Addys Mercedes

Addys was born in Moa, and grew up in Guantanamo, Camaguey, Sagua de Tanamo and Moa. As a child she longed for becoming a ballet dancer or actress, what was kind of impossible coming from a modest family with 3 brothers and sisters being raised only by her mother and living far away from the capital Havana. Already as a small child she started singing from morning to evening and the neighbours used to come over and ask her to sing for them.

10 years old she had a huge repertoire - from Cuban songs and boleros, Mexican rancheras up to American pop-songs. The guitar teacher at the local music school fell in love with Addys' voice and started rehearsing for a duo-programm with her that they started performing on any upcoming occasion. Since in school she learned Russian she imtated the sound of the English lyrics and enjoyed the moment where everybody thought she could speak English. On the streets people started shouting: "Here comes the singer".

15 years old she started performing with her first professional band "Timbre Latino". Just little later she was asked by the then nationally successful band "Los Neiras" to join them. When her classmates used to meet, Addys daily went to long hour rehearsals and learned from elder experienced musicians.

17 years old Addys became part of a newly founded band having a daily gig in the tourist area Guardalavaca. During the periodo especial where food was difficult to obtain, this was the gig every musician was dreaming of. She had a room in the hotel and was fully catered. With the fee and tip she made she was able to maintain her whole family. Also musically it was a new experience, since the band mixed Cuban music with pop and rock and she was able to perform in front of an international audience.

Europe
18 years old, Addys was invited to Gelsenkirchen, a formerly industrial city in Germany and quickly learned German. To make her living she had to sing in a trio - popular songs like Guantanamera and La Cucaracha - whereever being invited, even if it was a petrol station or a supermarket. It took her a few years to understand the different culture and mentality and finding her cultural niche in Germany to follow her dream of writing and singing her own songs.

She left the trio and moved to Duesseldorf. She started writing songs with Cae Davis and the production of her debut album which was mainly recorded in Havana with musicians from her hometown Moa. Special guest was Raul Planas. Mundo Nuevo was released in 2001 on the label Media Luna (Warner) and became a huge success.

In 2003 Addys released her second album "Nomad" (Media Luna / Sony) that was recorded between Germany and Barcelona and mixed her Cuban roots with electronic elements.
Since 2001 Addys played hundreds of concerts and toured through 16 European countries sharing stage with artists like Eric Clapton, Bob Geldof, Mike Rutherford, Gary Brooker, Ringo Starr, Juan Luis Guerra, Los Van Van, Ibrahim Ferrer, Compay Segundo and Tito Nieves.

Spain
From 2005 Addys took a break and lived a few years at the canarian island Tenerife in Spain following her desire to live in a sunny place, spending more time with her daughter, writing songs and developing her musicall skills. She took classes in classical singing, percussion and guitar. Addys frequently appeared on TV and was presented on national TV-stations like Antena3, Tele5, MTV and regional stations.

Her daughter Lia started playing the violin and was accepted in the the advanced program of the Conservatory. Following Lia’s need to further develope her musical talent, they moved back to Germany and now reside at Essen, where Lia became a junior student at Folkwang University at the age of 11.

Album „Addys“
In 2012 the third album „Addys“ was successfully released in Germany. The arrangements witness a new selfconfidence in songwriting, away fom clichés. Rockguitars are replacing latin hornsections and salsa-pianos. Addys warm voice draws the