We’re so excited that Episode 3 of our Interview Series is with Edinburgh’s own El Sencillo Wilder Mesa! We love Wilder’s music and he has performed in at least a couple of social events organised by Cuban Salsa School. Now we get to know him even better! Before the interview though, here’s him in action, making sweet music at his Scottish home.
Enjoy the interview and let us know what you’d like to see more of in our interview series.
CSS: Would you mind introducing yourself to our readers please?
WM: Hi my name is Wilder Mesa and I was born in Santiago de Cuba, Cuba. I´m a singer-songwriter. I´ve sung with various groups in Cuba and here in Scotland, and have my own album called ´Dale Mambo´ which you can find on Spotify.
CSS: Great, so what got you into music in the first place?
WM: The first person to introduce me to music as a child was my mother, as she spent a lot of time singing at home and teaching me various songs and my interest in music started from there.
CSS: Who gave you the support to keep your music career in the beginning?
WM: My parents guided me from the beginning and encouraged me to join various musical projects. I then went on to formally study music at school and then at the Lauro Fuentes Music School in Santiago de Cuba until I studied to become a music instructor at the Escuela de Instructores de Arte.
CSS: Could you perhaps describe the sound of your music to our readers who have never heard your music before?
WM: My album ´Dale Mambo´ is a mix of Latin music with variations of Caribbean rhythms such as bachata, electronic merengue, reggaeton, trap.
CSS: Let´s talk a bit about your songwriting process. How does a song usually develop – do you first start with the lyrics, melody, chord progression, or something else?
WM: I usually start with the lyrics by developing the chorus along with a bass melody, and the rest of the song would just develop from there.
CSS: How long does it usually take you to write a song? Which song have you written that is your favourite and why?
WM: Songwriting is a very personal thing and depends a lot on the mood and if I´m feeling inspired. I could write a song in a short time if my head is in the right zone, and other times it can take days.
My favourite song is ´A mi manera´ which you´ll find in my album ´Dale Mambo´ because it´s one of the songs that has a special meaning for me as it´s based on a real life situation of a friend.
CSS: What´s your favourite piece of music and why? Who were/are your biggest influences in music?
WM: Honestly, that´s a difficult one to answer as I appreciate many different pieces of music for different reasons.
I have always really admired artists such as Marc Antony, Gente de Zona, Los Cuatro to name but a few.
CSS: So you are now based in Scotland with your beautiful family. How do you find it? What do you like and not like about living there? Does it affect your songwriting at all? Do you get different inspiration at all?
WM: I really love being in Scotland. I´ve been here for 3 years now and have tried to adapt as much as possible to a different language, way of life and different culture. It´s not the climate that I´m used to, but I try to make the most of it.
I wouldn´t say that living in a different country affects my songwriting as I feel inspired by other things, but I do have less time to focus on my music.
CSS: What´s your greatest achievement so far and what are your plans and hopes for the future?
WM: My greatest achievement so far has been my first recorded album with all of my own songs.
My plan is to continue writing songs so that I can record a 2nd album – so watch this space!
CSS: To help other aspiring singer-songwriters out there, what do you think about the internet as a tool for promoting yourself and your music? Any advice?
WM: The internet is one of the greatest forms of promoting yourself as an artist, but it´s important to remember that it´s just as important to perform live as much as you can so people can really appreciate what you do
CSS: Now to the most important bit of this interview, where can we find your music?
WM: You can find my music on various platforms by searching Dale Mambo by El Sencillo Wilder Mesa on Spotify, Itunes, Amazon, Deezer, and Saavn. You can also find me on YouTube.
Check out Wilder’s album Dale Mambo on Spotify:
