ZONA BONITA

SHERY

'Now that my album is ready, I feel somewhat naked and vulnerable, because it's a very sincere record, impregnated with my soul, where I share a lot of who I am as a human being, as a woman.'

She is a rising star from Guatemala, and just released her new album El amor es un fantasma. (Love is a ghost).Her name: Shery. A talented lady who wrote and co-produced all of her songs.

You finally released your first record, how does it feel now that the "baby" is out?
It feels great! It's a fantastic sensation having in my hands a record that has so much of myself, the fruit of a whole life of living, feeling and fighting (with myself and with the world), to be able to bring to tangible form all that music and all those feelings that live inside me, in a perennial battle that troubles my life and makes it worth living.
The actual production took two and a half years of tremendous, relentless work, day after day after day. For this album, my debut album, I had written about 55 songs, from which I finally selected only 13. The selection, which I did myself, was a monumental strugle, because each song is like a living part of me. Now that my album is ready, I feel somewhat naked and vulnerable, because it's a very sincere record, impregnated with my soul, where I share a lot of who I am as a human being, as a woman.

Are you satisfied with the results?
Let me tell you that I am my own toughest critic, and I'm extremely demanding with myself when it comes to my music. And honestly, I am very happy with the album we achieved. In addition to have written all the songs (except two guest tracks), I'm the co-producer.
I worked hand by hand with my arrangers (Ariel Garcia, Ranferi Aguilar, Walter Monsanto, Fernando Scheel and Francesco Sondelli), I selected the musicians, personally supervised most of the recording sessions (which happened between Guatemala, Miami and Los Angeles), and was present during the mixing process, which was was mainly under the gifted hands and ears of my dear friend Alex Gamboa.
I also selected my wardrobe for the photo sessions, which were conducted by Guatemalan maestro Juan Sisay. I hand-drafted the entire CD booklet, like a movie storyboard, working closely, via remote control, with Fernando Medina, our talented graphic designer in Chicago.
The only part of the production where I was not physically present was during mastering, but it was in great hands, as our mastering engineer was Jose Blanco, from MasterHouse Studios in Miami, who has mastered something like 26 Grammy-nominated albums. The truth is I worked very very (very) hard, to achieve a great record, and I'm delighted with the result. I would not change a thing :) :)

How was your record received in Guatemala?
It was widely expected, because I had been promising it again and again (without being able to complete it on time!!) since 2005, the year when I officially started my career. By the time the album was ready, we had already released 3 singles, all #1 in pop radio nationwide, with the forth one topping the charts just in time. So when the launch was finally announced, the reception was fantastic. I have received a lot of love from people, and wonderful comments.

And in the rest of the world?
"El amor es un fantasma", my album, is available worldwide through various online stores. The magic of the web has propelled my music to travel far away, to many different countries, among a tremendous span of languages. It has been purchased / listened by marvelous people who, frequently without even understanding a single bit of the lyrics (which are in Spanish), join me through the feelings and the melodies I create.
Online sales keep propagating by word of mouth. I have received many fan letters from such unusual places for Latin Pop like Japan, Indonesia, Island, Germany, Norway, Sweden, Australia and Italy.

To what extend you think your cultural background has influenced your music?
I don't really know, I love to explore diverse cultures, and I have written songs both in my country as outside. My music is based on feelings and melodies that come from deep inside, from my own shadows, as well as from the things I see and live everyday.
Although as an artist you are never immune to your cultural roots, I've been exposed since early childhood to a truly global variety of musical styles, from rock, pop and world, to the immortal music of the grandes maestros. At home my mother used to play, literally all day long, recordings from all over the world, from Brazil to China to the US, Spain, the UK, Mexico... I particularly enjoy Italian music and the 80's rock in English...

Can you describe the process of writing a song ?
Let's call this process "inspiration". For me, it regularly happens when my mind is not busy with other stuff. For example, I typically "receive" songs when I'm driving or doing other repetitive tasks, such as home chores. Usually I start with a complete melody and a strong lead of the lyrics, with a clear feeling of what I like in the arrangement. It just "sounds" in my head. I use my mobile phone to record the idea, which I then develop.
Everyday you go through so many things, some memorable, some apparently not. But as a songwriter you are like a sponge, absorbing anything and everything. What you see, what you hear, smell and taste; what you live, do and think incubates feelings and emotions inside you. And then, at the right moment, it just "comes" to me, and it's just a matter of mood to decide what kind of song I am going to write. I can also work systematically, though, and under pressure. My first single, for example, was written from start to end in just a few minutes, right before performing it in front of a group of friends. But a song like that must have been hidden inside you, incubating and maturing, for a long, long time.

Are your lyrics personal? like in 'el amor es un fantasma...
"El amor es un fantasma" (which in English may be translated into something like "Love is a Ghost"), came to me in a moment where love for me was just that: a ghost. I totally believe in love. We come from love and, hopefully, walk through our lives towards Love. Love is beautiful, gigantesco. But sometimes it's just impossible, and it hurts. Badly. Specially when you are in love, but in return all you get is a mirage. Probably it's from the shadows of pain from where I've mined the inspiration to write some of my best songs.

How do you see your musical career develloping in the coming years?
There are no limits to live our dreams. The only limits beyond natural laws are self-imposed: the enemy lives inside your own head. I believe the world is yours if you just decide to take it. I want to share my music every day with more people, in more places. Success for me is when someone feels my music, and "adopts" one of my songs as a part of him or her. I see many more albums coming, tons of songs. For sure I'll be recording a lot in Spanish, but I will also explore other languages, such as Italian, Portuguese and English.