Ross Saldana - All instrumentation, production, mixing, and audio recording/engineering.
I am a DJ and Producer at heart that has loved music for such a long time. The reason I say DJ and producer is because I have always been an avid listener picking apart each of the instruments and vocal arrangements in a song wanting to piece them together or pull them apart in different ways.
Since I was 3 years old, I distinctly remember listening to 55 KTSA AM in San Antonio back in the 70s because my father would listen to it all the time. It was a way to bring the family together in the morning as we started our day. I remember listening to Neil Diamond, Kenny Rogers, ABBA, America, The Bee Gees and numerous other artists of the 70s. Music has been in my DNA since then.
As I got older, I broadened my musical palette to include the synth pop and new wave music of the 80s. This was my introduction to synthesizers and drum machines which I completely was enamored with. There were no limitations it seemed.
In the 90s, I further embedded so much additional music simply by being in college and living on my own in Austin. I started listening to hip hop and rap more along with Latin jazz and anything rhythmic. As a drummer, since I was 11 years old, beats always played a big part in my compositions and thought process. But, my love for the piano and classical symphony/orchestral movements reinforced my passion for melodies, too.
I feel that all these elements of beats, rhythm, and melodies define where I tend to go with my music. I don’t like limits of any kinds and do not want any musical 'rules' to get in the way of what is possible. This is probably why I did not learn the classic way to play which may have included learning the blues, rock, jazz, or R&B. I simply wanted the music to come to me without any preconceived notions.
I do not consider myself a talented musician but rather a gifted producer of sounds and the ability to bring all of that together in a way that, I hope, is a little refreshing or not as easy to pinpoint. Still, I love mainstream pop and feel the urge to make music that can appeal to the masses; just in a different way.