Experienced Vocalist: Bringing Your Music to Life With over 20 years as a jazz singer, I possess a versatile 3.5-octave vocal range and a passion for collaborating with musicians of all backgrounds. Vocal improvisation is my forte! I can seamlessly weave sound effects and syllables to create a unique soundscape that complements your musical vision.
I'm comfortable singing in English, Spanish, Portuguese, and Swedish, and always welcome the challenge of learning new languages with pronunciation guides. I use professional recording equipment (Scarlett iTrack and PreSonus) to deliver pristine dry vocal tracks. This allows you complete control over adding effects later on.
Let's Collaborate!
I'd love to hear about your project and explore how my voice can contribute its warmth and character to your music.
Send me a note through the contact button above.
Languages
- English
- Portuguese
- Spanish
- Swedish
Interview with Guadalupe Raventos
Q: Tell us about a project you worked on you are especially proud of and why. What was your role?
A: I love all of my projects, but a very challenging one for me is a commercial where I had to do childrens voices. I had some trouble getting the exact tone of small girly voice they wanted, but at last I did it.
Q: What are you working on at the moment?
A: I am currently doing theater gigs in Buenos Aires. I am producing the recording of an album about Sergio Mihanovich in which I will sing. He is the Argentine composer of the great song Sometime Ago, recorded by Bill Evans and Jim Hall, among others. I sung with him and he left his Songbook. I want to honor his compositions with this album.
Q: Is there anyone on SoundBetter you know and would recommend to your clients?
A: Yes! My man Manuel Ochoa. He is a great pianist and producer. Also, Gabriel Chwojnik. He composes jingles, commercial and music for theater.
Q: Analog or digital and why?
A: I wouldn’t know how to record analog. I am not an ingeneer. But I love the warmth of analog recording. If I have to record, it’s digital. If I hire, I love analog.
Q: What's your 'promise' to your clients?
A: I will put 100% of my talent into your song. If you don’t like how it sounds, you get your money back.
Q: What do you like most about your job?
A: I get to sing for my supper! I love when I am able to nail a song that really challenges me. I love singing.
Q: What questions do customers most commonly ask you? What's your answer?
A: What I usually get are questions about haw many revisions they are able to ask me to do. My answer is that although officially I do 5 revisions, I don’t think we will be needing so many because of me. And if it’s something I am not getting, I will do more of them until the work/s done right.
Q: What's the biggest misconception about what you do?
A: I think some people think that you just open your mouth and sing. That there is no preparation or education involved in singing.
Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?
A: “What do you need me to do?” “Do you want me to sing this exactly as it is recorded/written or do you want me to do some variation of the melody?” And about background singing: “ Do you want me to send the whole track, even the empty parts?”
Q: What advice do you have for a customer looking to hire a provider like you?
A: I would say go for us people with experience! And it is a win/win situation to hire good musicians from countries like Argentina, because there is a difference in the currencies. You get great quality for less dollars.
Q: If you were on a desert island and could take just 5 pieces of gear, what would they be?
A: I would take my IPad, My Rode microphone and my Scarlett Solo!
Q: What was your career path? How long have you been doing this?
A: I was 17 when I realized that what I really wanted to do was to be a Jazz singer. Not only a singer. A Jazz singer. That is pretty peculiar, but it is mainly influenced by the music my parents used to listen when I was a child. Good music, not always jazz. Then I started my path taking singing and piano lessons. It wasn’t easy since there was no proper official tuition for a singer who wanted to sing other tan opera or classic singing in Argentina in the 90s, when I grew up. So I made my own education with private teachers. I traveled eventually to New York City and had icons like Mark Murphy and Sheila Jordan as my teachers. That was great. And, as I moved back to Argentina, the education scene had changed for the better. I became a teacher myself on the new music schools that taught jazz in Buenos Aires. So it ‘s has been 30 year of experience by now.
Q: How would you describe your style?
A: I would say I have a courageous style. I love launch myself onto new things with gusto! I could also call mine a seriously playful style of singing.
Q: Which artist would you like to work with and why?
A: I think that it is a joy to work with musicians who serve the Music itself. I consider myself someone who learns everyday, and I enjoy the process. I also love to play with what happens in the present moment. That is why I dream of working with Herbie Hancock, Bobby Mc Ferrin, Maria Joao or Esperanza Spalding, or Leo Genovese. And I am happy knowing that there are lot of less known musicians who work with the same serving attitude towards the Music itself.
Q: Can you share one music production tip?
A: It’s always a good idea to warm up your instrument before you start to record. And, as said, Learn your material from the inside out. Take it apart before you start with the recording process. That way it is easier to let the music flow when the recording is on.
Q: What type of music do you usually work on?
A: As a Jazz singer, I do mostly jazz and blues related material. Being from Argentina, I have been hired to sing Tango songs. The versatility that jazz gives a musician makes it easy to jump into other musical genres. Like Bossa Nova, for instance.
Q: What's your strongest skill?
A: I’d say that I am a musical person, who listens a lot what happens with the rhythm and the harmonic changes. I think that, besides having a great instrument, I stand out because of my listening skills and disposition to interact with the other players. I have found that this is good attitude to use in life too.
Q: What do you bring to a song?
A: I have the tools to deliver the message of a song with my voice, and my understanding of what the song is about. For me, it is all about giving live to the song.
Q: What's your typical work process?
A: As soon as I get the thumbs up, I start learning the material Whether reading or listening to it, that is my priority. Then I practice to hone the song. I typically send these rehearsal takes to the person who hires me, so I know if I am on the right track. I usually am LOL. If that is not the case, I ask for more guidance. Then I send the tracks, with the background, and the raw one with only my voice. This can be nailed the first time. If not, we go back and forth some more times until we do. This has not taken me more than 10 days, the most.
Q: Tell us about your studio setup.
A: I have great results using basics. An IPad with Garage Band, Rode mic and Scarlett Solo.
Q: What other musicians or music production professionals inspire you?
A: I am truly inspired by people such as Esperanza Spalding and Diana Krall who are great musician /singers.
Q: Describe the most common type of work you do for your clients.
A: I have mostly done sessions singing of original songs that composers do and want to have interpreted by a professional vocalist. And then again the improvising skills help to add to the interpretation.
Q: What other musicians or music production professionals inspire you?
A: I am truly inspired by people such as Esperanza Spalding and Diana Krall who are great musician /singers.
Q: Describe the most common type of work you do for your clients.
A: I have mostly done sessions singing of original songs that composers do and want to have interpreted by a professional vocalist. And then again the improvising skills help to add to the interpretation.
I will do up to 5 revisions. I can typically do the job in a 4 day period, with no revision. If we need to fine tune, it could be a week’s time. For quick jobs, I need to increase the hour rate 50% up
- Garage Band
- Rode Mic
- Scarlett Solo
Being new in the platform, I need good reviews. For the first three who hire me, I will do a 50% discount.
- New Jazz Tarot Playlist on YoutubeMar 11, 2022
Jazz Tarot. 20 jazz standards inspired in the Major Arcanes.
I recently completed a playlist of Tarot inspired jazz songs. I put it up on YouTube, so you can listen to all of the 20 Arcanes. Get your Tarot deck out, and listen to the songs as you do your reading!
