DO YOU WANT TO SEE BEHIND THE SCENES?
Hey! I’ve been on the grind in the studio making new music and living and working in a different way. Fitter. Happier. More productive. ;)
You’re a part of this journey. I’d have to say, I’ve been wanting to write and perform this kind of electronic dance music for a long time. Back when I was training to become an opera singer at the Schulich School of Music at McGill University in Montreal, Canada, I would connect with local electronic music producers and talk about writing vocals for their songs. We’d meet up in the music school’s cafeteria and discuss projects. Those projects never panned out because I didn’t know what to do next and I didn’t think to seek guidance, which is what I should’ve done (hello and/or DUH). I had dreams of being a global DJ and singer but felt I couldn’t betray my opera singing self.
Throughout opera school, I’d go to electronic music parties at night and on the weekends and collaborate with composers in the Digital Composition Studio. I took classes with them, studying software programs including MAX/MSP, Pure Data, Logic, and Ableton and performing sound projects at school combining pre-recorded vocals and real-time manipulated sound design interspersed in a surround-sound setting. I took courses in electroacoustic music and went to Montreal’s museum of sound, which was integral in pioneering the gramophone in the early 20th century. I worked with composers on graphic scores and saw them as sound, music, and art pieces.
I had a trip to Paris where I visited IRCAM, a French institute for science about music, sound, and avant garde electro-acoustical music. I fell in love with Berlin’s hard-hitting, raw electronic music scene. I loved Berlin’s music scene so much that I tried to find ways to live there by applying for a Fulbright Scholarship, applying to study sound design at the Universität der Künste (and I had my interview with a panel in German, even. I held through with my knowledge of German picked up in my opera studies and through living in Austria to study and perform opera).
I got my way in to a job working as an audio engineer apprentice at ishlab, a boutique music studio in Brooklyn, NYC. I had seven interviews - some had problems, like I got stood up, there was a Skype global blackout, rescheduled…). But my persistence landed me the job, where I got to nerd out about consoles, compressors, and composition. I had an amazing time hanging in the studio with producers and learning tools of the trade and being exposed to cool new music.
I was simultaneously building my Gypsy jazz career throughout all those years, but I always wanted to find a way to integrate electronic music for a fresh, inspired sound with the music.
Fortunately, I’ve met some incredible artists in various disciplines along the way, and I’m so grateful for that.
Now I’m teaming up with other artists and coaches to create fresh music with a bigger vision behind it. Things are moving and getting onto higher levels here.
I went live on Facebook and Instagram on Tuesday to connect with you behind the scenes. We’re looking at different ways of being, including being present in the moment, managing time and picking up momentum, letting go of anxiety and feeling good instead, and connecting and committing to your vision.
Click here to watch this week's YouTube video.
I'm going live on Facebook and Instagram now on Mondays at 8:30pm EST / 5:30pm PST. Follow me on Facebook and/or Instagram and get notified when I go live. New topic each week. I also post a lot in my stories with photos and videos in the music and dance studio, NYC life, mindset, fashion, and whatever's happening.
One more thing - I have 2 spots available in my singing and songwriting studio for October. Lessons are either online or in person in New York City. Check it out here: setyourlifetomusic.com.
I'm thinking of you and wishing you fun times and happiness.
Mad love.
xo
P.S. Click here to support my music on Patreon.
P.P.S. Click here to learn more about voice, piano, guitar, and songwriting lessons with Set Your Life To Music.
Photo by Mavel Valdes in Havana, Cuba