Meet Juan P Alvarado V | Producer, Composer, Musician and Guitarist
We had the good fortune of connecting with Juan P Alvarado V and we’ve shared our conversation below.
Hi Juan P, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
My business started like most business do… with an idea and the will to work hard to see it materialized. I believe the toughest part was to find time left from my daily job to devote it to my music project. I usually work for Mastercard from 7:00‘ AM to 7:00‘ PM; so the time available for my project has been minimal. Obviously, I had to use it wisely and try to make the most out of the 2 to 3 hours that I have everyday to compose, record the ideas and prepare demos.
Once I had demos of 7 songs, I contacted my producer in Argentina to formally start to produce and record the album. We worked over the ideas that I had recorded, made some changes on the arrangements and finally we contacted a couple of friends, also in Argentina, to record the bass, piano and drums.
Once the album was done, I decided to launch a song every-month, actually every 22nd day of each month, except on March when I launched the song on my birthday, the 30th.
Each cover has a Lion as the main character but I changed the overall design to describe the idea and the sentiment of each song.
Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I am Juan Alvarado lead singer, guitarist, composer and producer of my music project Breath of Illusions! This is a project that has been on my mind since I was studying music at Berklee College of Music in Boston.
Since 2021, I have recorded and released two albums. The first one is called Walking the Unknown and it has 12 songs, some of them have lyrics and other ones, actually the heaviest ones, are instrumentals. The 2nd album is called The Awakening, it has 7 instrumental songs which vary in sounds and sentiment.
I feel really proud of what I have accomplished because I have been able to combine my professional career as an engineer and Director at Mastercard with my hobby, actually, my passion for music. Despite the long hours devoted to my full time job, I have been able to start and work on my music career.
I really can say that this tough journey has been a great challenge rather than a difficulty. At the same time it has helped me to realize that if you focus and put your energy on your dreams, eventually, you are going to be able to achieve great things.
As I said before, I have to combine my daily job at Mastercard with my music career as well as having to find time for my family and friends something that is not always easy to balance and can lead to some level of frustration. Regardless, I try to enjoy every single moment of this journey knowing that I am putting the best of me to achieve my goals.
I would like to be known as a successful artist, musician and engineer. I would love that, when people listen to my music, they are able to feel something beyond the chords and the melodies that I am playing or singing. My mission is to convey a message that whatever you focus on, you can get it… hopefully the lyrics and the melodies of my songs can achieve it.
Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
There are many outdoor activities near Colorado that can be amazing, but if you only have 2 days, I’d recommend going hiking and visiting small towns like Frisco and Breckenridge. Both are less than 2 hours away from Denver and worth the visit in any season.
If you’re into hiking, Colorado is the hiker’s Paradise. There are almost unlimited options for all types of hikers. Some of my favorites are: Loveland Pass, Willow Creek Falls, Boreass Pass and Prospect Hill.
By the way, while making these plans, you can listen to my song Breath Of Illusions. Yes; it is called like my band, and I wrote based on this type of plans and feelings!
Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
This might sound a little bit traditional or like a cliche, but I have to thank my parents… I mean, without them I would not be the person, professional and musician that I am today. Also there are some friends that have always pushed me in the right direction and believed that I could record my own music without losing my job at Mastercard… I don’t want to say any names because I might leave someone out… but I am pretty sure they know who I am talking about.
Instagram: @breathofillusions
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/juan-p-alvarado-v-213aaa28/
Twitter: @jpguitar1111
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JPGuitar1111
Youtube: Juan P Alvarado
Other: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/1HHiwzxmtNfVXeoElphnvb?si=hs4acM3zQ4u3GnM80VB4MQ
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