He was a producer for Ricky Martin, Sanz and Pausini. What’s the trick to working with so many geniuses? JP Vega tells it

Isolated for almost a month in the El Desierto studio, the singer and producer Juan Pablo Vega created “Despideme de todxs”, his most recent album that brings him back to Peru, in a concert that promises to be “the complete opposite” to others shows, this Thursday, September 7 at Sergeant Pimienta in Barranco, where he will also review some of his greatest musical hits.

“We will risk changing the dynamic of the timed concerts a bit, we want to give more humanity to the concerts through songs with undefined times, maybe playing a little with the setlist and presenting big surprises”, comments the artist in an interview with El Comercio.

If Vega’s style can be defined with one word, it would be “versatile”. With music that varies, both in lyrics and composition, according to the musical tastes of the artist at the time, his latest album “Despideme de todxs” is a subtle ode to classic songs from the 80s and 90s, mixed with contemporary techniques that he honed over a career that began with small bar gigs, while developing his skills as a producer alongside three-time Grammy winner Julio Reyes Copello.

In his indecision to choose a single path between music production and being a singer, Vega took the third route and opted to be both roles, which at that time were a novelty. “I entered the duality of producer and musician when it was not yet fashionable”, comments Vega with a smile, who recently understood that he cannot separate both aspects of his life. “On December 31, 2022, I decided to dedicate the last six months of this year to being a soloist, but it was false because I started producing songs, then I definitely knew that I cannot separate my work as a producer from my singing self.”.

Although there are also moments in the musician’s life that force him to try to create a division. “Sometimes, as a musician, I tend to repeat some things that, as a producer, I don’t like about singers.”, explains Vega, in addition to other disadvantages of being a self-producer. “I usually get into a vicious circle of not being able to finish what I start, but I look for opinions that are different from mine to be able to close those creative processes that are so difficult to deal with.“, Add.

Two ways, one voice

Juan Pablo Vega defines his work as a producer as “The work of a therapist, who tries to defend artists from themselves because all artists have a level of anxiety that makes them think that absolutely all their songs must be heard.”. Faced with this situation, he seeks to get the best potential out of each song, leaving aside the commercial aspects that, according to him, contaminate the musical process of each artist, although sometimes it is unavoidable. “Sometimes artists want to make music for the form, to be alternative, rock, urban genre, leaving aside the path that the song is marking; there I put my hand so they can see what is the best option for each song”, emphasizes the singer-songwriter who produced songs for singers like Ricky Martin, Alejandro Sanz, Laura Pausini, Kany García, Alejandro Fernández, Florent Pagny, Oh’laville, Chayanne, Paulina Rubio and Debi Nova, whom he knows to a lesser or greater extent time to produce songs.

“Danna Paola is someone extremely punctual, Mike Bahia is someone very empathetic, Piso 21 is very cool, Manuel Medrano brings his own proposals to the studio”, comments Vega, who also reveals that there are singers with whom he cannot negotiate certain sections. “Manuel Medrano is clear about his vision of what he wants and lets the producer in very little, another similar is Esteman with his aesthetic vision. One must respect it, we do not seek to oppose it, but to complement it to have a good song”, he adds.

The secret to adapting to each new musician lies in his eclectic and music-loving personality, listening to artists ranging from Chopin, through Stevie Wonder, to Mac Demarco. This list also includes Peruvian bands such as Kanaku and El Tigre, Nicole Zignago and Gian Marco, an important figure in his first musical stage. “I played for a long time in small bars, at that time I played a lot of songs by Gian Marco; those lyrics were a great inspiration”, admits the artist who gradually climbed up to position himself as one of the most important figures of the new Colombian music scene.

“This for me continues to be a jouissance, but the structure that supports that jouissance puts a lot of pressure on it, so I became aware of what is happening. Although this becomes a job sometimes, I like being able to work doing this”, comments the musician who considers the expression “dying on stage” idyllic. Instead, he believes that his career as a musician may come to an end, as there is constant wear and tear on the front lines, but he is glad to know that his role as a producer will be something he can do until old age.