Audeze interviews Oscar winning salsa singer Mauro Castillo

Audeze Artist Profile

Mauro Castillo

Mauro Castillo is a salsa singer, and is the lead voice on “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” from Disney's Oscar winning Encanto film. He's an opera tenor, actor, composer, musical producer, trombone player, and former lead singer of the Grammy winning Salsa band “Grupo Niche” from Colombia.
 

In His Own Words

 
"I like the way the MM reference translated the audio, very helpful to have a consistent reference on the go and my studio. Very accurate to calculate the perfect amount of reverb and bass placement."
- Mauro Castillo

Notable Works

Can you pick out any highlights from your work that you're particularly proud of?

One of the things that I’m really proud of is that I was invited to perform at the WHITE HOUSE in the celebration of the African American Heritage Month, it’s the first time an Afro Latino is included in this celebration, a historic moment for Afro Latinos, we were given the recognition and I was the first Afro Latino to represent this amazing community.

I also recently performed with Lang Lang in Broadway as an opera tenor. My project is 100% independent and organic with more than 100 million views on YouTube. I collaborated in a special song for the artist Yoandri with the super producer Malayho. I also performed in Hollywood Bowl last November with all the encanto Cast with my character Felix from Disney’s Encanto.

Viene y Se Va
Chacha Me (English Version)
Quedate

How would you define your main role on most of the projects you work on these days?

I love to communicate through art with the tools that I have. Nowadays as an independent artist you have to multitask in a very honest way. You need to be constantly improving your skills to later on have the chance to delegate the things you are doing to where you were starting.

What was some favorite music growing up and how has that evolved?

My family is music lovers and I’m from Cali Colombia, world capital of salsa. The people walk dancing 😂 but I had the pleasure to be influenced by Pink Floyd, Michael Jackson, Earth Wind and Fire, Beethoven, Chopin, and others.

Can you name any factors that influenced the course of your musical life?

One of my heroes is Michael Jackson because he transformed not only the pop but also the music business.

Can you describe a moment of frustration from your past work, and what you may have done to overcome it?

When I started I was bullied because I didn’t have the skills to be a good performer. That’s the reason why I start studying in the Universidad del Valle I Colombia. I have a degree in music from there.

What is your current favorite instrument, effect, or piece of gear?

I have an analog studio, its name is @lapuertamusic on Instagram. I’m always looking for new gear to have a different way to tell my stories, if you can do something different from the tracking stage, your music will be telling something more. I just got a couple of preamps from UTA (UnderTone Audio). A new Lavry converter, a new summing amplifier from Pueblo Audio and some plugins. I’m always looking for something new and different.

Do you have any words of wisdom for people who might aspire toward a similar path?

Believe in yourself, try to get as much information as you can. Try new things, keep curious and studying to improve your skills (in music business also).

How long have you been working with headphones, and how do you typically use them in your workflow?

For mixing I love the open back model because it allows me to have a more constant reference regardless of the movement in my head. To record my voice or trombones I definitely prefer the closed back options. I heard them in NAMM and sounds very accurate. I was looking for an open back headphone and I find the reference for the greatest Manny Marroquin (MM-500). I love them.

How have your Audeze headphones affected your work? Can you tell us what you've been working on with them recently?

I’m really happy with my MM-500 headphones. I travel constantly between different facilities and work mainly with acoustical sources (hand drums, brass instruments and double bass) and I like the way the MM reference translated the audio, very helpful to have a consistent reference on the go and my studio. Very accurate to calculate the perfect amount of reverb and bass placement. I released a tenes tropical song, it’s name is “me va mejor” it talks about never give up and to stay joyful and focus to next year 🥁🔉⚡️❤️

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