J.I. Mena

Without knowing that this was a profession and that I would dedicate myself to it in the future, this was my first musical production when I was around 12 years old:

Before learning to play any instrument, I enjoyed tinkering with old PHILIP cassette recorders that my father had in a drawer. I didn’t know that devices like multitracks or mixing consoles existed, but I “invented” something similar.

I cut the cables of three headphones and connected the parts with the minijack connectors.

To give you an idea, it was shaped like a "Y."

This way, I managed to connect one cassette recorder (where I recorded my voice) and a Casio keyboard (where I could play rhythms and melodies) directly to another cassette recorder to record the mix of both.

And that’s how my first song was recorded!

I was born in 1980, in Ronda, a city in southern Spain, where my interest in music primarily came from what I heard from the U.S.

In 2011, I started making a living exclusively from music. I began playing in bands across various genres such as Blues, Country, Soul, Funk, and Rock, and I learned their key characteristics.

This led me to delve into the history of Blues, its artists, and the evolution of its sound through related styles over the decades.

This is how I gained recognition as a Blues artist in Spain. My name appears in the book "Todo Blues," and I’ve performed at important Blues festivals like "Cazorla Blues" in my country.

I’ve always produced my own albums, as well as mixed and mastered for other artists.

Now, it seems that my entire musical career, spanning over 20 years, has reached its sweet spot since I started writing music for film, TV, and commercials.

By chance, in 2019, three of my songs were included in a TV series that premiered on Amazon Prime, "Caronte."

This experience opened my eyes to the world of production for this sector of the music industry, and since then, I’ve devoted my time to understanding the legal and technical aspects surrounding it.

Currently, I’m writing music for some Publishers from USA and UK
I have a playlist with some of my latest productions if you’d like to get a general overview of my work.

If you’ve listened to any of my songs and are interested in working with me, you can contact me at homegrownmusicmakers@gmail.com.