Expressing a true passion for music, Colombian artist and producer Juanita Carvajal has dominated and perfected her craft in every part of the industry for the past 10 years. Whether she’s working on tour, writing behind the scenes, producing in the booth, or performing live by her stage name, Soy Emilia, Carvajal has done it all. Recently focusing her attention on her second album, Argidulce (“Bittersweet” in English), which is set for release this July, Carvajal was looking for studio monitors that she could trust to bring her music the groove and bass she desired. After working with KRK in the early days of her career, Carvajal knew the brand could get the job done and turned to the KRK ROKIT 5 White Noise Studio Monitors.
“I fell in love with the sound of ROKITs back in 2010, when the first artist I worked for, Esteman, was using them,” explained Carvajal. “When creating Argidulce, I wanted a lot of rhythmic instruments and the groove you get with good bass and drums. My ROKIT 5s really involve those low frequencies in the sound and make you feel it. They put it all together for me nicely. The groove works with the bass, and the drums work with the kick, and it all sounds really accurate. Even when I’m mixing through headphones, they sound amazing.”
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Appropriately named, Argidulce is the product of years of hard work on Carvajal’s part. Entirely self-taught in every industry role, she had to learn the ropes the hard way, at times playing the role of booker, tour manager, and product manager without even realizing it. “I do a lot of things myself for my album―recording instruments, making edits, working on the mix. I taught myself everything, but the music business is tough,” Carvajal explained. “As women, we must demonstrate that we are producers, that we have the knowledge, that we can work in post. We must show that we are good enough and that we earned our place in the studio.”
Living through these circumstances has only made Carvajal want to combat the discrepancies more. She took her passion and turned it into a teaching opportunity, sharing her music industry and business knowledge with women who started off just like her. “I love to teach music to women,” she shares. “I remember how hard it was for me to learn certain aspects of my craft, to figure out the secrets that no one tells you. I share tricks that will make playing bass easier and faster, the stuff I had to figure out on my own. I also have a few friends that I teach to record themselves using Ableton Live, and I do independent sessions with a few students. When I teach women, it’s like we’re equals, and that part is really important to me.”
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When she’s not teaching or working on her new album, Carvajal is creating and collaborating on a number of new projects that she has on the horizon. “I have a lot of future plans,” she said. “The next single for my album, called "Sugar Daddy," was released April 22. I also have a close relationship with an electronic band from Colombia. We have one song done that will be coming out after my album, and we are composing an EP together. Personally, I’m already working on a second EP for next year with another producer, Pablo. I’ve also been collaborating with a metal band in Guadalajara, and I’m composing songs for a girl who’s just getting into being an artist. Really, ever since I got the ROKITs, I haven’t stopped making music.
“Working with the ROKITs has been great,” Carvajal concluded. “I’m able to sing and write and play when creating because these monitors just let you jam out. They also have a way of involving all the music. When I would use other monitors, I could picture the sound as a triangle, with a very high frequency. However, when I listen to music on my ROKITs, they create a round sound that involves every part of the audio, and no one sound is overpowering. I love that about the ROKITs, you can have and hear everything."
