In a way, the voice of Ingrid Castro was the catalyst for Peruvian Metal Month. Her powerful, emotional performances on Hamadría’s ‘Sesión de Estudio’ set the whole project in motion. Shortly after her departure from that band, we talked with her about her background as a singer and what her musical plans for the future are.

“I have kept various ideas and rehearsals in a suitcase that I have not been able to develop further because I did not have the time for it”, Castro states. “Maybe it is time to let those see the light of day. But if I do, I will have to carefully select the group of people I will collaborate with. I now feel that working solo or with a team of people requires time to select the right people, because that will directly impact whether or not things will go well. Being aligned with people in terms of morals and principles has become very important to me.

On the other hand, several offers have been made to me. However, I would like to take the time to make the right decisions and do things the right way. But one thing is for sure: I will continue teaching singing and following this musical path. So I hope to be able to give you some news about a specific new project someday soon.”

Interpretations

Most recordings that are available with Castro’s voice feature her singing other people’s vocal melodies and lyrics. Singing those convincingly requires specific skills. “Fortunately, that is not too complicated for me”, she says. “However, I do have to work on the songs to be able to give them my own spin vocally. When I’m rehearsing them, I try different interpretations of the songs. Sometimes I make test recordings, so I can adhere to the interpretation that feels most comfortable to me and that fits what the song in its totality needs to convey.

It is very important to understand the message of a song in order to be able to interpret it in the best way possible. When I sing a song, I try to relate the lyrics to personal experiences I have had. It actually is similar to what actors do when they immerse themselves in a role. Through the years, I have implemented a couple of theater workshops in my musical education, and that has really helped me find better interpretations for the songs I sing.”

Those songs are primarily in Spanish, but Castro does have experience singing in English. “I definitely feel more comfortable singing in Spanish, because it is my native language”, she admits. “But I do like singing in English. It’s a great way of improving my pronunciation. I’m still studying on my English and a little bit of French, but I feel encouraged trying to sing in other languages, simply because it is a challenge for me.”

Connection with Metal

“People have told me I started singing when I was about two or three years old. Of course, I was not aware of it, as it all started in a playful way. When I was seven years old, I performed at a festival on my school and the following year, I started singing in the church choir. I started loving rock music when I was six years old and I first heard the Red Hot Chili Peppers. At that moment, I was inspired by the energy Anthony Kiedis had when he sang. Since then, I wanted to be in a band.

My connection with metal came later, when I was about eleven years old. I started listening to Spanish-language metal; my main inspiration at the time was Rata Blanca. I really wanted to be able to do those pronounced falsettos, and that’s how I started looking for more bands in the same genre by myself.

Through the years, I have always studied singing. Later on, I got the chance to sing in small bars. That was the perfect way to get in touch with other musicians. When I was fourteen, fifteen, I played rock songs with a band, and when I was sixteen, I met with a couple of friends to write songs for what was to become our first original metal project.

That band was called Ensamhet, which is Swedish for solitude. Stylistically, it was a power metal band with Peruvian folk elements. That’s when my friends and I became a part of the Peruvian metal scene. The funny thing is that my second name is Soledad, which is Spanish for solitude. I was very happy when the guys came up with that name. We made one four-song demo, but ‘Ragnarok’ and ‘Dama Durmiente’ were the only two songs that were released.”

Experimenting with New Sounds

“Even though singing started playfully for me at a young age, I developed my technique by practicing constantly and training my voice by means of singing lessons. That’s how I gradually developed my voice. To this day, I’m still experimenting with my voice by trying to make new sounds. As I always say: the most beautiful thing about this particular art form is that you never stop learning something new.

I am always motivated by learning to do new things with my voice. When I really wanted to have a band as a child, I worked hard to have a good voice and develop a good technique. That was my goal at the time, and that is why I was inspired by singers who had great technique. These days, my main goal is to have my interpretations bring songs to a higher level. Because of that, I have been looking for singers who sing multiple musical genres. Listening to them motivates me to dig into their versatility and all of the vocal resources they apply. That inspires me to try more and more things with my own voice.

In my opinion, being able to do falsetto’s and more raspy vocals have been my biggest developments since I started singing. To this day, I am trying to work on my rawer screams. Being able to sing at the Gran Teatro Nacional de Perú for a public television show has been a very enriching experience.

But the biggest developments I think have come from becoming a vocal coach. In the beginning, it was quite a challenge, because there is a considerable gap between being able to sing and being able to teach singing, or being a guide from someone else. I know I will get more experienced over time. Not just as a vocal coach, but also as a singer.”

Personalized Routines

Giving singing lessons has become an important part of Castro’s life. And she appears to enjoy the fact that their students don’t just want to learn how to sing metal. “My students have various musical tastes”, she explains. “Which is a challenge, because every musical genre has its own defined characteristics that need to be tackled. I like the enthusiasm they show for learning how to sing, regardless of their age. Some want to sing rock, others metal, rap, ballads, pop, anything.

My students usually communicate with me through social media. That really helps me making them familiar with my work and teaching them how to do things I have done. During the pandemic, it was also a great opportunity to learn how to work with a few tools I had not taken into consideration, such as TikTok.

I teach them everything to do with singing popular music, vocal music theory and personalized routines based on what they are trying to achieve. Since my lessons are usually in person and one-on-one, that personal aspect of it is important to me. During this process, it is important to make them understand how their internal muscles operate and what their weak points are, so we can develop those with specific practice routines.

When I was taking singing lessons, I would have loved to have learned how I could apply vocal techniques to the songs I was singing at the time. That really would have helped speed up my progress.”

Contributions

Aside from her own bands, Castro has appeared as a guest singer on quite a few recordings from other Peruvian bands over the past couple of years. “Each voice is unique and has a different way to assimilate and interpret the music”, she says. “Depending on what the musicians who approach me want to do with their projects, I think I can contribute in various ways.

Sometimes they give me a demo that already has a vocal melody. If that is the case, my most important contribution is my interpretation or at least the timbre of my voice. Other times, they just give me the lyrics and ask me to work on a melody. In those cases, my creativity on a melodic level and my ability to connect to the message of the lyrics is my contribution. Regardless of my specific input, everything is polished by coordinating and meeting with the band.”

Most recently, Castro has been performing live with Flor de Loto. “That all started when they asked me to record a song with them as a collaboration during the pandemic”, she explains. “Finding my place within their music was not difficult for me. I love the style of music they play and I understood what the band wanted from me. Also, they are very good at communicating what they want from me and how I can contribute with my voice.”

Motivational

“Peru is a centralized country, so Lima usually is the place where you can find the better options in terms of equipment and productions. But when we are talking about audiences… The population density of Lima makes it possible for us to find a larger audience, but we generally find incredibly passionate audiences further inland.

I would love to see a change in the way people think about ‘true metal’ in the scene, including the dividing lines between different subgenres. There is a lot of talent here and sometimes, we are not even aware of it, so I would love to see people being more open to new suggestions. In the music industry, I would love to see people being more open to artists who take risks with new ideas, and I would like to see them value national productions a little more.”

With Spanish being the prevalent language in a large part of South America, however, Castro’s appeal does not have to stop at Peru’s national borders. “The reactions from the rest of Latin America have been positive”, she nods. “It was a pleasant surprise to receive the first reactions from foreigners to my videos. Fortunately, the messages I have received from people in other countries have been very motivational and I am grateful for that. This also got me in touch with a number of foreign students with whom I do online sessions.”