Eliane Correa, composer & pianist

Who or what inspired you to pursue a career in music?

I was on path to become a classical pianist, but an injury in my mid-teenage years ended up being a blessing in disguise: I “discovered” Prince and moved to Havana on the same year, whilst injured and unable to practice properly, and this set me on a new course away from the classical world. I fell deeply in love with the musics of my roots (musics from Cuba and Argentina and the wider world of Spanish-speaking Latin America), especially Cuban dance music (timba, songo, son, “Cuban salsa”) and decided to make it my home turf, musically speaking. Nowadays I do a whole range of things – I tour with Hans Zimmer as a soloist, I MD for pop artists, play in various jazz-centric settings… but my home is and will always be Cuban music, and without it I don’t think I’d even want to be a full-time musician.

Who or what have been the most significant influences on your musical life and career?

I wouldn’t have gotten anywhere without my family and friends’ unwavering support, first and foremost.

Secondly, the Latin women that paved the way for the rest of us to believe in ourselves and our right to take up space in such a male-dominated environment: for me, the most relevant are Argentine classical pianist Martha Argerich, Georgia Aguirre who has been the director of Cuba’s most prominent all-female dance music orchestra for about two decades now, and of course the Queen of Salsa, Celia Cruz. 

What have been the greatest challenges of your career so far?

I think sometimes, when I was younger, I normalised having to go the extra mile to be taken seriously as a woman in my position, and as the discourse around gender shifted throughout the 2010s onwards, I began doubting whether I truly deserved a seat at the table – or whether I was being brought into certain projects or spheres as a token. It’s taken a lot of work on myself to be able to step into any working environment understanding that, actually, I deserve it, and I’m hoping that younger women getting into music have a slightly less uphill struggle feeling confident in themselves and their artistry and craft.

Of which performances/recordings are you most proud?

Firstly, my album Signo de Fuego. I spent the whole first year of the pandemic writing and arranging my first Cuban timba album (“Cuban salsa”) for my large-format Cuban orchestra, La Evolución. It was an enormous task and a true labour of love, and it’s still one of very few records of this genre out there that centres the female perspective.

I’m also very proud of my recent single releases, Everywhere, Float and Cold Blooded (feat. Plumm), because it feels like the first time I’m making music truly for myself and my own fulfilment and expression rather than to serve a purpose or cater to a particular audience. It’s a cinematic/jazz/afrocuban folklore exploration, very unrelated to the salsa sound, and heavy on the synths.

What do you do offstage that provides inspiration on stage?

Well… the “nice” answer is I go to the gym quite a lot, I meditate and practice tai chi and try my best to eat balanced even on the road. The actual complete answer is all of that plus that simple act of Doing The Thing – whether “the thing” is going outside, signing up for an adventure full of unknown factors, taking on a terrifying gig, showing up for a friend, giving something a chance… when you write, compose, play, you are telling a story, and for that you have to have a story to tell. I know this sounds adjacent to glorifying the “tortured artist” life but it’s not, it’s literally just about going outside and doing things and connecting with other humans not through a screen.

As a musician, what is your definition of success?

My therapist has made a lot of money around this question! No, seriously – the definition of success depends on why you make music, right? So if I got into music to make money, success would be getting rich, if I got into music to make people dance, then filling a floor with sweaty bodies would be success. For me, I just want people to feel something when they listen to me. Not admiration – forget that, I have zero interest in impressing anyone  – feel something real and pure and honest. Whether it’s a bout of female rage, or the urge to move their feet, or the urge to call someone and tell them how much they love them. 

What advice would you give to young or aspiring musicians?

Get really good at playing your instrument (or composing or producing or whatever form you choose for your artistry), honor your craft… but remember to also live a life beyond your instrument.

What’s the one thing we’re not talking about in the music industry which you really feel we should be?

Ageing and motherhood as career killers for women who work onstage. Especially touring musicians. We, collectively, still have to choose between working as gigging and touring musicians and becoming mothers. Touring productions need to normalise accommodating for musicians with babies and children. 

Also, we need to talk about how the moment you look over 40, unless you’re one of the very best in your scene, it’s going to get harder to get booked. Bookers, managers, productions etc all want young women on their stage because it “looks good”. Once women are no longer deemed “visually desirable”, the sexism rears its head and once again women often have to play twice as well as men to just keep the job. We can do better than this. 

What next? Where would you like to be in 10 years time?

Well since the state of the world feels like it’s deteriorating so fast at the moment, I just hope that in 10 years the Western trend in the direction of far-right morals has ended, Palestine has flourished in independence, Latin America is nobody’s playground, and we aren’t ruled by men who, well, we’ve all seen bits of the Epstein files. I have no idea what to wish for in 10 years because it wildly depends on what happens to the world. I can tell you what I’d like to do in the next year or so, which is to establish a truly top-notch all-female salsa band in the UK. We have our first show in April. Come see us!

London’s biggest and longest running Latin music festival, La Linea, takes place across multiple London venues running from 20 April to 6 May. Eliane Correa, who recently toured with Hans Zimmer, will be curating a special show at the festival celebrating the centenary of Celia Cruz with an all-female salsa band. comono.co.uk/la-linea