One on One with Jero Cilveti
Cilveti began his musical journey in the late 80s playing bass with his band, which led him into the world of sound engineering, where he skilfully combined a couple of key traits he inherited from his parents – the sharp logic of his scientist mother and love of music of his violinist father. He has been involved with a number of studios during his illustrious career, one of the earliest being 'Sí Sostenido', which is one of the largest in Ecuador. Jero works with artists and genres of all kinds, both in live sound and in studio recording, mixing, and mastering – yet he considers his forte to be rock, pop, traditional music and sound innovation.
During his career, Jero has received four Latin Grammy nominations. Firstly, a nomination for his work with singer Juan Fernando Velasco in 2007 and two more with singer Paulina Aguirre. Then, in 2013, another nomination for the project 'De Taitas y de Mamas', which aimed to bring new life to the traditional songs of his Ecuadorian elders. Currently, Jero heads his own studio, Audiofreak Lab, where he works with popular artists such as Marqués, one of the most important pop singers in the Ecuadorian scene, plus the very talented Manuela Solines, the folk metal band Curare and many more.
Jero's philosophy is to make each of his works better than the previous one, attributing his ability to do so largely to the equipment he uses. "I've made sure to collect amazing things: good hardware, good plugins and great monitors. The fantastic monitoring loudspeakers from Genelec have helped me a lot in my career." At Audiofreak Lab, Jero has a stereo Genelec Smart Active (SAM) Monitoring system consisting of two 8341As from The Ones Series and a 7360 SAM Subwoofer.
But for Jero, quality doesn't lie solely in the equipment, it also extends to the room's acoustics. He asserts that despite its small size, his room sounds very good. "It's a room that sounds super flat, and that, combined with the self-calibration of the Genelecs, gives me a perfect reference. This allows one to unleash all their art without the fear of making mistakes."
Discover more about Jero Cilveti, his fascinating career and his studio in our exclusive One on One interview video, directly from Audiofreak Lab in Quito, which you can watch by clicking the play button below this article.
For more information about Jero Cilveti, visit:
Instagram: @jerocilvetiaudiofreak
For more information about Genelec in Ecuador, visit: www.easa-ec.com
