Building the Sound of Eastern Engineering Group
Building the Sounds of Eastern Engineering Group
Building Moments has become a concept that we have implemented in everything we create at Eastern Engineering Group. It is something we cherish about our firm. Not only do we help in the creation of amazing architectural structures, but we are building moments together. Pavel Urkiza is an artist, and also a very dear friend to us. He was able to assemble a soundtrack called “Building Moments”. This soundtrack fills the halls throughout our firm and accompanies our clients while they are waiting on-hold, reminding us daily that we are here building moments together.
Pavel was generous enough to let us interview him about his music career, and the process he went through to create “Building Moments”. Throughout this article, we dive deep into what has made Pavel the artist he is today, and what his overall journey was building this soundtrack.
Building Moments With Pavel Urkiza
A few interesting facts you probably didn’t know about Pavel is that he was the first Ukrainian to study at Instituto Preuniversitario Vocacional de Ciencias Exactas Vladimir Ilich Lenin. He was born in Kiev, Ukraine on June 2, 1963, while his parents were on an educational mission in the Soviet Union representing the Cuban government. He describes music as being a part of his DNA passed down from his paternal grandfather who is a well-known composer and singer in his time. Urkiza has published more than 40 compositions of his works. Very impressive, wouldn’t you agree?
Urkiza offers a very unique style of music with a wide variety of ranges and rhythms. He credits this to his understanding of Cuban roots, and life experience in Iberian Peninsula and Canary Islands. The Afro-Cuban-Ibero-American flavor is evident in his guitar and his voice. A kind of Caribbean-Mediterranean that plays with a special Cuban swing. Needless to say, you will enjoy multiple exclusive sounds throughout his albums, especially Building Moments.
Getting to Know Pavel
Interviewing Pavel was very insightful. Being that I am an artist as well, I loved learning about the journey he has endured performing and creating music around the world. Starting with the first most basic question everyone is eager to know, we asked Urkiza when he started playing music, and when he realized music could fuel his career path. He responded by telling us that at the age of 7 he began playing a small flute. Pavel was intrigued by the thought of creating sounds. To him, music is not a career, it’s a way of life, a necessity. Urkiza continued to describe this passion of music by saying “I do not live from music, but for her and of course, she gives me back what I give her”. Talk about some real artistry right there!
When asked how he would describe his music, Pavel answered with “Ibero-American – music of the world”. The “Ibero-American” sounds you will hear embody different cultures and regions in the Americas comprising countries or territories where Spanish or Portuguese are predominant languages.
Building Moments Soundtrack
Pavel’s inspiration to create “Building Moments” is from love, friendship, respect, freedom, and experience. After listening to “Building Moments” on Spotify or Apple Music, we hope you fully understand where each element plays an important role in his music.
When asked how Urkiza wants his listeners to feel during “Building Moments”, he responded very honestly. He expressed that he has no control over how someone will feel or interpret his music. Pavel also stated that he knows what he was feeling creating the music, but it is up to the listeners to decide their feelings towards it.
His favorite song from the “Building Moments” soundtrack is “Flores de Otoño”, which translates to “fall flowers” in English. Once you listen to this song, you’ll be able to hear the combination of cultures in his sound.
Learning the Creative Process of an Artist
Every artist goes through a certain process when building an album. These processes are different for everyone. We were curious to know more about Pavel’s process.
Pavel described his creative process as a river starting as a stream, at the top of a mountain ⛰️. As it passes, it creates a flow that gradually widens. As it passes, it is impregnated with the essences of the earth, the stones, the rain, and it becomes a mighty river carrying mineral and animal wealth with it. Finally, it flows into the sea and feeds the Ocean which is, in essence, the Work. When you visualize this process, you realize it is an admirable metaphor about building music.
Favorites of Pavel
To fully understand an artist, it’s important to ask questions about the instruments, artists, and memories they enjoy most. We learned that Pavel’s favorite instrument to play is the guitar. By knowing this, we understand that the guitar influenced the building of this soundtrack immensely.
Pavel insisted he does not have a favorite song to perform, nor does he favor any particular shows he’s done. He did elaborate on some of his favorite venues he played at which include; Global Cuba Fest, Atlas Performing Arts, Texas Performing Arts, Jazz Gallery, Feria de las Medillin Flowers, Arezzo Wave Festival, Nice Jazz Festival, Skopje International Jazz Festival, Le Printemps de Bourges in France, Espace Herault, International WDR Colonia Musical Festival, La Cote DOpale, Saint Nazaire Latin Festival, Córdoba Guitar Festival, Bilbao Tropical Festival, South Pyrenees Festival, and Cádiz International Theater Festival.
These venues couldn’t be more spread apart throughout the world! Building a fanbase throughout the world has been a great pleasure of Pavel’s. He expressed that these venues were very special, but it was the excellent audiences that truly made them unforgettable.
Inspirations
Like many artists, Pavel does not enjoy listening to his own music. He is very critical of the final result and needs to let time pass first before he can appreciate it. This isn’t the case when listening to other artists’ music. He has a few favorites who continuously inspire his musical journey.
He enjoys all genres of music varying from; 70’s rock, Brazilian, Jazz and Middle Eastern/Indian music. He finds great inspiration from all kinds of genres and artists. Some of his favorite artists are; Matamoros trio, Benny Moré and Marta Valdés, La nueva trova cubana, Gretchen Parlatto or Herbie Hancock, Paco de Lucía, Miguel Poveda, Enrique Morente. A true artist can enjoy a collection of different music and see the art in each of them.
Even though Pavel enjoys many different artists, there isn’t one in particular that he would dream of performing with. He enjoys sharing the stage and opening for various artists, but views this experience as something more spontaneous, and seizes the opportunity when it arises.
Memories
Urkiza’s most fond memories took place at Studio Theater in Cuba, and then in Marta Valdes Spain. Building these memories dates back to 1992. He expressed traveling and performing through these different places was very endearing to him. He was able to meet beautiful people, and ultimately discovered more about himself. Taking this musical journey led Pavel to know who he was, and what he wanted to be as an artist..
When asked what the best advice he received, he immediately stated “be yourself”. If he could offer advice to aspiring artists, he’d also tell them to be themselves. This is the only way you’ll be able to create the music you want to share with the world and express who you are.
A crazy memory Pavel shared from being on tour took place in Puerto Rico, 2004. This trip was for a very important concert at Bellas Artes de San Juan. He remembers the theater being full, and an excellent band of musicians who traveled from Madrid accompanied him. He unfortunately caught pneumonia and still had to perform! Everyone was worried he might pass out mid show, but luckily it turned out very well. He was later admitted to intensive care at a hospital in San Juan for 10 days, but what a story to share, am I right?
The Music Industry
When asked what he would change about the music industry, Pavel stated that there isn’t one solution to fix the music industry. He is aware of the dominance in the Anglo-Saxon vision. He also talks about the lack of Ibero-American multinational artists. Everything is produced by Warner, Sony, Universal, and a few other big-name companies. His vision would be for the industry to provide more range and variety for consumers.
He also talks about listeners being limited to “World Music”. Often known as the commercialized music that is easier to access. He understands that commercial is what sells, and that marketing has done a great job of selling that to listeners, but he wants the music industry to work toward building more variety for the world to listen to.
If you want your music to be heard by the world you have to deal with many obstacles. He describes how if you want your music to go viral on networks, you need support from the “dinosaurs” of the industry. Pavel hasn’t focused on building a hit song that will make it on the top charts. He creates music to please himself first, and those who connect with his creative process he then caters his music to them and their style.
The Future for Pavel
Some surprises fans can look forward to from Pavel are a better understanding of who he is. To fully understand Urkiza, fans need to know the music he’s been building is solely created by him. He doesn’t wait around for a record company to lay out conditions on how to launch his music, he does it all on his own. He is an artist that arranges, produces, records, mixes, and does all the technology for his music independently. I think once fans comprehend this process, they will have more of an admiration for Pavel Urkiza.
Just like you, Pavel enjoys the holiday season. In his case, he doesn’t feel the need to wait till November to get in the spirit of the holidays. “Living life itself, is already the holidays”. The career path he has doesn’t feel like work to him. His work is done with great passion and without a schedule.
After this article, we hope you have a better appreciation for Pavel as an artist. As you listen to “Building Moments”, we hope that you do so with a new perspective and intent. Happy Holidays from Eastern Engineering Group and make sure to check out “Building Moments” By Pavel Urkiza on Spotify and Apple Music.
©️ 2022 This article was written and published by Eastern Engineering Group. All rights reserved.
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