ALBUMS
COMPOSTIONS
POP MUSIC PROJECTS
INTERDISCIPLINARY PROJECTS
DVYLIKA
"Dvylika" is a musical Album inspired by the Lithuanian folk story "Dvylika brolių, juodvarniais lakstančių." It comprises six songs and six instrumental pieces, blending pop with contemporary music methods. Exploring the theme of departure, it delves into various interpretations: departing from places we call home, retreating from our sense of self through life's experiences, and facing mortality. Despite its somber tone, the album infuses hope, as seen in "Hope is a Thing with Feathers," based on Emily Dickinson's poem. It aims to inspire hope in listeners, presenting a multi-layered journey towards empathetic resilience, dignity, strength, and an eye that searches for beauty.
Music / Words: Manuel Velázquez Voice: Gina Shee Violin: Lora Kmieliauskaitė Cello: Arnas Kmieliauskas Flute: Greta Pocevičiūtė Clarinet: Ignas Daniulis Piano / Guitar: Manuel Velázquez Recorded at Mama Studios Vilnius Recording Engineer: Vytautas Bedalis, Roberto Becerra Mixing and Mastering : Manuel Velázquez
Produced by: Manuel Velázquez, Gina Shee Cover art: Amilcar Rivera
Work supported by Lietuvos Kultūros Taryba
ABSTRACCIONES
"Abstraction is real, probably more real than nature"
Josef Albers
Abstracciones is a piano solo album, featuring three pieces by different composers and pianists, each of the pieces is a conscious abstraction: of a city, of a poem, of the idea of spirals.
Suite de la Ciudad: Mario Santos
Cierva Blanca: José Luís Esquivel Argentina Durán
Spira Mirabilis: Manuel Velázquez Alex Mercado
Produced by José Luis Esquivel, Manuel Velázquez & Rosino Serrano Recording engineer Isaí Araujo Santamaría, recorded at Estudio 13, piano Bösendorfer 290 Imperial Mixed at Estudios Noviembre by Ruben Rodríguez Mastered at Masterhead Lab Mastering by Luis Felipe Herrera.
Cover illustration and 3D model - Federico Gutiérrez Cover Design - Genaro Ochoa.
With the support of Lietuvos Kultūros Taryba, Centro de Creadores Musicales & Sala de Audio.
INTO MADNESS
Into Madness is an eclectic musical journey that brings together an array of instruments and styles, including a jazz trio, a string quartet, flute, oboe, and vocals. Seamlessly blending elements of chamber music, jazz, and pop, this record offers a nuanced exploration of the human experience amidst struggles with depression and anxiety.
Rather than focusing solely on the clinical aspects of these conditions, Into Madness delves into the personal, introspective realm. It reflects on how these challenges influence our perceptions of ourselves and our lives.
Muic and lyrics: Manuel Velázquez, Drums: Stefan Wienken Bass: Jort Terwijn Flute: Pau Vidal, Guitar / Piano: Manuel Velázquez, Oboe: Núria Moreno, Viola: Sergio Alegre, Violin: Aloma Ruiz, Violin: Irene Serrahima, Cello: Andrea Peirón, Voice: Laura Blanco. Recorded at: Rosazul Estudio y Escola Superior de Música de CatalunyaSound Engenieer: Sixto Cámara Mix and Master: Sixto Cámara
Producción: Sixto Cámara y Manuel Velázquez
SEAFOAM
Sea Foam is a collaboration with the Pennsylvania State Viola Quartet, aiming to explore this viola ensemble's intricacies. It began with an invitation to expand the quartet's repertoire, allowing for a deep dive into viola music's unique qualities. Using techniques like timbral extensions, aleatoric writing, and layered melodies, Sea Foam gently evokes the ocean's essence. Each element blends smoothly, inviting listeners to immerse themselves in the tranquil rhythms and dynamic textures reminiscent of the sea's ever-changing landscape. Through their musical journey, the quartet weaves a narrative reflecting the fluidity and depth of their collective expression, capturing the timeless allure of the ocean.
Presented by: Andrea Alvarado, Kate Brown, Sam Rothermel, and Taylor Shea.
SPIRA MIRABILIS
Spira Mirabilis is a term attributed to mathematician Jakob Bernoulli, it captures the essence of the logarithmic spiral found throughout nature. Bernoulli's fascination with this geometric marvel led him to request its depiction on his tomb, accompanied by the phrase "Eadem mutata resurgo" (Changed, I resurge the same), reflecting his belief in identity through change. This composition, inspired by Bernoulli's insight, explores the concept of identity amidst transformation. Each movement embodies a unique definition of "Spiral", culminating in a final movement that revisits themes from earlier sections. Through its musical narrative, the piece reflects on the interplay between identity, repetition, and change, offering a personal exploration of these themes while translating geometric concepts into artistic expression.
Piano: Alex Mercado Recorded at Sala de Audio Mixing and master Alonso Magaña
LIFE MOLECULES
Life Molecules is a string quartet, it employs the resource of musical harmonics (that form sound) to portray the wondrous odyssey of molecules (that form matter) transforming into life. Within this piece, we witness the solitary existence of molecules, their gradual interaction, the formation of complex structures, the emergence of life (a melody), we accompany our molecules through life’s myriad experiences, and also, as the composition reaches its climax, we observe how the alchemy of life concludes, and how the molecules gracefully return to their elemental origins, completing the poetic cycle of decomposition and renewal.
Life Molecules: Manuel Velázquez
Chordos Quartet: Ieva Sipaitytė, Vaida Paukštienė,
Robertas Bliškevičius, Arnas Kmieliauskas.
THE FURIES
In collaboration with the ensemble "Synaesthesis" and four composers, we crafted music to complement Guy Madden’s film “Cowards Bend the Knee.” Written for: Guitar, Percussion, Double Bass, Tuba, and Saxophone, my piece, “The Furies,” serves as the soundtrack for the film's conclusion, delving into the theme of shame. It underscores the importance of confronting this emotion when reflecting on behavior that evokes remorse. Inspired by the film's storyline, the music endeavors to dignify shame as a catalyst for personal transformation and redemption. It resonates with the ongoing necessity for introspection to foster compassion, recognize privilege, and empathize with the challenges faced by others.
Performed by: Pranas Kentra, Simonas Kaupinis, Andrius Rekasius, Arminas Bižys, Donatas Butkevičius.
PLASTICIDADES
"Plasticidades" (Plasticities) is a collaboration with woodwind trio "Stereo Cluster" that delves into the concept of identity. Stemming from the understanding that our world is in a perpetual state of change, it emphasizes that when we assign something a name, it signifies its transformation. This opens pathways for fluid musical discourse and serves as a connection to musical composition.
Developing a musical idea entails altering it while preserving its core identity. Thus, the language of music inherently acknowledges the constant evolution of the world. Perhaps engaging in the creation and appreciation of music enables us to evolve alongside it, adapting and evolving with each note.
Performed by: Mariana Chávez-Lara, Ana Claudia Narváez y Pablo Ramírez
BOX
"Box" is an Orchestral piece following three different motives inter-relating with each other until they become the same thing, is a cinematic take on orchestra writing looking for minimalist yet effective atmospheres and textures.
Music Supervised and Recorded at Escola Superior de Musica de Catalunya
by Furius Music Orchestra (FMO)
Conductor: Gerard Pastor.
Orchestra production: Tomàs Alcaide.
Orchestra production: Núria Garcia.
Audio Engineer : Sixto Cámara.
SE LEVANTA TU VOZ
In collaboration with Iraida Noriega, "Se Levanta tu Voz" is a heartfelt reflection on our bond with the world around us. It nudges the boundaries between ourselves and nature, encouraging us to recognize our place within the greater tapestry of our environment.
Music and lyrics: Manuel Velázquez
Voice: Iraida Noriega Violin: Karina Cortés Cello: Rodrigo Duarte Produced by: Manuel Velázquez Recording and mixing engenieer: Alonso Magaña Master: Alan García
THE WRITER IS ALIVE
A LOCK OF HAIR
A lock of imbues melancholy with hope. It is also a game of quoting and referencing poetry milestones in pop music: Gilgamesh, Orpheus, Keats, Quevedo, and Alexander Pope all have their place in this song, which was created as a fresh look of old ideas and truths about our human condition as mortal beings.
Music & Lyrics: Manuel Velázquez Voice: Elena Gaudiešiūtė Produced by: Manuel Velázquez Recorded at: Boyar Studio Recording engineer: Jaroslavas Bobrovas Mixing engineer: Alonso Magaña Mastering engineer: Alan García
Video directed and animated: Federico Gutiérrez, Ink & paint: Andrea Estrada.
POP HESSARG
They know it. The title track is exceptional: "The Kendrick Effect". The guitar is remarkable, whether by absence or presence. The resonance of the piano, the slow vibratos of the bass, the vocal canon... the pauses... everything. In this band no one suffers for being silent. They know that when they have to sound they will have a necessary and brilliant place in the final picture. If only more musicians understood that. To play is also to be silent.
Alonso Arreola
Pop Hessarg: Alba Rosas, Paulina Fuentes, Rodrigo Tinajero, Manuel Velázquez, Ruben Limas.
THE KENDRICK EFFECT
ALBUM
It is an EP with five tracks full of air, unhurried and unfeigned. A diaphanous work that, nevertheless, does not renounce sophistication and committed research. "Find Me", the opening track, could have been the last. In fact, one thing we like about it is that it feels like an album in reverse. In it, Pop Hessarg's virtues and gambles are immediately on display: the pursuit of vocals, the solo piano drops, the acoustic sound. "Break Me", in a six by eight metric, integrates the male voice with fortunate results. For its part, "Silver" proposes a careful rhythmic base with well-polished structures. The bass obsessively embroiders each beat of the drums, softening the syncopations. In the tremor of their keyboard float, once again, the words of Paulina and Alba who, if there is one thing they know how to do, it is to change dynamics. The strength is not in the addition but in the subtraction. "Magic Tricks" starts with a piano that anticipates tensions, endowing the track with bittersweet flavours. The triplets that stick to the voice, as well as the ostinato of the drums -almost bells- give us arrangements cooked with love, slowness and rehearsals. We applaud the amplifier at the end.
Alonso Arreola
Pop Hessarg: Paulina Fuentes, Alba Rosas, Manuel Velázquez, Rodrigo Tinajero, Daniel Rosas. All songs by Manuel Velázquez except: Magic Tricks by Alba Rosas. Guest musicians: Anna Aguirre, Gunther Martinez. Arrangements: Pop Hessarg Produced by Manuel Velázquez Mixing and Mastering: Alan García Cover art: Federico Gutiérrez
MUSIC WHERE THE MUSIC LIES
ALBUM
"Music Where the Music Lies" is Pop Hessarg's second album, drawing inspiration from EE Cummings' poem "r-p-o-p-h-e-s-s-a-r-g" where words transcend their conventional form to craft a visual representation of a grasshopper. The album's essence is encapsulated in its second track, "To rearranginly become," mirroring the poem's exploration of anagrams through a melodic odyssey.
In a bold endeavor, Pop Hessarg ventures to amalgamate pop sensibilities with more academic intricacies. From the rhythmic displacements of "Drumroll and a Melody" to the singular harmonic and melodic narrative of "Party and King," and the temporal shifts in "High Today" and "Music Where the Music Lies," the band ingeniously bends the confines of pop music, forging a path to personal and engaging sonic realms.
Pop Hessarg: Alba Rosas, Rodrigo Tinajero, Paulina Fuentes, Manuel Velázquez, Daniel Rosas. All songs by Manuel Velázquez (except “Party and King by Alba Rosas). Produced by Alan García and Manuel Velázquez. Recorded at Naranjada Records, Animalito Records and Suno Records in Mexico City. Recording, Mixing and Mastering: Alan García.
Cover art: Federico Gutiérrez.
IN ONE PIECE
All things are related to one another, and the bond is holy, and there is hardly anything unconnected with any other thing. Because things are coordinated together, and they combine to form the same ordered universe. Because there is one universe that consists of all things, and one God who pervades all things, and one substance, and one law, one common reason in all intelligent animals, and one truth.
Marco Aurelio
The piece In One Piece was created to accompany Amilcar Rivera’s long scale drawing of the same name. The piece, done in collaboration with Roberto Becerra, combines soundscaping with minimalist compositional techniques. Recordings of various people mumbling to themselves fragments of Marco Aurelio’s Meditations (In Spanish, Lithuanian and English) create an unintelligible, slightly rythmical backgound sound upon which short, delicate, and slow progressing hamonic and melodic elements will create an atmosphere upon which the expectator can inmerse to experience the visual work fully.
This combined alliteration (of the voice and of the music) create a sound interpretation of what’s happening with the pencil and the paper, in which characters that are seemingly alone (that can’t touch) are sharing a mutual space, and that this mutual space is in a way, an extension of who they are, connecting them and beating in unison with them.
Large Scale Drawing: Amilcar Rivera. Musical Composition: Roberto Becerra. Clarinet: Ignas Daniulius. Electronics: Roberto Becerra. Guitar / Piano: Manuel Velázquez.
An electroacoustic spatial composition crafted specifically for the Lithuanian National Drama Theatre. This innovative project emerged from a collaboration between composers Roberto Becerra and Manuel Velázquez, alongside researcher Egle Murauskaitė.
The composition draws inspiration from real war data (the attack of Russia against Ukraine), particularly focusing on aspects like territorial loss, international aid, civilian casualties, and more from the initial year of conflict. However, the project took a fascinating turn when Murauskaitė's insights highlighted the challenges of capturing all dimensions of war data accurately. She emphasized that amid the chaos of conflict, certain critical information may go unrecorded or prove unreliable.
As a result, the composition evolved to incorporate not only quantifiable statistics but also elements that are currently impossible to measure statistically. These include the profound impacts of war such as city destruction, loss of cultural treasures, psychological trauma, and environmental devastation, including the extinction of plant and animal species. These intangible effects are represented in the sonification through contextual sounds, ensuring that the audience is reminded of the holistic and far-reaching nature of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
A YEAR OF WAR
A SOUND JOURNEY
