After putting in countless hours, Brownsville artist Cleiri Quezada is taking the next step in her musical career by signing with a record label and planning to record and release her first studio album in 2023.
Raised in Brownsville with roots in Jalisco, Mexico, Cleiri signed with CHR Records June 9 with the agreement of having a full 10-track album.
CHR Records is an independent record label based in Harlingen, which was founded in 2017 by Charles Hearn, Hilda Lamas and Rick Garcia. The label focuses on multiple genres that include Tejano, conjunto and blues, to name a few.
Always intending to launch a music career, the 2021 Brownsville Music Legacy Awardsโ Best New Singer and Songwriter said she has been singing since she was a child at church and whenever opportunities became available.
โMusic has always been my passion,โ Cleiri told The Rider by telephone from Teocaltiche, Jalisco, Mexico. โI always knew I would get involved in music. โฆ I certainly did not predict that, in the near future, I would be putting this project together.โ
Performing in her former band, Even Four Five, before the COVID-19 pandemic, they reunited in July 2021 with the condition that the band perform under Cleiriโs name for the goal of marketing herself as a solo artist.
Cleiri is employed at the Brownsville Public Utilities Board as senior communications and public relations coordinator. She is a former editor-in-chief of The Collegian, the student newspaper at legacy institution University of Texas at Brownsville.
Last summer, she had a residency at Isla Grand Beach Resort on South Padre Island and said it is exciting for her to take this direction in her musical career and is looking forward to what the future is going to bring.
โItโs very nerve-wracking as well because, now โฆ I have to dedicate the time now to really put all the effort into writing and producing this album,โ Cleiri said. โItโs going to be my first studio album. โฆ Itโs a huge project that I have, but Iโm very excited and I feel very blessed to have this opportunity.โ
During contract talks with CHR Records, she made it known what certain elements she wanted in the album and for it to be fully in Spanish.
โI want it to be, like, my breakthrough into the music industry,โ Cleiri said. โSo, I want it to reflect my heritage because Iโm Hispanic but, you know, thereโs a very specific part of Mexico that my familyโs from. Right now, Iโm in Teocaltiche, Jalisco, and so itโs where mariachi was born. Itโs not going to be a mariachi album, but it is going to be heavily influenced by Spanish ballad sounds and very strong guitar acoustic sounds, as well.โ
With the album in the early stages of production, Cleiri hopes it has an original but familiar sound that people all over Latin America and the United States can enjoy.
She is working with CHR Records co-founder Garcia to produce the album.
โHopefully, between now and the end of the year, weโll have a complete 10-song package done to present at the first of the year out to the public,โ Garcia said. โAnd I think, personally, sheโs going to knock it out of the park.โ
Garcia said he initially communicated with Cleiri through Facebook and later met her at an event in San Diego, Texas, where she sang and garnered the attention of the audience and the media.
He said it was when Cleiri was giving interviews to the news media right after the performance that he noticed she had a good personality for the music business.
Initially, she was not ready to commit to the record label but they stayed in touch and, about a year later, discussed the pros and cons of signing with CHR Records. Cleiri decided to sign a deal.
โIโm not entirely sure right now what direction weโre going to take Cleiri in [musically], but the bottom line is she does everything wonderfully,โ Garcia said. โโฆ We plan to do a lot of different styles of music and โฆ the project will kind of just lend itself to whatever creativity comes about.โ
He added that with Cleiri being versatile in different genres and bilingual, the sky is the limit for her.
Comparing the progression of the album to a football field of 100 yards, Garcia said it is about at the 40-yard line right now and hopes that the album will come out during the first quarter of 2023.
With Cleiri, staff writers and producers currently in the studio, the record label hopes to release a Christmas track after Thanksgiving. Garcia also said they hope to possibly release two singles leading up to the album.
โIโm very confident about Cleiri as an artist and I feel very good about marketing her as an artist of CHR Records,โ Garcia said. โโฆ It generally takes a little while to break a new artist, but Iโm willing to take the journey and sheโs willing to do the journey.โ
Asked what is unique about Cleiri as an artist, Garcia replied, โCleiri has a natural drive and passion for the music.โ
โThis girl is a workhorse,โ he said. โShe is a nonstop, always thinking about music, kind of an artist. And, really, thatโs what separates โฆ those who make it professionally.โ
To find Cleiriโs music, social media and to keep up to date with her, visit Cleiri.com.
โThis album is really a labor of my heart and itโs going to take everything from me,โ Cleiri said. โI want to be very careful about what I put in this album. I donโt want to put just sounds. โฆ Itโs very important to be able to love what I write and what I hear. And I feel that at the end of the day, this album should communicate to people a story, an idea and a feeling. And thatโs my ultimate goal.โ
