All about the bass
Pic by Indika Handuwala
Being a woman in the music industry is hard especially when being judged all the time, yet despite it all, Esther Rojas III has developed a strong personality and has made a name for herself, both in the United states and the Latin music scene. The Mirror Magazine, caught up with Esther, who was recently, in the country, to share her music and skills with the locals.
It was a bright Friday morning at the Sooriya Village, Colombo 5 as we caught up. “When you have to be strong, you have to be strong. You must choose your own battles,” she tells me adding that a lot of people will say ‘oh yes, she got that job because she’s pretty. That’s just the stereotype that attaches to a woman in the industry. But in her case,she developed a strong personality.
Esther is a Producer, Song Writer, Song arranger, Bassist and Violinist, from Colombia. “I’ve been in the music scene for a long time and I know how to take things in a positive way. If I don’t get a particular job, that doesn’t mean anything. I always have more things to do. I’ve seen friends and female musicians, who fret over not getting a job but that’s ok, you have more options, so just let it go,” she tells me.
In 2013, Esther, won the award for outstanding performer/learner at the University of Berklee and was selected by Berklee’s International Programmes Department to assemble a group of students to tour the main cities in Colombia as part of a two-week teaching and performing series.Furthermore, in the Fall of 2013, she was chosen to be a co-arranger, co-producer, musical director, and bassist for Alejandro Sanz’s performance at the Latin Grammy Gala in Las Vegas (Nevada).
In 2014, she led a group of musicians to represent Berklee at the Next Generation Festival in Monterrey (CA), and was the arranger, musical director, and bassist for The Future of the Americas Summit by Clinton Foundation in Miami (FL). She was soon chosen as Berklee’s famous poster face and was awarded the Henry Schniewind Scholarship.
Esther finished her studies at theBerklee College of music, last May. She then came to India to teach and has been doing that until last week. It was Sanchitha Wickremesooriya, a musician himself, who invited her to visit Sri Lanka. “He asked me if I liked to come here to do some workshops and of course I said yes. I’m here to do workshops and a recording with him,” she tells me.
Esther is currently working on a pop song with Sanchitha, that will have a Sinhalese and English musical twist. “it’s a beautiful song, with beautiful lyrics and we’re going to record it soon. The message is good because the title of the song is, ‘I’m walking free,’” she teases adding that it’ll include a gospel choir, horns and her playing the bass.
Being a versatile musician, her styles include, Jazz, Blues, Rock and Pop etc. Esther comes from a family of musicians. Her parents are both music educators and her older brotheris a symphonic orchestra conductor, she says. “Everything is music in my family. So, I was exposed to everything music, my whole life.”
She started playing the classical violin as a child and this continued for many years, till one day her dad needed a bass player for one of his bands. “So, he saw me and he was like you come, play the bass, I was like 14 or 15 at the time and I played Spanish rock,” she says.
Esther with her favourite instrument. Pic courtesy Facebook.com/thesooriyavillage
Esther loved the feeling of the bass in her tummy it’s power got her hooked. I continued studying violin, I went to universityetc., but I switched to the bass, because I remember the excitement I had, when I played it for the first time,” she tells me.
She already had her music education, so getting used to the chords wasn’t that difficult, but the hard part was getting used to the strings, because bass strings are thicker. “I remember when I started playing at the beginning, my bass was covered in blood. But then I got over that,” she recalls.
According to her the bassist’s role is an important one in the band. It’s because you can’t let yourself, do crazy stuff. You must be in the background, supporting the band, you are the link between the rhythm and the harmony. “We build everything for the band to shine.”
Before going to Boston, Burklee, she performed constantly in Colombia and it came to a point, where she used to play with eight bands at a time. But I needed to go for a different thing and that’s song arranging. So,at Burklee I did a lot of performances. They put me in charge of a lot of concerts and I did musical direction as well,” she says.
Our conversation moves to the music industry. She says that it’s changed a lot. Today, being independent in the music industry is hard. “I know the musical scene in Boston and I know loads of talented musicians that are starving in New York. In Los Angeles for example everyone goes with the hope of having a contract with a record label, which almost never happens,” she says.There’s an interesting movement of independent musicians, in New York, she adds.
“Today you can have your own studio at home, so you can record yourself professionally.It is hard but I think you mustlook out for yourself, and maybe do something different. I know a lotof people trying to copy pop songs, but you have to do your own thing,” she advices. “It is hard, but hard work pays off.”
Esther is also here, because, she loves getting to know a culture, eating their food etc. She’s been working at the Sooriya Village, every day, she tells me, adding that she hopes to go see the elephants and the beach.
She feels more identified with these things,than in the States and has wanted to come to travel to this side of the world, she tells us.