Exposed Vocals Interviews Amaru

The dream started at the age of five when he saw Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton perform live on television. Fueled by the musicality of his late grandmother, Amaru soon became fascinated by music. Singing around the house was part of his daily ‘routine’ as a youngster and while he was adamant that he was going to be a singer, his mother on the other hand was also adamant: “You’d better go to school and get a degree”, she said! And so he did, but when the  family moved to Europe from South America, that’s when Amaru decided to pursue his true passion. It would take many years before his first musical release, but the table was set…!

Watching Denzel Washington, his favorite actor, on television, propelled Amaru to take acting lessons and oddly enough it was the acting that took off before the music. He studied in Los Angeles and in Amsterdam and he has managed to build quite an acting resumé since 1996. From film, television and commercials to print ads and voice over work, Amaru has done it all but the music kept ‘calling’.

Cut to 2007 when Amaru traveled to Chicago to work on an EP that generated the release of his debut single ‘Put Your Hands Up’ in 2008 and the accompanying music video. While the EP didn’t fare too well, Amaru did manage to get some airplay for the music video on television. In the meantime, he was still booking acting gigs, which kept him away from the music, yet again.

The date is August 2014… Amaru decided to grab to bull by the horns and he went into the studio to work on some new music. The fruits of his labor generated the single ‘I’m The One You Need’, a synth driven club track which is released in late January of 2015 on Amaru’s own label AMARU MUSIC. ‘I’m The One You Need’ is released as a double A-side single, featuring the ‘Radio Edit’ and the ‘Spanglish Mix’, the latter especially dedicated to and in honor of Amaru’s South American roots.

As 2015 comes to a close, Amaru has much success to look back on as his single ‘I’m The One You Need‘ hitNUMBER ONE in the USA and winning 3 awards, among which the award for ‘Best Video Pop/R&B at the Akademia Music Awards in Los Angeles, CA (USA). While the single is still on heavy rotation on over 35 radio stations globally, Amaru decided to release his new single ‘The One‘ on 25 November 2015 to close the year with a bang. This mid-tempo jam is an ode to love and the video is a tribute to the 80’s, “a great era for music”, according to Amaru.

Amaru’s music is widely available on CD Baby, iTunes, Amazon.com and many other retailers of
digital music. A limited edition CD-single of ‘I’m The One You Need’ is available in the webstore.
Click on the ‘Shop’ tab in the navigation menu.

Download Amaru’s EPK (Electronic Press Kit) here.

More Amaru available at www.amaru.nl and www.amaru-music.com.

Exposed Vocals: So tell us your story. Where did you grow up?

Well, I was born and raised in a small South American country, the Republic of Suriname. If you can find Brazil on the map of South America, you’ll find my country, we’re right at the top.
I had the luxury of living in various countries as a child, but the years that we spent living in the Caribbean were among some of my absolute favorites!

What made you decide to become an artist?

Music was instilled in me by my late grandmother, as she was a musician herself and a singer at her chuch. After the Sunday morning service, we’d return to the house where she would sit behind her small organ and play some traditional hymns and what have you. Being her first grandchild, I was always with her and she would encourage me to sing along with her. That’s my earliest recollection of being introduced to music like that. But it wasn’t until I saw Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton on tv that I knew for sure that I wanted to become a singer too!
Exposed Vocals: How did you come up with that name? What was your inspiration behind it?

My name IS Amaru, it’s a Peruvian name and it’s a very common name in South American countries. In fact, it was also the name of the last emperor of the Incas, Tupac Amaru.
Exposed Vocals: What do you think about online music sharing? Do you ever give your music away for free? Why?

Making music, especially for an independent artist like myself, is not a cheap thing to do. Therefore, I cannot afford to just give away my music, even though that is the suggestion of many music websites, as they feel that that will give the artist the exposure and expand their fanbase and what not. I don’t agree with that, per say. I mean, I haven’t seen many or any label affliated artists giving away their music for free. We as consumers have to pay for their work, which I don’t mind doing. Maybe there are artists out there that give away their music, but personally I can’t do that. At least not yet. Maybe at a later stage in my career when I can actually afford to do that, but at this time, no.

Exposed Vocals: Since everyone was a start-up once, can you give any smaller or local bands or artists looking to get gigs and airplay some tips?

The first thing any artist needs to know, is that they need to write their own lyrics and be very hands on when it comes to their brand. If you do have that one hit record that’s topping the charts, that’s where your pension plan comes from, if you play your cards right! You need to be on top of a lot of things and be very driven, dilligent and vigilant! I say vigilant, because you have to keep your eyes wide open and steer clear of people that are not trustworthy. My thing is, if my first impression is “NO, don’t do it”, I walk away without a second thought. In addition to that, the internet is a very useful tool for any artist. I say utilize it to the fullest and expand your knowlegde of the business and everything related to your brand.

Exposed Vocals: Do you ever make mistakes during performances? How do you handle that?

I have made some, yes and I think all artists do. The thing is to try to not let the audience notice that there’s something going on… I mean, if your mic is dead, they’ll know and you can’t do anything about that, but to give the sound guy a nasty look. But if you missed a dance move or something like that, just pretend it’s part of the show, you know…

Exposed Vocals: Do you tour? Anything interesting happen on tour that you think our readers would enjoy hearing about?

I have just released my new single “The One” and I am busy to globally promote the record right now. I just did an interview for a Japanese online magazine, the Japanese press release was also published days ago and the release was featured on a blog site. I am putting together a show, a release party if you will and hopefully that will take place very soon. But of course, I encourage your readers and prospective fans to keep an eye on my official website www.amaru.nl for tour dates and other updates.

Exposed Vocals: Where do you usually gather songwriting inspiration? What is your usual songwriting process?

Inspiration for songs come from life. I mean, one can write about anything and come up with a great song or poem, even. I write about love and romance, heartbreak and sorrow, social issues and injustice… The songwriting process for each artist is different. For me, most of the time it starts with a melody. And I could be doing some chores around the house or be on an airplane to somewhere, the minute I hear that melody, I pick up my phone and I record myself singing it. Back in the day we used different recording devices, but don’t tell anybody (LOL!). Anyway, the minute I feel like I have something, I start writing the lyrics and most of the time, once that starts, it will take me a relatively short time to finish the song… unless writers block kicks in…!
Exposed Vocals: Do you have a band website? What online platforms do you use to share your music?

The link to my official website is www.amaru.nl. I am all over the web, so people can’t miss me. But if people hop on down to my website, they will see all the links to my complete web presence.

Exposed Vocals: What are some really embarrassing songs that we might find on your mp3 player?

Oooohhh… LOL 🙂 Must I really share this information…? Oh well, I’m a good sport, so here we go, but keep in mind: you’d better not tell anybody but God, ya hear…?! LOL 🙂 Okay… I’ll give you ONE… Do you remember that Freestyle 80’s group “Company B”…? These three girls with blond or pink spiked wigs? They had a global hit with the song “Fascinated”… Remember…? Well, if you don’t, just do a Youtube search. That beat is still doing it for me to this day… LOL 🙂

Exposed Vocals: If you were given half a million dollars and a year off, what would you do? How would you spend it?

Well, I’d probably buy a house and a piece of land, if I didn’t already have a house and that piece of land. I’d most probably make sure that me and my family are taken care of and donate some of that money to reputable charitable organizations.

Exposed Vocals: Any planned studio upgrades? What are you working with now?

My previous single “I’m The One You Need” was a massive success and the song is still on heavy rotation on many radio stations. But since I released this new single “The One”, my focus is on the promotion of this new jam, although I am already busy making plans to work on a song that I have written a while ago, so… See, I’m Gemini and my rising sign is Leo and we never sit still for too long, lol 😉 If I’m not busy making music, I’m auditioning for an acting project. And speaking of which, the link to my IMDB resumé is also on my website.

Exposed Vocals: How do you find ways to promote your music? What works best for you?

I cruise the internet with a vengeance, LOL! Like I said earlier, there is so much information at our fingertips, so I’m making the most of it. In addition to that, I write to radio stations, I email blogs, I use Twitter to connect with people… I mean, sitting down on your backside won’t generate any buzz, so my thing is “get UP and DO the work!”

Exposed Vocals: If you could perform anywhere and with any artists (Dead or Alive) where and who would it be with? Why?

I always tell people that I’m not an American by birth, but I am at heart… It is my dream to sing the Star Spangled Banner in the States someday, possibly with a live orchestra. I also wanna perform at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles with some of my favorite 80’s stars, such as Jody Watley, Bobby Brown, El Debarge, Exposé, The Jets… Man! That would be something! Or at the Sydney Opera House in Sydney, Australia… Hey, dreams can come true, you know 😉

Exposed Vocals: So, what’s next? Any new upcoming projects that you want to talk about?

Right now I’m busy promoting the heck out of my new single “The One” and the music video, so that’s my main focus now. The single was released on the 25th and the video on the 28th. of November 2015, so I have to “get UP and DO the work!”

Exposed Vocals: If you weren’t making music, what would you be doing?

Something artistic, that’s for sure. Compared to any other vocation, I have found complete joy and fulfillment in making music and acting… Photography or webdesign are also things that I can lose myself into. I’m a very creative person and those needs have to be fulfilled.
Exposed Vocals: Do you remember buying your first album? Who was it? What was going through your head?

I honestly can’t remember… It wasn’t until I moved to Europe when I started to buy LPs and CDs, but I do remember buying cassette tapes back in my country, LOL 🙂 And we’re not talking about original tapes, mind you… No, there was a Chinese record store that did sell LPs and CDs, but they were freakishly expensive, especially for a South American country in crisis at the time. So they would put together a collection of whatever was hot that month and sell the tapes for anywhere between 5 to 10 bucks. And seeing as how my allowance was 10 bucks, from which I had to buy my own deodorant and shaving gear and my monthly buss pass (which was a whopping 5…!), I had to save up a couple of months before I could hit the town and pretend to be a millionaire for 10 seconds, lol!

Exposed Vocals: How do you juggle the rest of your responsibilities while trying to stay ahead in your music life?

You must have your priorities straight, you know. Know what’s important, take care of those things first. As long as my bills are paid, I’m okay.

Exposed Vocals: What should fans look forward to in 2016?

In 2016 I hope to have grown a little bit more as an entertainer and hopefully I will have performed at more international venues too, both as a singer as well as an actor. I look forward to welcoming more people in my artistic life and hopefully I’ll be able to make a difference in one way or another. Before we part ways, let me take this opportunity to thank you for the time and also a massive thank you to your readers and my prospective fans! Much love and luck to you all!