Alex Cuba didn’t know much about Alejandra Ribera before asking her to lend her voice to his song Beautiful Mistake from his album Healer in 2015 but he said the resulting partnership was “amazing.”
“When I heard her voice I was pretty blown away and it was the same for her, too. She loved the song from the beginning so it was one of those types of collaborations that you really enjoy doing,” the Smithers-based singer-songwriter said.
The duo will split the bill at the Port Theatre on March 8 and Cuba suggests that they may revisit Beautiful Mistake together for the first time before an audience.
“We’ve never performed it live together due to busy schedules, I guess, and life getting in the middle,” Cuba said.
“So this, I think, will be a unique thing for this show that I’m pretty sure we will probably do it this time.”
Cuba said his performance will primarily focus on music from his most recent record, Lo Único Constante, which garnered both Grammy and Latin Grammy nominations. A winner of four Latin statues, Cuba said he doesn’t stress over awards season.
“These days I’m working on my expectations. I think it’s important to leave it up to the universe…” he said.
“The most important thing is to connect with people and to give them something that they enjoy, but it’s always wonderful to get up in the morning and have an e-mail or something telling you you are nominated.”
Cuba described the album as a return to his roots, explaining that it was clear the songs that emerged during the writing process did not require much extra production.
“I write quite a few songs in order to get ready for an album and it’s always obvious which ones are the strongest ones and you know that because they’re the ones that hardly need anything around them in order to sound good,” he said.
“So that’s what I discovered early creating this album, that many of the songs were strong enough to have very little around them, to live in an acoustic universe and to have a lot of room around them.”
This year Cuba plans to write more songs for himself and others and focus more on releasing singles. He said he’s looking forward to quickening the pace of his artistic output.
“Sometimes it’s even painful for a singer-songwriter to sit on your songs for a year or a year and a half or two years before you’re back in the studio to make an album,” he said.
“I started to get excited just at the thought. You’re writing songs, boom, one that you like comes … you go into the studio, you cut it and release it. Sort of bring some speed into the movement of how I create.”
WHAT’S ON … Alex Cuba and Alejandra Ribera come to the Port Theatre on Thursday, March 8 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $32 for adults, $28 for members, $12.50 for youth and students and $5 for eyeGO passes. Available at the box office. An autograph signing will take place in the lobby after the show.
arts@nanaimobulletin.com
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