English · Interviews

Interview with Music2Deal Member AMANOVA

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AMANOVA (10)

Could you tell us a bit about yourself?

Hi to the Music2Deal Community ! It’s always hard to present ourselves in a few words… but I’ll try ! I’m Amanova, a french singer and songwriter, in a style we could qualify as smooth-jazz with touches of blues, soul and latin influences. I’ve grew up in a musician family and started to sing on stage at the age of 12. I used to produce myself with coverbands until 2007, where I started my own project and dared to write and compose for myself.

Why do you think your kind of music will do well internationally?

First of all, I believe that music is universal, that’s the best language to share with somebody living at the opposite of the earth, with our emotions and our intentions. I like to think there’s a public for any kind of music, and realize I’m often more played on radios in US or Canada than in my own country. Maybe it’s a question of style or the result that I don’t sing a lot in French. Anyway, I’m always happy when my music finds an echo, whether it is with my neighbour or with an Australian, music’s made to travel !

Could you talk to us about notable projects you have completed in the past?

Any experience, any stage has been a benefit in learning. I started early and had the chance to experiment many things in music, a variety of groups, the work as backup singer which helped to participate at the Montreal’s Francofolies with great canadian singers, some radio advertisings, the direction of a music school and since I started my own project, I had the pleasure to produce myself in many places, as the Sunset Jazz Club Paris, some Jazz festivals, clubs, painting openings, some big private parties…

Do you have any upcoming projects, tours and concerts already planned? What are your plans for 2013?

I’ve just released my first EP (« On a smoothy way ») last summer so I’m trying to promote it the best way I can :) and I’ve already started to work on the next album, ideas are there and I like the atmosphere in the studio! People interested can take a look on my website www.amanova.net to discover all of this.

What do you think is the largest problem faced by the music industry today? How do you think it can be resolved?

There are many large problems (laughs) and I can’t speak for everyone, but from my point of view, one of the most important is a problem of « pace », I mean that the larger part of the marketed music come from some big societies, which own like a monopole and receive alone the support of the media. All is concentrated on a few artists, but there is so much to discover outside ! So, how to resolve it ? I  unfortunately don’t have the answer, except than push people to be the more curious they can, and search to discover things from everywhere.

What are you currently looking for? A label, a distributor, a manager, a producer, licencing, etc?

Until now, I had to apply the DIY from A to Z, I don’t have a label, but I was supported by followers on Ulule to produce my CD, don’t have a manager, so I handle everything. I’d really like to meet some people helping me to find gigs, a label to believe in my next album, if anyone is interested, just contact me!

A good word on Music2Deal.com?

The music community that breaks all the borders, let’s meet and share !

MORE INFO:

EMAIL : promotion.amanova@gmail.com

WEBSITE : www.amanova.net

FACEBOOK : https://www.facebook.com/amanovartistic

TWITTER : https://twitter.com/Amanovartistic

VIDEO CLIP : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipRBn_3R-KQ

ALBUM: http://amanova.bandcamp.com/

by Sara Shirazi

English · Interviews

Interview with Music2Deal Member Wito Rodriguez

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Wito Rodriguez is a Chicago born Puerto Rican and a musician since childhood. Despite his tour of military service in Europe, he pursued his musical career by playing in several orchestras as a singer and taking singing lessons. With Orchestra Conexion Latina, Wito recorded two records, “Carlorcito” and “Un Poco Loco”.

You started off playing in a Rock’n Roll band. How did you discover your love for latin music?

In 1968 my dad decided to move back to Puerto Rico.  There I had to go to Spanish school and start learning how to speak Spanish language correctly.  I started listening to Spanish radio and really liked the music.  At the age of 16 and a half I got into a Salsa group and started to sing Salsa music.

For those of us who don’t speak Spanish, what are your songs about?

I have different types of songs and beats in my recordings.  Some are talking about love, about the world, about a certain style of music like “Bomba Puertorriquen” in my CD “Calorcito” and about something funny.

Tell us a little bit about the Latin Music scene. Is there a lot going on at the moment?

Right now the way I see it. Salsa hasn’t died and it’s getting powerful again.  Hard part about it all is that the promoters are not buying a big band like they used to, because of the amount of musicians they need to move from point A to B and return.  Normally a Salsa Ochestra has from 9-13 musicians.

You lived in the US, Puerto Rico and Europe.  What are the differences between the different music communities?

There is not really much difference!! Here in the USA you are able to hear every style of music the same as Puerto Rico.  Germany and Europe are now doing the same. When I started singing in Germany Salsa music back in the 70’s, there was not much Latin Music being played.  But through the years I started going to many places in Germany where the music was being liked and Germans wanted to know how to dance it.

Do you like contemporary music that is a mixture of Latin and Pop?

I love all kinds of music just as long it’s played right and sounds good.

Your biography shows you are an international person and artist. What do you think, how important are international presence and networking in the music business today?

It is very important!!!  I have been around all of Europe, Puerto Rico and USA.  This gave me more experience in how to present my music to people that did not understand it or have never heard the music.  This was great doing it.

What are your plans for 2013 and the future?

Well I want to be able to play in more venues.  I plan to record my next CD in August 2013 in Puerto Rico. I am appearing this August in one of the biggest Musikfest in the country.  It’s called Musikfest Bethlehem, PA musikfest.org. Also I have been sending my promo packet all around.  I believe that 2014 will be better than this year.

Interviewed by Lorena Campbell

Find Wito Rodriguez on Music2Deal: www.music2deal.com/us/vv8gzg_tflZpj2AWIVjUfbFHPaM_

 

English · Tips

Tips and Tricks: How To Make A Music Video

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Many people are really hooked on visual content, so it can be a great idea to make a music video for your song. This is something that most people can do, even though it is quite challenging. But the more you put into it, the more you get out of it.

  1. The first thing you have to do is to record the track. Make sure to record it as professional as you can.
  2. Use the best camera you can find. If you don’t want to buy one, you can also ask someone to borrow you his/her camera.
  3. Create a storyboard. This is very helpful to plan your video. It can be simple (like the positions of things in certain scenes) or detailed (face expressions, angles, cutaways).
  4. Find a location. Look for scenes that match your vision and the theme of your song. Make sure to ask the owners of the place you want to use for the video shoot ;)
  5. You will need a good crew for the video shoot: If you only want to direct the video, you will need a videographer and a sound man. Depending on how much money or effort you want to spend on the shoot, you can also hire a makeup artist and someone who is responsible for the wardrobe.
  6. Shoot plenty of angles and try to cover the entire song with most of them. It gives the video some variety when it is finished.
  7. Keep it simple. Don’t shoot (too many) setups that only cover a small part of your song. This is very time consuming and not very effective.
  8. As a little extra, you can add a dance routine part to your video to make it rich in variety.
  9. Another effect that works nicely in music videos is the cutaway. This can be some kind of random shot in which the singer is not singing or a beautiful landscape for example. Just make sure that the cutaway is relevant to the theme of the song.
  10. Review all your takes and choose your favorite ones. You can add your cutaways between two clips from different takes. Good editors are Final Cut Pro or iMovie.

by Sara Shirazi