
Mult-Instrumentalist Sessionist, Composer, and Producer proficient in both Popular and Academic music playing Cello, Violin, Viola, Doublebass, Flute, Piano, Guitart and ethnic instruments such a Sitar, Esraj, Dilruba... you name it! 5 International Film Festivals Awards for Best Original Score for the Feature Film "AXIOMAS".
"I have collaborated with numerous esteemed musicians from Argentina, including Pedro Aznar, Rodolfo Mederos, Mario Parmisano, Litto Nebbia, Rata Blanca, and many others.
After my extensive studies of Hindustani music and Sitar in Varanasi, India, I delved into the fusion of diverse folk music genres worldwide, which is showcased in my discography.
My touring experience in Mexico involved performing Tango with Quinteto Varietal, a group I co-founded with Rodolfo Roballos. Additionally, I participated in The Melbourne Tango Orchestra in Australia.
In the realm of Contemporary Academic music, I served as the soloist double bass player in the Orquesta Música Nueva (New Music Orchestra) under the direction of Ricardo Hegman. Notable composers whose works I have interpreted include Ariel Hagman, Julián Galay, Nahuel Carfi, Marcelo Katz, and Julio Viera, among others.
Furthermore, I have contributed as a Double Bass player in the National Youth Symphony Orchestra of Argentina, collaborating with esteemed Maestros César Iván Lara and Tarcisio Barreto.
In the field of education, I served as a Double Bass professor at Maimónides University."
Tell me about your project and how I can help, through the 'Contact' button above.
30 Reviews - 3 Repeat Clients
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Manuel is a person you can rely on to deliver both timely and artistically. A multi instrumentalist who knows his art too well! Lucky to have met him on this platform i cant even count how many jobs we've done together and can say i'll keep coming back for more always!
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Manuel is so great to work with. He took on a project with very short notice and his communication skills were amazing. He was ready and able to create whatever was necessary for the project. Looking forward to working with him again!
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Manu always delivers above and beyond. Highly recommended to work with!
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Incredible musician, exceeded my expectations. Delivered super fast, and the communication was excellent. I highly recommend working with Manuel!
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Manuel is excellent to work with! he has clear ideas, is very friendly, and leaves room for creativity. I'm looking forward to working with him again.
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Manuel was great to work with and the tracks he created sound fantastic! Highly recommended.
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Another great one with Manuel!
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A pleasure as always. Writing this right before starting another one with Manuel! Highly recommended to work with.
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Amazing as always
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Always a pleasure working with Manuel. His sense of melody along with instrument skills are absolutely stunning.
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Manuel did an amazing job playing the cello from sheet music I composed for an indie track. It sounded fantastic and I'm really happy with the quality of the playing and the recording. Also incredibly quick turnaround! Overall amazing job, would recommend in a heart beat.
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By far the best instrumentalist and one of the top musicians I've come across on SB
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Another great one with Manu!
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Manuel is extremely prompt on delivery and a very skilled standup bassist : )
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Great job! I even received the files before the deadline.
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Highly recommended to work with!
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Always such a pleasure to work with. Highly recommended!
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There is nothing this man cant do. You just name an instrument and he plays it and works with a seamless flow. Highly recommended to work with.
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Another great one with Manu, always the best to work with. Highly recommended!
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I've worked with Manuel several times. Why do I keep using him? It's pretty simple - He's really easy to work with, always makes my songs sound better, and makes the process really enjoyable. Manuel is always able to take the idea I have in my head and translate it to a great sound. Manuel is a pro in every sense - very well trained and knowledgeable, quality recording gear and instruments, technically proficient, quick turn-around, etc.
Interview with Manuel Villar Lifac
Q: If you were on a desert island and could take just 5 pieces of gear, what would they be?
A: Paper, pencil, piano, guitar... and a knife!
Q: Is there anyone on SoundBetter you know and would recommend to your clients?
A: Matías Menarguez is one of the best drummers I know, and love working with him. Also Norberto Villagra is the best Engineer I know out there. Trust him with your mix or mastering!
Q: What questions do customers most commonly ask you? What's your answer?
A: "Do you think this is possible?" Of course!
Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?
A: When do you need this for?
Q: What advice do you have for a customer looking to hire a provider like you?
A: Having clear material is very useful, it will give your provider more time to focus on the music instead of having to plough through incomplete indications. Nice tidy stems with a BPM on the title, maybe some sheet music or chords can save up a great amount of time! The ending result is better music!
Q: What was your career path? How long have you been doing this?
A: My path has been diverse. I have studied in the best conservatories in Buenos Aires, specializing in classical music, jazz and tango. Anyways the best formation I have is my experience working side by side with many of the best musicians of the city.
Q: How would you describe your style?
A: Eclectic
Q: Tell us about your studio setup.
A: I record with a Neumann TLM 102 Microphone mostly. Sometimes, depending on the sound required, I may use an AKG D 950, Shure SM58 or MXL 550 and 551
Q: Tell us about a project you worked on you are especially proud of and why. What was your role?
A: I recorded Sitar for Patricio Villarejo's solo album "Identidad". I really liked that session because I got to play the Sitar in a very emblematic Charly García song called "Ojos de Videotape".
Q: Analog or digital and why?
A: Both, because integration is always the answer.
Q: What are you working on at the moment?
A: Currently I am composing and producing the Music for the Feature Film "AXIOMAS", wich will be published in cinemas of Argentina during 2020. The particularity of this work is that it consists on the fusion of multiple ethnical styles of music, so that the listener cannot really catalogue the music in one certain place or time. I have also had a lot of fun recording the music since I myself have played more than 10 different instruments for the music, as well as arranging orchestral scores for it.
Q: What's your 'promise' to your clients?
A: My promise is that I will always be ethical about my answer to the previous question: I will always press myself to do better each time, because that is the Life in doing music. I will never limit myself to just do the job. I will be going through a personal commitment with myself of evolving in each step of my path.
Q: What do you like most about your job?
A: The best thing about working with Music is that growth is infinite.
Q: What's the biggest misconception about what you do?
A: The false notion that specialization in only one instrument is fundamental to acquire good quality, and the false notion that multi-instrumentalism or multiple disciplines makes one less proficient. Renaissance proves those false notions completely!! Polyglots are also a great example of how being diversified enriches each one of your specialties.
Q: Which artist would you like to work with and why?
A: I would really like to work with Hans Zimmer because of mainly two reasons: 1) Film Music is the most versatile genre I know of, anything can happen in a Score... Integration of things that seemed impossible to integrate! 2) Hans Zimmer has proven to be a Master of versatility when it comes to Producing music, and is proficient at the fusion of Ethnical Music of all over the world with the traditional Orchestral Western style... and that is something I am particularly interested in.
Q: Can you share one music production tip?
A: Always decide beforehand on what structure you will build up your music, because a tiny deviation at a structural level can derive in big problems later (sometimes unsolvable!)
Q: What type of music do you usually work on?
A: World Music, Film Soundtracks, Folk, Acoustic, Instrumental, Jazz, Classical... and Tango of course, since I am from Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Q: What's your strongest skill?
A: As funny as it may sound... my strongest skill is making voice impressions, impersonations! I am an excellent actor and I can imitate many voices and accents of all kinds of people. This I relate to a very minute and attentive hearing combined with a great capacity of expression, which translated to my instruments works really well!
Q: What do you bring to a song?
A: I would say expressiveness, and many times an unexpected twist.
Q: What's your typical work process?
A: The more material I am provided with, the better: Sheet music, lead sheets and reference tracks... Sheet music is clearly my favorite material when it comes to session recordings! I am really picky with the details so the more information the better, such as a precise BPM, fine tuning, etc. A nice reference track is also great because I really like to get into the song deeply and taste all the details. The process depends a lot on what kind of work I am doing. I am very creative as well as very disciplined when it comes to follow precise directions and procedures.
Q: What other musicians or music production professionals inspire you?
A: I am very inspired by Hans Zimmer, Anoushka Shankar, Horacio Salgán, Astor Piazzolla and The Beatles, but really what inspired me tho most is the different folk musics of all over the world which cannot be comprised in only a couple of personalities.
Q: Describe the most common type of work you do for your clients.
A: I usually record tracks in my studio as a sessionst, especially Double Bass, Cello, Sitar and Dilruba. I have also done many work in Editing since my obsessiveness proves handy in that line of work. Writing and Producing Instrumental Arrangements is also one of me specialties.

I was the String Arranger, Cellist, Violinist, Bassist and Pianist in this production
- CelloAverage price - $70 per song
- ViolinAverage price - $70 per song
- Bass UprightAverage price - $70 per song
- Full instrumental productionAverage price - $300 per song
- String ArrangerAverage price - $70 per song
- Film ComposerAverage price - $100 per minute
- EditingAverage price - $20 per track
I usually allow at least 3 revisions, depending on the track.
Typical turn-around time is a week, but it depends on you request, some works I get done in a day or two.
- Astor Piazzolla
- Anoushka Shankar
- Hans Zimmer
- Neumann TLM 102 and AKG C3000B Condenser Microphones
- AKG D950 and Shure SM58 Dynamic Microphones
- Sitar
- Dilruba
- Double Bass
- Cello
- Guitar
- Mandolin
- Bouzouki
- Electric Bass
- Electric Guitar
- Piano
- Synths
- Bansuri
- Santoor
- Focusrite Scarlett 2i4
If this is you first time contacting me, I offer an extra instrumental track of the instrument of your choice