From Spain, to Holland....To You, An Interview With Xandro Leima

I have to tell you that I am tickled pink (and pink is a hard color to get from brown! LOL) to have the opportunity and the pleasure to post and interview with the incredible up and coming Latin artist Xandro Leima! Xandro's official bio is below the interview, so for all of the formal details of Xandro his bio is an absolute must read!

But what I want to share with you is this, not only is Xandro over the top talented, he is one of the warmest, friendliest, and interactive Latin artists that I know. I had the pleasure of befriending Xandro a few years ago when a very good friend to both of us, Karin (who by the way is the genius behind Xandro's web design!) wrote me a note and said you should check out this new Latin artist named Xandro Leima. I met Karin a long time ago, so she knew I had developed a love of Latin music. So what did I do? If you know me you know what I did, I hit up iTunes and there was Xando's CD “Desesperadamente”. I downloaded it...and the rest is history.

If you have the opportunity to follow Xandro on his MySpace Page, FaceBook Page,  or even Twitter!

You will find that not only is he sexy, sexy fine! (You can look at the pictures yourself and see those great big browns!!), but he really does send his own Tweets AND he interacts with his followers on FB and MS!

But if you want to see Xandro Leima in over the top Latin Fine detail you have to check out the Xandro Leima Official Website! Fondly known, as XL.NET this site has hundreds of pictures (most if not all of them taken by Karin), Xandro’s music, lyrics, video’s, and even live interviews (to answer you question, yes he sounds just as sexy as he looks!)

I want to give much love to my girl, and now my partner in crime Bariloche for all of her help with this interview!

So I hope that all of you enjoy this question and answer session as much as I did!

Peace~

 

 

Q. Prior to initiating your solo career, you were part of the duet Romanze and the Britannia Orquestra. How would you define this time in your artistic life?

Antes de iniciar su carrera en solitario, que formaban parte del dueto Romance y la Orquesta Britania. ¿Cómo definirías este momento de su vida artística?

Bien, sin duda mi etapa en Romanze fue mi inicio como cantante, fue una epoca de aprendizaje, pero a la vez quizas donde mas haya disfrutado esta profesion, ya que desconocia en aquellos años la parte negativa de este negocio de la musica y todo lo que hacia, actuaciones, composiciones, todo, era puro y lleno de ilusion. Britannia fue mi “Operacion Triunfo personal” fue donde maduré como artista encima de un escenario. Realice cerca de 300 actuaciones en vivo por toda España, fue una etapa muy bonita para mi.

Well, without any doubt my stage in Romanze was my beginning as a singer, it was a period of learning, but at the same time maybe where I have enjoyed this profession the most because in those years I was not aware of the negative part of this music business, and everything I did, performances, composing, everything was pure and full of illusion. Brittannia was my "personal Operacion Triunfo" where I matured as an artist on stage. I realized around 300 live performances throughout Spain, it was a very nice period for me.

Why did you decide to pursue a solo career?

¿Por qué decidió seguir una carrera en solitario?

Fue una decision conjunta con Jose Manuel. (Romanze) El decidio dar un giro a su vida y casarse, formar una familia, y penso que no seria compatible con la carrera artistica y decidí pues seguir solo en esta loca pero apasionante aventura.

It was a joint decision with Jose Manuel. (Romanze) He decided to change his life in another direction, to get married, to form a family, and he thought that it would not be compatible with an artistic career and I decided to go solo in this crazy but exciting adventure.

Did you always know singing was your life's calling?

¿Siempre supo cantar fue llamar a su vida?

Pues sinceramente, no, siempre fui un niño amante de la musica. En vez de estar con otros niños jugando al futbol, me quedaba en casa con los discos de mis padres escuchando musica horas y horas…mi “llamado” vino con 18 años!! Jaja,nunca es tarde para comenzar no?

Well to be honest, no. I was always a boy that loved the music. Instead of being with other children, playing football, I was remaining inside with the cd´s of my parents, listening to music for hours and hours...my "call" came when I was 18 years old!! Haha, it is never late to start, right?

Have you ever composed (either music or lyric)?

¿Alguna vez ha compuesto (ya sea música o letra)?

Si por supuesto,me encanta componer, ahora mismo estoy dedicando mucho tiempo a ello,no solo para mi ,si no para otros artistas.

Yes of course, I love composing, right now I am dedicating a lot of time to it, not only for me, but also for other artists.

You are currently working on a new album, due out this year.  What can your fans expect?

En este momento está trabajando en un nuevo álbum, que saldrá este año. ¿Qué pueden esperar sus fans?

Bueno ahi no te puedo dar mucha informacion,estoy trabajando en varios proyectos a la vez pero no se cual vera la luz primero,lo que si se es que queda Xandro Leima para largo! Jaja.

Well, with regard to this I cannot give you a lot of information, I am working on several projects simultaneously but I do not know which one will see the light first, all I know is that you will have Xandro Leima for a long time! Haha.

Do you personally look up to any artist in particular, either for their voice, musical styling or artistic charisma?

¿Personalmente admiro cualquier artista en particular, ya sea por su voz, estilo musical o artística carisma?

Yo soy una persona que valoro no solo la voz,si no el charisma,un artista no se compone unicamente de una buena voz,es mucho mas..pero tengo gran numero de cantantes que me han influenciado..desde niño Eros Ramazzotti,Sergio Dalma,Julio Iglesias y actualmente Luis Miguel,Cristian Castro,Alejandro Fernandez,eso en cuanto a musica en español,en musica internacional la musica americana me encanta,r&b,pop americano en general,Robbie Williams me parece el artista mas completo que conozco, te lo canta todo y bien!

I am a person who not just appreciates the voice but also the charisma. An artist does not only consists out of a beautiful voice, it is much more...but there are a lot of singers who influenced me...when I was a child Eros Ramazzotti, Sergio Dalma, Julio Iglesias and in the present Luis Miguel, Cristian Castro, Alejandro Fernandez, that is for music in Spanish. In International music I love American music,  R&B, American pop in general, to me Robbie Williams seems to be the most complete artist that I know, he sings everything and very well!

Is there anyone that you would love to do a duet with?

¿Hay alguien que le encantaría hacer un dúo?

Ufff…tantos!!jaja,para mi con cualquier artista con talento seria buen candidato para un dueto.

Ufff … so many!! Haha, for me any artist with talent would be a good candidate for a duet.

In previous albums, you have gifted us with ballads and a few rhythmic songs.  How would you define your music style?  Do you prefer one more than the other?

En discos anteriores, que nos han regalado con baladas y algunas canciones rítmicas pocos. ¿Cómo definirías tu estilo musical? ¿Prefiere una más que el otro?

El estilo lo marcan las canciones,no me considero un cantante de un unico estilo,me encanta probar nuevos sonidos y facetas de mi…pero sin duda la balada me encanta.

The songs mark the style, I am not considered to be a singer of only one style, I love trying new sounds and facets of me…but without any doubt I love the ballad.

They say America is the land of dreams, where everything is possible.  Why have you decided to win over Europe before crossing to the USA and Latin America mainstream?

Dicen que América es la tierra de los sueños, donde todo es posible. ¿Por qué has decidido a ganar en Europa antes de cruzar a los EE.UU. y la corriente principal de América Latina?

Hay que probar nuevos caminos no? Ojala Europa sea la puerta a America, escogi Holanda como pais de lanzamiento por su multiculturalidad y buena acogida a todo tipo de artista.espero funcione!jaja

It is necessary to try new things, right? I hope Europe will be the door to America. I chose Holland as country for this launching for it's multiculturality and good refuge to all kinds of artists. I hope it works! Haha.

Has a fan ever told you something that has been unforgettable to you? If so, what was it?

Tiene un fan le ha dicho algo que ha sido inolvidable para usted? Si es así, ¿qué era?

Sin duda,frases como “sigue asi que tu vales mucho...” pero mejor dicho, tengo fans que seran inolvidables para mi, Karin y Ron de Holanda, Gemma de España son pilares importantisimos en mi carrera.Un fan puede dar vida a un artista yo lo se por experiencia.Las fans lo son todo.

Undoubtedly, phrases like “continue because you are very much worth it... ” but in other words, I have fans who will be unforgettable for me, Karin and Ron from Holland, Gemma from Spain they are very important cornerstones in my career. A fan can give an artist new heart, I know from experience. The fans are everything.

 

Biography Xandro Leima

Alejandro Fernández Pérez de Lema, known as Xandro Leima, was born in Murcia. (Spain) Xandro started his professional career in 1995 as part of the duo “Romanze” (1995) He was part of this duo for about 6 years. They recorded an album called “Amándote”. In 1997 “Romanze” participated in the XXX Edition of the Benidorm Festival.

From 2002 to 2004 Xandro was part of the prestigious orchestra “Britannia”. They performed at approximately 200 gala´s throughout Spain.

In 2004 he signed a contract with Ruffity Records and recorded as Xandro Leima his first solo album “Cerca de ti”. An album with original songs.

In 2005 Xandro started recording his second album “Jamas es Tarde”, this time directed and realized by the prestigious producer and composer Chema Purón.

In late 2007 he recorded in Miami his most recent album . An album with beautiful songs, full of love and feelings. An album produced by Jose Luis Morin (winner of two grammys) and Mariano Ruffity. The following talented musicians and composers worked on the production of this album: Juan Carlos Perez Soto, Salo Loyo (musician and producer of Luis Miguel), Elio Tores (musician, arranged music for Ricardo Montaner) Jorge Luis Sosa (among others musician of Chayanne), Ricardo Martinez Lee Levin, Richard Bravo and among some others producer Jose Luis Morin was the author of some of the songs of this album.

In the summer of 2008 Xandro visited Holland for the first time and tried to gain ground outside Spain. During his first visit he did several interviews for dutch radiostations. In September 2008 he was support-act for Belle Perez which turned out to be a big success.

In the year 2009 Xandro started preparing himself for his introduction onto the European market. He is searching for new songs for his next album, an album that will be more pointed to the European market. This album will be released at the end of 2010.
In the meantime, on July 31 2009, Xandro participated in the prestigious "Festival de Candelaria" on Tenerife. (www.festivaldecandelaria.com)
150 songs participated and eventually 10 artists went to the final. Artists from the Canary Islands won the first and second price, Xandro won the third price.

Another aspect of Xandro Leima is his work as composer of music and lyrics of some of his songs like “Quien mas que tu"” of the album "Desesperadamente". Recently he composed for other artists, for the Dutch singer Jody Bernal he wrote the lyrics of "Dame tu veneno".

Xandro moved temporarily from Spain to Holland in order to work together with a team of dutch producers on his new album (that will be released at the end of 2010) and also to be contracted for concerts in Europe.

www.xandroleima.net