SunStock Interviews Ricardo Vela

The Illusion of Free Will is a music project by Ricardo Vela. I caught up with him and learned about his process behind the music making.

Tell us a little bit about yourself

Well... I'm from Mexico, I was born in a small city close to the beach. I started playing bass at the age  of 15, then I moved onto guitar a few years later. I love music, I'm the kind of guy who is always looking for new music/bands.

How has life influenced the making of your music?

I think that every day, every second can give you the opportunity to create something new, I mean, everything is full of life, color, emotions... so I want my music to be part of it, life, yours, mine, other people's life, so everyone can have their own interpretation of my music.

How did you start out?

I was playing in a band before tiofw, but when I realised that it wasn't going anywhere I decided to

quit, the next day I was creating some new songs with the idea of doing something really personal, like my own soundtrack.

What’s your process of songwriting?

It's quite relaxing for me, I grab my guitar and start playing, when a great idea comes out, I start working on that, once the general idea (guitar) is ready I record it and then I play it a few times so  I can figure out how bass, drums and other arrangements will sound.

You do everything yourself, so how do you go about the production of your music?

That's the most difficult part, I think, as a musician I'm always worried about doing songs I like, but making a good record is a whole different world, it took me a lot of reading, practice and a lot of bad results to make it work, but in the end, when I listen to the final results I can say i'm pretty happy about them. It is also great to have full control of what you are doing, about your sound.

Do you have any projects coming up that we should keep an eye out for?

Actually, I just started working on the music for a new EP, I have some new songs and a lot of ideas, so I have a lot of work to do hehe, hopefully it'll be here when it's done.

What are your dreams for your future in music?

Dreams, I have a lot of them, but I would like my music to touch people, to tell stories... and of

course I want to play in the best venues or festivals because this is what I love.