Ignacio Peña a is an artist, songwriter, singer and Emmy winner! Currently residing in Puerto Rico, we caught up with Ignacio to learn more about his upcoming projects and summertime plans. Read on!
Thank you for joining us Ignacio, could you take a few minutes to tell our readers more about your beginnings in the industry?
I started writing songs at 14. Songwriting became my craft and I committed myself to it from early on. I knew I wanted to be in a studio recording songs. That process of seeing a song grow from chords and a melody to a full on recording always fascinated me. After school I went to Berklee College of Music and got a Bachelors in Music Production and Engineering. But then I realized that I liked the studio if I was recording my songs. Went back to Puerto Rico made a demo of 5 songs, started shopping it around and started working making jingles. After 5 years of that I finally landed a record deal with Universal Music Latino and in 2000 released my first album “El Mundo al Reves”. The relationship with them soured pretty fast and for the second album “Anormal”, I released it as an Indie.
By that time I was also getting into video editing because I was not too happy with the first video that I made with Universal and I decided that I wanted to be more involved in the visual aspect of my songs. That opened up a whole new path for me. I began to create audiovisual shows for our live presentations. That visual aspect kept growing and in 2010 I release my third album which was the soundtrack for an audiovisual conceptual show about the history of Science and Technology entitled “The Great Planet Earth Debate: Energy”. I tried to get our local government TV channel to broadcast the movie version of that show. They didn’t…but they liked what they saw and hired me to produce two series of short videos about Puerto Rican history.
Which comes first in your writing, lyrical inspiration or the music?
I suppose each song is different. Sometimes a chorus comes to you and you build a song around that. Sometimes a title, sometimes a subject, sometimes a line you read somewhere. However it starts, by the end I make sure the song has a solid melodic structure. To me that’s the main thing. The melody is the main plot. The main story in a song.
Your videos are extremely artistic, are you a big part of that process?
Yeah. I conceptualize, direct and edit all my visual material. I have help from talented people around me but the concepts, messages and overall tone is mostly me. I kind of see it as part of the songwriting. Back in 2000 I realized that the artist of the future had to have the same precision for the visuals as for the music. Kind of like when The Beatles wanted to take over the songwriting for their albums… well the next step is taking over the visuals.
What will you be up to this summer?
We’re finishing up the visual part for “Songs for the Fall of an Empire” which should be coming out in the Fall. This is my first full album in English so I’m hoping to go places we’ve never played before with it. It’s a massive project. Each song has 3 videos plus bonus materials.
It’s a rock opera about the history of Debt. I’ve been working on it for about 11 years.
Hopefully we’ll get to do some dates in the States with our audiovisual show and then Europe.
What have been your most memorable shows so far?
I think its hard to beat opening for Oasis in Argentina, Roger Waters in Venezuela and Bryan Adams in Puerto Rico. Those are three of my biggest influences and having the chance to have done that was unforgettable.
Where can we support your music on line?
My website is probably the best place to find out about me
www.ignaciopena.net
Please list all your social media links so our readers can follow you out there.
Spotify: Ignacio Peña
End of Interview