Stefani Montiel has given her debut album, Angel Baby, a digital release for the first time ever.
The six-time Grammy nominee has been singing since the age of 3 and she recorded her first 45 RPM single at age 5.
“I recorded my first album Angel Baby, which became my nick name back in New Mexico, when I was 9,” Montiel posted on her official Facebook page on Thursday. “I remember the day clearly….Alta Vista Recording Studio in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Herman Martinez was behind the console engineering, my dad producing and arranging the music along with my uncle Herbert Barela, Pete Gabaldon on drums and the rest of my dad’s band were laying down the tracks one by one. I was super sick, but we were on a time crunch and I had to record all my vocals that day… which I did, not even thinking twice about it.”
Montiel reminisced even more about the album, “It’s so strange to listen to this album…I was just a baby singing these songs. Most of the Spanish songs I didn’t even know what I was saying I just learned them phonetically (if you listen you’ll see by all the wrong & mispronounced words what I’m talking about LOL) it was by no means perfect, but what I love about it is that it was REAL. It was HONEST. No auto tuning, no fixing things up, it was me singing these songs because I wanted to and because I loved to sing!”
Montiel, who won Entertainer of the Year and Female Vocalist of the Year at last month’s Tejano Music Awards, decided on the digital release because of the demand of her fans.
“Lots of my fans have been asking for a re-release of this album for many years and we hadn’t done it until now,” she said. “We felt It was finally the right time. So, to those that have been asking… here it is! I hope it brings back great memories to you and your families, and hopefully it captures the hearts and ears of those that had never heard it.”
Angel Baby, which contains 10 songs from the beginning of her career, is available for digital download now at Montiel’s official website, StefaniMontiel.com.
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