock/ hardcore band named H8. I also played with musicians outside the scope of rock, as rap (Parazitii, K-gula, Bitza, BUG Mafia, Nimeni Altu, Undoo, Butch, Keri) and participated in a few pop/ electro projects.
In 2000 I began working in a recording studio, where I started to learn recording techniques and how to use the software necessary for audio recording.
In 2005 I left for Gabon. After an adjusting period, I organized a rehearsal studio, where local and foreign artists gathered to play. I think this got me to a turning point in my musical education (and not only musical), the chance to play with a great deal of musicians from different musical and geographical areas.
I started a new band in Gabon, named DTP, collaborating with the rap group Movaizhaleine, while I helped, as technic, the Ekwatone group.
I got back to Romania in 2015, so I was able to participate in H8 and Doar Atat concerts. I helped organizing one evening per week jam-sessions, to which we tried to bring artists from as various as possible areas of music.
In 2017 I moved to France, where I performed in a few concerts with SBD.
In 2020 i started my solo project, Gabriel Radu Arnautu Live Show (Gabriel Rals) and in February 2021 i launched the first album, Wandering in my magic world.
On November 11, 2023, I released my second solo album, titled “Imperfect,” at the Philharmonic Hall in Ploiesti.
I continue to collaborate with various artists from different countries and cultures.