We were lucky to catch up with Elena Rayo recently and have shared our conversation below.
Elena, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.
I began my musical journey at age 5 with learning classical violin. Over time, I drifted from the classical music world into joining a rock band in college. After garnering a Master’s degree in Classics, I fell into a deep depression. Once again I turned to music and discovered that singing was the best way to alter my state of mind and lift the heavy emotions. Songwriting became a natural way to tell stories and tap into the broader spectrum of creativity.
Knowing what I know now, I could have accelerated my learning process by being more focused on formal study of singing, and learning guitar and piano instead of being self-taught. In the past year I have been more dedicated to studying singing with a teacher, and it has greatly improved my abilities.
The most essential skills for me were becoming more confident on stage, and relaxation techniques to become more fluid with my instruments.. It took many years to overcome my innate deeply self-critical tendencies that gave me a great fear of performing in front of an audience. My greatest obstacles were in my own mind — self-doubt and self-judgment. Once I finally learned to be more deeply in the moment and love myself through the process, I became much more free on stage and can submerge myself completely into the music.
Elena, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I have been a musician most of my life. It is only in the past year, however, when my husband passed away of cancer after a lengthy illness, that i turned to music to become my main focus for practice and source of income. In order to move through the crippling grief, I gave myself the task to learn 200 songs by other artists, and to write and record a new album of original songs. Previously I had written and recorded seven albums over the years, and learned a great deal from the the process of recording. This time around, i can feel that the songs are coming form a deeper place than ever before. And I am approaching the 150 mark of songs learned so far.
My husband Saul and I over our years together built one of the premiere recording studios in Northern California, Ancient Wave Studios. Our approach of “artist first” inspired us to create a space that inspires and is filled with beauty and calm. I’m very proud of this business even though it is in a time in the industry when it is very challenging to make a living as a recording artist. We expanded our services to also offer live-streaming for musicians and teachers, house concerts, and a teaching/retreat space. Currently our daughter Ramona and boyfriend Luke are now jumping in to help run the family business, and it has been great to have her new energy to give a different perspective on marketing. www.ancientwavestudios.com
Part of my current love in life is to provide a safe space for others to create, to believe in themselves and their own creative journey. This can be in the recording studio. I also like to impart the energy of self-acceptance and self-knowledge through my Qigong classes. I have found Qigong, a form of traditional Chinese medicine as a gentle healing movement practice, to be incredibly effective in clearing ourselves of chronic illness and pain, emotional traumas, and beliefs that are self-limiting. www.ancientwaveqigong.com
While Saul was alive, we had both a 7-piece original world music band, and a folk duo. We recorded and released two albums together, and toured at festivals and small venues in Ireland, France, Holland, Australia, New Zealand, and Singapore as well as the Western US. Traveling as musicians was a way to connect to the local people and cultures beyond just being tourists.
Currently I perform 2-3 times per week in our area of Northern California and sometimes out of the area as opportunities arise. Some of the gigs are performing other writers’ songs, and some are focused on showcasing my original songs. In October I will be performing a tribute to the music of Joni Mitchell, having learned her songs in the original alternate guitar tunings and singing both solo and with a backing band.
What I am most proud of is that despite many years of difficulties being a caregiver for Saul, while working hard to build our studio business, and suffering for so long from stage fright, I never gave up. Somewhere in my being, I knew that I would get to where I wanted to go with performance, singing, writing, and musicianship. It has taken much longer than I had anticipated, and yet I’m so grateful that I had something to work towards. Something major has shifted within me this past year, and now I find that I am able to connect with audiences and move the energy in a concert in a way that is even beyond what I could have imagined in the beginning. www.elenarayomusic.com
The realization that being inspired by being truly present, and at the same time being devoted to my craft, has given me a deep sense of stability in my being. Outer difficulties seem more manageable, because i always have a strength inside me now. Truly my musical journey has been healing in a way that I want to share with others, through performance and teaching.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
When my husband Saul was dying from cancer, I was his full-time caregiver at home for 4 1/2 years. It was a long and very difficult time for both of us, as he was in unimaginable pain for most of that time. He needed constant medication, and neither of us could sleep more than two hours at a time . Towards the past few months of his life, daughter Ramona and sister Myra joined me in the rotation of the constant care that was required.
Even during all the exhaustion, Saul always wanted me to keep singing. He would have me play music on guitar and sing for him every day. He inspired me to put together my tribute to the music of Joni Mitchell, coaching me from his hospital bed in our bedroom on the intricate guitar lines, the vocal phrasing, and the song selection. I had to give a performance of this music five days after his passing, It was so emotional to be singing and playing those songs we had worked on together, at times I wasn’t sure if I could get through it. But I felt his presence so strongly, and his encouragement even in the midst of my overwhelming sorrow.
Truly needing to keep going made me a much stronger person, and also infused my voice and music with a depth unlike anything I’d been able to previous access. Even a little over a year later, I know that the vibrations of the music has helped immeasurably to improve my state of mind and emotions. People who come to my shows tell me so often what an inspiration I am for them, and I am grateful that my experience can help others.
What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?
As a lifelong musician, I’ve been able to observe that it is very difficult to support oneself as an artist in America. I’ve been fortunate enough to live in other countries, such as France, and Canada, where there is a greater degree of understanding in the culture that the arts are an essential part of a thriving society. In those two countries there is government support for dedicated artists in the form of a stipend. I believe that this is a good idea because success in the arts isn’t necessarily tied to immediate financial compensation, nor should it be.
I think it is entirely possible to have a system in which artists can register and show that they devote a certain amount of time and energy to their craft. Whether this financial stipend comes from the government or individual philanthropists, it makes sense to have a fund created for artists. It would be easy to create an application process and be able to encourage follow-through an online portal.
I believe that artists can pave the way for ourselves as a society, locally and globally, to manifest a higher degree of human potential. Thinking outside the box, and outside of established ways of being, is the job of the artist, and it is what the world truly needs to solve the many problems that we are facing.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.elenarayomusic.com
- Instagram: elenarayomusic
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/elena.rayo2/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elena-rayo-176a9b66/
- Youtube: @therayoslive5949
Image Credits
Rene Ringnalda, John Taber, Ken Teichmann