We recently connected with Guiize and have shared our conversation below.
Guiize, so good to have you with us today. We’ve always been impressed with folks who have a very clear sense of purpose and so maybe we can jump right in and talk about how you found your purpose?
A year and a half ago, as I was preparing to come to Berklee College of Music for a week-long summer program in Boston, the most important person in my life — my mother — passed away suddenly back home in Brazil. The last time we’d seen each other was in 2018 when she came to visit. Music was not just a dream for me, but seeing me pursue it was also her dream. She was beyond excited and proud that I had decided to take that leap of faith and find my way into the most prestigious school of contemporary music in the world. That was the reason I originally moved to the United States from Brazil back in 2013. Almost ten years fighting and finding my voice, I went off to Berklee heartbroken that my mother would not be alive to see where I’d gotten. But her spirit was cheering me on. At the end of the week, with the help of two amazing faculty members, I was awarded a scholarship that helped me get my foot into the door. That life-altering moment made me realize I am meat for music; there has to be something special within me that I need to share with the world, and I was determined to find that. As I finished my first semester in August, I ended up writing songs like I never had before. Words have poured out of me making me realize there is greater purpose to the hardships we go through in life. Writing about them feels like a therapeutic moment where I get to sit in sadness only to transform it into melody. I am now inspired by the ability to write songs that I never thought existed in me.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
I am a singer-songwriter originally from Campinas, Brazil. Singing is first and foremost my biggest passion, but I am also a piano player and a self-taught guitar player. I have been writing songs that fall within the r&b and pop realm, but with always with a hint of dark and sadness. I currently study at Berklee College of Music and live in Cambridge, Massachusetts. My biggest inspirations are great vocalists, Christina Aguilera, Ella Fitzgerald, Donny Hathaway… and I also love modern r&b/pop that goes a bit dark, like Billie Eilish and rum.gold. I am beginning planning on creating my first EP with songs I have written in my first semester at Berklee, so that is what I am looking forward to the most.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
I feel like self-mastery is the single most important quality we need to have (and consistently work on). It took me decades to understand things about my self, how my voice works and what works best for it; the more I dive deep into myself, my fears, my tendencies and habits, and the harder I strive to live outside of my comfort zone, the more I learn about myself. Every day I am finding out new things I am, how my body works, and where my mind exists in this universe. I also believe things flourish when I learn to balance creativity, good will, and faith. Those values allow me to expand on what I want to achieve while staying humble and grounded.
One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?
I am always looking to collaborate, cowrite, record, perform, all of the above. I would love to find a produce who would want to embark on the journey of bringing my first EP to life, as producing is something I am not proficient at.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @guiizemusic
- SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/guiizemusic
- Other: gmusic@berklee.edu
