Review Fix chats with singer/songwriter/bassist Mauricio Morales, who discusses his new single, “Tower in the Sky.”
About Mauricio Morales:
The Mexico City-born, Los Angeles-based composer and arranger, Mauricio Morales, debuts his new single “Tower In The Sky” on April 20, 2023. Mauricio was exposed to arts at an early age, picking up his first bass guitar at 12 years old, and continued studying music with a scholarship to Berklee College of Music in Boston. In 2018, he moved to Los Angeles, where he eventually released his debut album “Luna” in 2021 and his second album along with Anthony Fung and Edmar Colon “Eclipse” in 2022. His newest track “Tower In The Sky” is an otherworldly exploration of a mysterious tower that inspires the pursuit of accomplishment.
Morales’ “Tower in the Sky” makes an immediate impact with powerful strings and a booming beat that transport listeners to another world. Josefina Silveyra weaves her enigmatic vocals into the fabric of the jazz inspired synth doused instrumentation. Each chord progression is more dynamic than the next building anticipation with every introspective lyric. As Silveyra sings, “Sometimes I look up high and wonder why I feel the need to climb the tower in the sky,” you can sense the uncertainty and desire to keep going. The track itself encourages achievement, even when you don’t know what the future might bring. It sheds light on the fight it takes to make our dreams come true and how lonely it can feel when we finally get to the top. Mauricio Morales brings listeners another unforgettable exploration of human desire on new single, “Tower in the Sky,” out April 20, 2023.
Review Fix: How do your Mexican roots influence your music?
Mauricio Morales: I am a product of my environment. Where I come from is deeply ingrained in my music. It doesn’t matter how many songs I write in English, or how many different cultures influence my work, I will always be a Mexican boy who is intensely in love with his roots.
Review Fix: How did Berklee prepare you for your musical journey?
Morales: Berklee provided me with a community of musicians from all over the world. The fact that I’ve been able to share the bandstand and break bread with people from so many different cultures has significantly widened my perspective in every way.
Review Fix: What inspired “Tower In The Sky”?
Morales: As a professional musician I come from a jazz background, all of the music I had written up until this point was instrumental. The more that I grew up the more I got in touch with a younger version of myself, the one that fell in love with music in the first place. I started reconnecting with other music genres that made me feel goosebumps that I hadn’t felt in a while, and I decided I wanted to embrace my curiosity towards everything that I loved and integrate it into my own personal project. Tower In The Sky was the first song in which I experimented with this idea. I wanted to explore my love for film, video games and fantasy in a single song, which led to a very introspective work in regard to the overall message. In order to write lyrics for the song I needed to find a topic that felt genuine to me, so I turned what was the stage of my life into a short story of some sort. I am currently 31 years old; I was 29 when I wrote it, and at times I’ve felt like the odds are against me in regard to my pursuit towards a successful life as an independent artist. This song serves as a reminder to never give up. I too need to remember it every once in a while.
Review Fix: How did it change through the creation process?
Morales: It honestly didn’t change that much; I tend to take my time until I feel that my ideas are cohesive in terms of musical composition. Once I reach that point, I very much commit to it. In this particular case it represented a new challenge, since I normally work on more intricate melodies and this time around, I needed to write something that made sense for the human voice. On top of it I had to write lyrics that worked well with that melody. I wrote a first draft and felt incredibly self-conscious about it. I didn’t trust my criteria as a lyric writer since I had never done it before, so I asked my friend Laura Rizzotto, who is a very experienced songwriter, to take a look at it and help me polish what I had originally written. Since the melody was already established, coming up with lyrics was a little more limited, but, like I said, I had committed to the written music and wanted to work with that without doubting it.
Review Fix: How did your origin with the Bass play a role in the Bassline of this track and all your tracks? Do you pay extra attention to Bass?
Morales: I did not pay extra attention to the bass. As much as I love the instrument, and although it happens to be the medium through which I express myself musically, I understand it has a very specific role. Music is like a clock, in order for it to work all of its gears need to fulfil their purpose.
My origin as a bass player does, however, play an important role in my approach to writing. I learned to write in the bandstand, in a jazz setting. Conceptually, jazz represents the idea of composing in real time. In order to improvise beautiful music, one needs to have a very strong understanding of melody, harmony and rhythm, tension and release, repetition and its need for change. Diving into jazz as much as I have has provided me with the tools, I’ve needed in order to put together a piece of music.
Review Fix: Who will enjoy this tune the most?
Morales: I think anybody who is passionate about music can find something interesting in it. People who love cartoons and animation will for sure enjoy the music video. The incredibly talented Jack McCaffrey put together an outstanding short film that I think can get a smile out of the toughest crowds.
Also, I’d hope that anybody who needs a reminder not to give up your dreams gets a chance to listen to this song
Review Fix: What’s next?
Morales: For starters, this happens to be only the first single out of three that constitute only a third of my upcoming record, “The Endless Ride”.
After that you can expect many more records! Many more music videos! Much more live music!
Review Fix: Anything else you’d like to add?
Morales: For anybody that’s had enough interest to read all I’ve had to say, truly, it means more than you know. This song, as well as the upcoming record, has been quite the journey in many ways. I’ve truly made an effort to print the most genuine side of me within my music.
Review Fix: Where can people find out more?
Morales: People can find me on any social media platform at @mauriciomoralesmusic.
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