Drumming for Alejandro Sanz: Recording «Y, ¿si fuera ella?»
One of the things I am most passionate about in my career as a musician is recording drums for different artists. As Plato once said: «music is for the soul, what gymnastics is to the body». Without a doubt, music is an art that endures over time, so leaving my mark on it is more than just magical for me. Working as a session drummer is an exciting job full of surprises. You have the opportunity to collaborate on different projects, record albums, soundtracks, even television shows. However, there are experiences that mark you forever and songs that stay with you for a lifetime. Mine has a title: «Y, ¿si fuera ella?» by Alejandro Sanz.
Recording drums for an Alejandro Sanz track has been the closest thing to a dream for me. I have always admired his compositions, his artistic career, and his talent, but furthermore, my idols are some of the drummers who have recorded on his albums: Vinnie Colaiuta, Lee Levin, Horacio "el Negro", and Alfredo Golino. Without a doubt, recording for Alejandro Sanz has been one of the most emotional moments of my musical career.
This journey began during a cold 2017, just after finishing my work on the TV show La Voz and while performing concerts with Antonio Orozco. Between gigs, I was practising at my rehearsal space when I received a call from producer José Luis de la Peña asking if I could record on Tuesday the 17th. José Luis is always involved in interesting projects, so I simply asked for the location and time: Estudios Cata in Madrid at 10 am.
Shortly after, sound engineer Felipe Guevara called to discuss the technical details. When I asked which artist it was for, he was surprised I did not know. I was going to record a song for Alejandro Sanz's new album, +ES+, featuring collaborators like Shakira, Malú, Manuel Carrasco, and Bisbal. My excitement was at its peak upon learning I would be a drummer for Alejandro Sanz.
On the day of the session, I arrived early to avoid stress and was greeted by resident engineer Manuel Pájaro. After setting up the drums, the other musicians arrived: Alfonso Pérez, pianist for Alejandro Sanz, and Alain Pérez, bassist for Paco de Lucía. It was an incredible lineup.
The session was conducted entirely live, meaning we played all at once rather than in separate parts as is common in many modern sessions. Playing live encourages the appearance of magic, or what we call duende, as each musician is enriched by the performance of their colleagues. Producer José Luis de la Peña gave us a single instruction: we were going to record «Y, ¿si fuera ella?» but with a more modern and current feel.
While Felipe finished setting up the microphones, we discussed how to approach the song. It needed to sound simple but powerful. The original 1997 version was over five and a half minutes long and contained tempo changes, a resource rarely used today. We decided to shorten it and play to a steady metronome. My DW Performance kit, with its large 24-inch bass drum and powerful toms, met the sonic requirements perfectly. After a few changes to my Zildjian cymbal set, we were ready.
We recorded only three takes, and in my view, they were incredible. Alfonso Pérez is sensitivity personified, soaking the room in his feeling and musicality, while Alain Pérez has an exquisite taste and bass precision worthy of admiration. The most beautiful part of the session was that we had fun and felt truly moved. At the end of the third take, we shared a great hug. I still get goosebumps thinking about it.
We knew we had just recorded the definitive take, and although the studio was reserved for the rest of the day, we did not want to repeat a single note. Felipe Guevara, who later handled the mixing, confirmed days later that he did not have to retouch anything. The album was released in June 2017 as a live album containing this single studio track. There are certainly experiences that change your life, and this has been one of the most emotional of my career.