Singer-songwriter Kelvis Ochoa will present this Saturday 8 at El Sauce his latest album Dolor con amor se cura (Love heals pain) recorded with BisMusic label. March is promising to be a memorable month for this artist because his followers will be able to enjoy a documentary on his life and work that will be displayed from Thursday 13 on in the most important movies of the country. The piece, called Yo se de unlugar (I know a place), was produced by Swedish filmmaker Beat Borter and includes two tracks from the new album.
Kelvis doesn’t rest, he is also setting a new musical theater project, he has already finished writing two songs that will make up another record and he maintains his usual presentations in Havana.
He amazes his audience with his sweeping melodies, with fun and passionate lyrics, and with his ability to improvise. With lots of future plans, jovial and positive like his sons he talked with OnCuba about his life, his music and his new record.
What is music for Kelvis?
Most of all it is an aid to soothe the world and to help people understand me, for them to know my ideas and how I see them reflected in me.
Son, Macuta, Milonga, Merengue, SucuSucu, Cha ChaCha, Timba, among others, are some of the ingredients in your music. How would you define your music?
It is a work trip where I gradually discover rhythms and I combine them in time; it is a huge quest.
How important is improvisation for you?
I big part of my career is open for improvisation; it is something that cannot be missing inside my work. I don’t think I do outstanding great improvisations. Cuba is the home of huge repentismo singers who I deeply admire. I will try hard to improve my improvisation day by day because that’s a difficult job and a dream I’ve had since little.
What’s your motivation for writing songs?
I am inspired by many human topics but love, relationships and familyare the most frequent.
In what creative stage are you in right now?
I believe I am in the most solid and mature stage in my career. I am getting close to the exact words to say what I want to say. I no longer take a step back to get to the exact place in my lyrics. I have learned to synthesize. I aim at reaching Matamoro’s level of synthesis to be able to express a whole feeling in a song.
What does Habana Abierta means for you?
We were together for ten years; it was a great musical workshop that was good for all of us. We learned a lot from each other and we feedback while we nourished from common sources and experiences. They are all admirable composers, great artists that enriched that wonderful stage in my life. If I were born again, I would be a musician again and I would like to go back to that time because it was creative, fun and magic. In the last presentations of this band in Cuba we got together and performed together. Many people want us to be together again as a band, and we will see about that. I believe this is a good opportunity to do this sort of things, sing together. Now that the music market is adrift, that’s precisely what we as artists can do: share, create and enjoy together.
Your music is a great fusion, how much do you think your stay in Spain has contributed with your songs?
A lot. I met great Spanish musicianswho I admire immensely and I was filled with their Andalusian way of saying things. Living in Spain marked my songs. It was a beautiful and definitive stage, 12 years that left a mark in me, which can be felt in my songs.
How important was to come back to Cuba?
Cuba is really important for me. It is my homeland, there I play with the heart and people love me and recognize me. Having a relationship like the one I have with my audience is unique and wonderful. It is a privilege to write and sing at home, in such difficult times of world crisis in which many musicians are all over the world trying hard to make a living. I went through that stage already, now it is time to be at home a stage I enjoy the most. I am lucky to meet my people day by day.
In your opinion, what differentiates the Cuban contemporary music and how your production fits in this scenario?
I guess that every Cuban artist is always thinking about developing and improving Cuban music. I have tried so far because we are the heirs of an excellent line of musicians and genres we cannot forget or let down. Our music is characterized by diversity. I am caught up in the middle stylizing all these genres, bringing them to me and mixing them, which is not new but is not the usual. Some time ago each musician was characterized by a specific genre or style. In my case I have brought them all together in the same track. Let’s say that in a three-minute standard song there are three or four different rhythms with a particular coherence so that the make a pleasurable sound. How to bring them together in such a short time with a good result is a total challenge. That’s how I see myself in the Cuban music.
What’s your assessment on the Cuban music at present?
I think it is healthy, with ups and downs mostly in terms of genres. We need to expand the range of genres especially now that reggaeton has taken over the market. The real musicians will realize that there are other genres to develop their creativity and their songs and eventually they will succeed with their styles. I wish they could see the variety of the Cuban music, which is amazing and incredible. There are young people doing a really good work, as there are also Cuban bands that do it increasingly better.
What’s your proposal with Dolor con amor se cura?
It is a 10-track record, just like the previous one. It has nine tracks I wrote myself and one by Pavel Urquiza. It is very simple, it is short but I think this my best work. I got really good results with the selection of tracks; it is balanced and pleasant to the ear. It is exquisite. I consider it is filled with drama. I have invited Luis Enrique, a Nicaraguan singer that joins me in the track En la penumbra (In the shadow), by Pavel Urquiza, which is also included in his album –coproduced between and GemaCorredera. I also invited Coro Diminuto, directed by Professor Carmen Rosa. It is a more coherent production and it is better accomplished than the previous ones, with which I feel satisfied.
Author
Cecilia Crespo
