Dreaming of blasting amps and creating meaningful connections

As I work on becoming a better manager for my music project, I listen to this video of my favourite electronic duo of the moment, Kiasmos. Kiasmos is an Icelandic project composed by Ólafur Arnalds and Janus Rasmussen. The deep minimalist music arrangements they create demonstrates me how possessing a profound music connection is all you need to tell a compelling story.  Is not about how much you have, but about what you do with what you have.
Looking at them perform also fills me up with passion and motivation to work even harder at creating a beautiful live show for next year. I'm currently working with bassist Richard McLeish and drummer Alexis Duval to create a profound experience for all of you. We can't wait to get on stage and share it all! At list we have to wait for the snow to fall and melt before we can start blasting those amps. In the meantime, enjoy this great performance of Kiasmos.

New Single Release October 1st!

Few months ago I started collaborating with bassist Richard McLeis (aka Vanilla Vice). We got together once just to jam a bit and it was so magical that we decided to continue on getting together. This next single will be our first attempt to give our listeners a profound experience. Hopefully it will speak to many of you. 
As reflections dance ahead of us, a permanent mark traces behind.
Shadows and Reflections.

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Some inspiration for myself, and hopefully for you too.

Here is a very recent video from a classical musician that has inspired me so much. In a time when I use to think that I would have to make POP music to be able to one day make a living. Or to express it more clearly. That as a classical musician who loves to perform and compose, there would be no space for me and my music in the music industry. Olafur showed me I was wrong. When I stumbled upon his music, I felt a big sense of relief. And then I knew I wanted to build something similar in essence to what he has. He showed me there is space in the music industry for classical musicians who want to do things a bit differently. And so I must say. Thank you Olafur : )
Please enjoy!

The Lost Album

On the 29th of June Impulse! Records released jazz performer and composer John Coltrane's "Both Directions at Once: The Lost Album". The album was recorded with his "classic quartet" integrated by pianist McCoy Tyner, bassist Jimmy Garrison and drummer Elvin Jones, one day before the Hartmat album was recorded too. Due to many circumstances, including the destruction of the master tape for storage purposes, the "Lost Album" never got to see the light of the day until now. The recording was re-acquired by Impulse! Records after it was nearly auctioned in 2005. The album's release was co-supervised by Ravi Coltrane, John Coltrane's son. Enjoy!

Some music from my memories

I remember when I listened to Jorge Drexler for the first time. A good friend of my mother recommended us to listen to him with so much enthusiasm. She told us "If you haven't listened to Jorge Drexler's music, you haven't lived enough!". And so with that recommendation it was hard to not feel a strong desire to listen to him. My mother got an album of his, and since then, it became the soundtrack of our family gatherings. Just the sound of his voice is enough to calm the agitated noise in your mind. There is something so relaxing, so soothing in his voice. Also, his songs make so creative use of simple yet rich elements such as the single pluck of a guitar string. His use of words is also remarkable. He is able to depict the most beautiful scenography with the use of his extensive palette of vocabulary and rhymes. This short concert he gave at NPR Tiny Desk Concert is such a good example of the above. Please enjoy.

My new discovery of the day.

Today I stumbled upon with this piece. I don't think it needs a description. John Luther Adams did such a good job that the piece speaks by itself. Nevertheless, I'll leave you with a short quote he wrote with regards with his piece. 
"Life on this earth first emerged from the sea. As the polar ice melts and sea level rises, we humans find ourselves facing the prospect that once again we may quite literally become ocean."
John Luther Adams

Become Ocean by John Luther Adams, released 30 September 2014 1. Become Ocean Awarded the 2014 Pulitzer Prize for Music and described by the New Yorker's Alex Ross as "...the loveliest apocalypse in musical history," John Luther Adams' majestic orchestral work Become Ocean is a thrilling exploration of depth, turbulence, eerie silence and ultimately enveloping calm.

Looking For New Compositional Techniques

I believe that as a composer and music producer it is very important to be updated in the latest compositional  techniques. Most people would find many of these as ugly sounding or too dissonant. But I really listen to them thinking of how could I apply some of those weird sounding noises to my music. I also many times find some beautiful sounding textures that could totally serve as a lush bed of sound for some catchy melodies. Here is an example of what I'm talking about.  Vortex Temporum by Gérard Grisey, explores the spectral characteristic of sound produced by acoustic instruments and applies it to all of the composition. Like in colour, where many colours can be found mixed in one colour, the same happens in music, where many  notes are sounding within  one note of an acoustic instrument.  To fully understand what I'm talking about one should look into sound spectrum and music harmonics. In this piece one can listen how the composer chose to highlight this quality of music. The result is a music that I find very radiant sounding with very sharp dissonances. I truly found some of the aspects of this music very beautiful and really think could serve well in some of the more mainstream music of our time. I hope some of you find this inspiring to look into contemporary writing techniques and apply it to your music!

The rebirth of true live electronic music.

Yesterday night I had the privilege to see Nils Frahm's performance of his All Melody concert. It was amazing to see how a contemporary composer and performer could create live music that resembles in nature that of one made with a classical orchestra. I believe the ultimate way to experience classical music is by being there, at a live concert. The feeling of how each of the instrument's sound interacts in the concert hall and is felt through all of your body is so unique. I feel a lot of this has been lost in today's electronic music scene. Most of the music is already mixed in one or two stereo tracks and then is replayed through giant speakers at the concert. The experience would be the same if you had crazy big speakers in your room, went to youtube and pressed play. The only difference most of the time is that you have the producer that created those tracks pressing the play button. But with Nils, this is completely different. Everything is being created on stage, right there. And not just that, but all of his sounds are created with real instruments and real synthesizers on the spot. There was a point when he had many of his instruments playing at once when I had a similar sensation as when a whole orchestra is playing at once. You can feel your whole body and soul tremble. I really recommend everyone to attend to one of his shows. You will know then what I mean.

Profound Simplicity

While driving on my way home on a snowy day, this beautiful song came out on the radio. It really made it feel like I floated all the way home on a cloud made of the softest cotton. There is something in this music that just goes straight to soul. The melodies are slow but hit the right notes that best communicate to the spirit. This is what I like to call profound simplicity. For sure something that could only be done by someone with a mastery of music composition such as Franz Schubert. Nevertheless a composition is only notes until magnificent performers such as Philippe Sly and John Charles Britton bring it to life. Enjoy!

A Mexican artist that sets the example.

Son of the famous film director Alejandro Jorodowsky, Adan is a musician that has captured in his album titled "Amador", the heart of my culture. Very spiritual and rooted in very genuine positive feelings,  his work makes great use of Spanish language to evoke love and happiness in his listeners. Once you start listening you will know what I mean. 

Voice is the gate to the soul.

One of the best things of working with great artists is that you get to have a glance into their world. Usually it's a very insightful and profound one. This was the case with Christopher. A man devoted to his spirit and expressing this devotion through the timbre of his voice. Being in the same room with him and talking about life was one of those moments of my career that I will cherish forever. There is a big congruence between the sensation this man creates in the listener through his work and the way he experiences and gives meaning to his life.

Maybe one day.

As I start composing the music for my first album, I sit and remember that one time when I went see Vicente Amigo for the first time. I drove 8 hours with my flamenco guitar teacher  to get to Guanajuato where the concert would take place. I was 15 years old and my mother wasn't happy about me leaving by myself with someone she never met before. I'm glad I was able to convince her! 
That was a day that changed my life. I realized that night after watching him, that I was a musician, and that I was meant to pursue that path. Listening him play makes me realize that I have a long way ahead of me to at least get a little bit close to his mastery in music. Honestly, I love that feeling. It is not about getting to the peak of the mountain but enjoying the way there. 

The discovery of beautiful music

This week I atended a string quartet marathon as part of the Montréal/Nouvelles Musiques (MNM) festival. The evening was full of contemporary pieces written by such composer like the great Ana Sokolović and John Rea. All the pieces were magically performed by string quartets Bozzini, Capitano and Molinari. The overall nature of the music being performed was of a very avant-garde nature, searching for new sounds and articulations which were stimulating and challenging at the same time. But the whole evening acquired a new meaning when this piece by John Zorn was performed by string quartet Molinari. It completely felt like drinking a big glass of fresh water  after and intense audio work out. I hope it resonates in you like it did in me. 

Best Collaboration Ever. Bach being played on Mandolin, Double Bass and Cello.

As a classical musician, I would love to see more collaborations like this one happening, where the common standards of instrumentation for classical music are broken. I once  had the good luck to attend to a master class given by Yo-Yo Ma. The most important thing he taught us was to never stop playing like a child, with the same imagination and cusiousity to try new things.