Jessica Castellanos T Lopez America Olivo Aurora Rodriguez
"When the four of us are singing and we're totally locked in harmony, the experience is a high in itself," says Soluna's America Olivo. "It's a great feeling to be wrapped in harmony like that."
Olivo and partners Jessica Castellanos, T Lopez and Aurora Rodriguez amply demonstrate their vocal abilities and interpretive skills in both English and Spanish on their debut album, aptly titled "For All Time," (released May 14, 2002, on DreamWorks Records).
When asked how the title Soluna, a combination of the Spanish words Sol (sun) and Luna (Moon) came about Castellanos states, "We wanted to find a name that would express our personalities and the different colors of our music". Rodriguez illuminates: "We chose Soluna because it suggests the contrast of the sun and the moon. The sun is full of fire and strength, while the moon is romantic, mysterious and sweet. Our music is like that, alternating between power and vulnerability."
Soluna ranges from tender ballads ("For All Time," "I'll Be Waiting," "Luna Mia," "Spanish Lullaby") to high-energy dance songs ("Bring It To Me," "Don't Want To Live My Life," "Monday Mi Amor," "Hey You"). Olivo elaborates, "The heart of our record is pop, flavored with different spices, such as Latin and R&B." Remarks Lopez: "Our music is very passionate."
"We were all born and raised in the United States, but in addition to being American, we are Chilean, Colombian, Mexican and Puerto Rican, among other things," Castellanos remarks. "When you put all that culture together in music and mix it up, you get a unique sound." Indeed, like a tapestry woven of diverse threads, Soluna is distinguished by the individual styles of its members as they join to create a unified whole bound by their common Latin heritage. This, however, is just one of the traits shared by the four - like their musical childhoods and early vocal schooling at church.
"My father was a minister for 12 years," relates Rodriguez, who was born in Brooklyn, N.Y., and raised in Southern California. "He was also in a singing group, a quintet called The Kings Five. When my family took road trips, my dad would assign different parts and we'd sing harmony as we drove. We grew up listening to classics like Ray Baretto, Hector Lavoe and Celia Cruz, but I also loved The Beatles, Billie Holliday, Ella Fitzgerald, Stevie Wonder and Whitney Houston."
Rodriguez studied voice at The California Institute Of The Arts (CalArts), then transferred to UCLA, where she pursued a degree in musicology. It was at CalArts that she met Olivo, in the Latin jazz ensemble. A native of Los Angeles' San Fernando Valley, Olivo grew up singing in community theater, an opportunity afforded by her own musical upbringing. "My dad also sang," she says. "He wrote country-western songs and I sang backup. I have tapes from when I was four years old singing with him,"
After two years at CalArts, Olivo left California for New York, where she graduated from The Juilliard School. She trained in opera and musical theater and counts Harry Belafonte, Barbra Streisand and Whitney Houston among her chief influences.
Olivo and Rodriguez were introduced to Jessica Castellanos by a mutual producer friend. Castellanos grew up in Garden Grove, Calif., listening to her father's Colombian cumbias, as well as Aretha Franklin, Madonna and The Carpenters. "Mariah Carey was also a big influence on me," she adds. "My parents couldn't afford singing lessons, so I just listened to as much music as I could and learned from that." She recalls of her earliest performance experience: "The first time I sang in front of an audience was at the Evangel Templo when I was four. I got up on the platform, sang 'Te Vengo A Decir' - and did not want to get down."
Castellanos says of meeting Rodriguez and Olivo: "We just clicked. We got along so well, we shared the same goals and we had a great sound together." Confirms Rodriguez, "Everything just fell into place." "We were very excited that the doors were opening almost magically, but we all felt we needed a fourth member," says Olivo. "It was kismet, because as soon as we started to look, we found T."
In retrospect, fate does seem to have played a role in completing Soluna. Informs Lopez: "My dad was managing a small auto body shop. One day this producer stopped in. He saw my picture on my dad's desk and my dad told him I sang. The producer said I should give him a call. So I called, and I sang 'Amazing Grace' over the phone. When I was done, he gave me Jessica's number, and that was that."
In fact, Lopez, who was raised in Ontario, Calif., was a natural fit. Castellanos cites her "airy, mysterious voice" as a perfect complement to the group's sonic identity. "I grew up singing gospel in church with my mom and Mariachi at home with my grandpa," Lopez says of her background. "My musical inspirations are Mariah Carey, Ana Gabriel, Crystal Lewis and The Jackson Five. All I remember doing as a child was singing Michael Jackson's 'Ben' 24 hours a day and trying to breakdance with my dad's dance crew."
"When I first joined the group," Lopez continues, "I was singing with them and holding the notes, but I really just wanted to stop and listen. Their voices are so beautiful, and I'd never heard more than two people harmonize live like that - right in front of me. Plus, they were so welcoming. We sat there for a long time, just talking and laughing."
Soluna's debut album was produced by Steve Morales (Ricky Martin, Enrique Iglesias, Jon Secada); Tim & Bob (Sisqo, TLC, 112); Josh & Brian (Britney Spears, Backstreet Boys); Thunderpuss 2000 (Christina Aguilera, Jennifer Lopez, Whitney Houston); Tim Miner (Al Green, Steve Perry, Paula Abdul); and the band Ozomatli.
Songwriters as well as singers, the members of Soluna co-wrote five tracks on the record. "Overall, the album is very eclectic because in addition to what we wrote, we sought out a real variety of songs," says Rodriguez. "Each producer and writer we worked with brought something special to the album."
Rodriguez reflects: "What I love most about pop music is that it reminds me of a person or an experience. We hope we can give that to people. In 10 years, we want someone to hear one of the songs from this album and say, 'I remember singing along to this when I was with my boyfriend,' and have that feeling again. We hope our songs have that kind of connection with people. We want to give them good memories."
Source: http://www.solunagirls.com/
