Lester Mendez
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Lester Mendez | |
---|---|
Origin | Havana, Cuba |
Occupation(s) | Producer, Songwriter, Composer, Arranger, Audio Engineer |
Instrument(s) | Piano, Keyboards, Synthesizers, modular synthesizers, Drums, Programming (music), Percussion |
Lester Mendez is a multi-platinum, Grammy award-winning record producer, songwriter and composer. His production/writing credits include a multitude of successful hits with Shakira, Jewel, Nelly Furtado, Jessica Simpson, Enrique Iglesias, and others.
Career
Starting out professionally as a session musician and programmer, he worked on a variety of music and genres, including Hip hop, Miami bass, Freestyle music, House music / Deep house, World music, Pop music and Latin pop. Mendez's keyboard, programming, arranging, and remixing credits include artists such as: Jimmy Page, David Coverdale, David Byrne, Spice Girls, Pet Shop Boys, Grace Jones, PM Dawn, Bee Gees, Jennifer Lopez, Ricky Martin, Babyface, Martika, Chris de Burgh, Johnny Mathis, Will Smith, Collective Soul, Angélique Kidjo, Byron Stingily, Exposé, Paris by Air, Gloria Estefan, Chynna Phillips, Regina Belle, Gerald Alston, Phyllis Hyman, Jaydee, Haddaway, Deep Forest, Lonnie Gordon, Cerrone, Jimmy "Bo" Horne, Murk (band), Funky Green Dogs, Qkumba Zoo, Wubble-U, Nuclear Valdez, Afro-Rican, Lulu, the seminal freestyle band Will To Power (band), and many others.
His early production / songwriting career saw him working with Chris Blackwell's Island Records artists Grace Jones, Angélique Kidjo, Baaba Maal, Dominican-born rapper Mangu (rapper) , and others.
As his career continued to grow as a producer & songwriter, he went on to work with a number of artists, including: Carlos Santana, Jason Mraz, Josh Groban, Dido, Sia, Nelly Furtado, Shakira, Seal, Donna Summer, Anastacia, Ricky Martin, Enrique Iglesias, Sean Paul, Jem, Kerli, Oh land, Ladyhawke, Mike Posner, Sam Sparro, Mr Little Jeans, Adam Lambert, PlayRadioPlay!, Tarkan, Mark Feehily, Skylar Stecker, Rittz, She Is We and others. Most recently, he founded a project called Gemini Rising, in which he writes and produces all the music. Fellow collaborators on the project are Fiora (musician) and Tensnake. He also produced and co-wrote all 10 songs on the debut album by Claude Fontaine, a project he co-developed and co-conceived with Claude. The album was released on Innovative Leisure Records in the spring of 2019.
Awards
Award | Year | Category | Work | Result | Ref(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Grammy Awards | 2006 | Best Latin Rock or Alternative Album | Fijación Oral, Vol. 1 | Won | [1] |
Latin Grammy Awards | 2006 | Album of the Year | Fijación Oral, Vol. 1 | Won | [2] |
Best Female Pop Vocal Album | Won | ||||
Record of the Year | "La Tortura" | Won |
Discography (select)
Artist | Song | Album | Producer | Co-Writer |
---|---|---|---|---|
Claude Fontaine | Lover's Vow | La Mer | × | × |
Claude Fontaine | Love The Way You Love | La Mer | × | × |
Claude Fontaine | Vaqueiro | La Mer | × | × |
Niko Rubio | Besito | Single | × | × |
Loyal Lobos | Una Bitch | Single | Co-Producer | |
Loyal Lobos | Pienso En Ti | Single | Co-Producer | |
Loyal Lobos | Si Tu No Esta Aqui | Single | Co-Producer | |
Haley Reinhart | Off The Ground | Off The Ground - Single | × | |
Tensnake | Nightshift (feat. Fiora) | L.A. | Co-Producer | × |
Coco Morier | After Hours | After Hours - Single | × | × |
Gemini Rising | Best Case Life | Best Case Life | × | × |
Speed Of Sound | × | × | ||
Sunrise Boulevard | × | × | ||
Just Because | × | × | ||
After The Rain | × | × | ||
Orbit | × | × | ||
Morph | × | × | ||
Stars Come To An End | × | × | ||
Close Enough To Breathe | × | × | ||
The Future | × | × | ||
Tangy | × | × | ||
Nightsky | × | × | ||
Let It Go By | × | × | ||
Claude Fontaine | Cry For Another | Claude Fontaine | × | × |
Hot Tears | × | × | ||
Little Sister | × | × | ||
Love Street | × | × | ||
Play By Play | × | × | ||
Pretending He Was You | × | × | ||
I'll Play The Fool | × | × | ||
Strings Of Your Guitar | × | × | ||
Footprints In The Sand | × | × | ||
Our Last Goodbye | × | × | ||
Josh Groban | Musica Del Corazon | Bridges | × | × |
Delhia De France | Waterfalls | Moirai EP | Co-Producer | × |
Tensnake | Hello? | Hello - Single | Co-Producer | × |
Gemini Rising | Best Case Life | Gemini Rising-EP | × | × |
Sunrise Boulevard | × | × | ||
Stellaris | × | × | ||
Better Days | × | × | ||
Svala | Paper | Eurovision Song Contest 2017 | × | × |
Skylar Stecker | Everlasting | This is me | × | × |
Kerli | Feral Hearts | Deepest Roots | × | × |
Walking on Air | Love is Dead | × | × | |
Hurt Me | × | × | ||
She is We | Blue | War | × | × |
Marcus Feehily | Find My Way | Fire | × | × |
Coco Morier | No Pressure | Dreamer | × | × |
Dreamer | × | × | ||
World on Fire | × | × | ||
No Stranger(To Love) | × | × | ||
Walking In Our Sleep | × | × | ||
All Cats Are Grey | × | × | ||
Blood Moon | × | × | ||
Dido | Stoned | Life For Rent | × | |
Just Say Yes | Girl Who Got Away | × | ||
Santana | Saideira feat. Samuel Rosa | Corazón | × | |
La Flaca feat. Juanes | × | |||
Mal Bicho feat. Los Fabulosos Cadillacs | × | |||
Iron Lion Zion feat. Ziggy Marley & ChocQuibTown | × | |||
Una Noche en Nápoles feat. Lila Downs, Niña Pastori & Soledad | × | |||
Margarita feat. Romeo Santos | × | |||
Feel It Coming Back feat. Diego Torres | × | |||
Amor Correspondido feat. Diego Torres | × | |||
Cry Baby Cry feat. Joss Stone & Sean Paul | All That I Am | × | × | |
Brown Skin Girl feat. Bo Bice | × | |||
I Am Somebody feat. Will.I.AM | × | |||
Amore (Sexo) feat. Macy Gray | Shaman | × | × | |
Satellite feat. Marc Anthony | × | × | ||
Why Don't You & I feat. Chad Kroeger | × | |||
You Are My Kind feat. Seal | × | |||
Shakira | Antes De Las Seis | Sale El Sol | × | × |
Lo Que Más | × | |||
Illegal feat. Carlos Santana | Oral Fixation, Vol.2 | × | × | |
Don't Bother | × | |||
How Do You Do | × | |||
Dreams For Plans | × | |||
Your Embrace | × | |||
Costume For A Clown | × | |||
Timor | × | |||
La Tortura feat Alejandro Sanz | Fijación Oral, Vol.1 | × | ||
La Pared | × | × | ||
No feat Gustavo Cerati | × | × | ||
Obtener Un Si | × | × | ||
Escondite Inglés | × | |||
Las de la Intuición | × | |||
Dia De Enero | × | |||
Lo Imprescindible | × | × | ||
Underneath Your Clothes | Laundry Service | × | × | |
Objection (Tango) | × | × | ||
Rules | × | × | ||
Ready For The Good Times | × | × | ||
The One | × | |||
Fool | × | |||
Te Dejo Madrid | × | |||
Octavo Día | Dónde Están los Ladrones? | × | × | |
Ciega, Sordomuda | × | |||
Tú | × | |||
Moscas En La Casa | × | |||
Que Vuelvas | × | |||
Sean Paul | Cry Baby Cry feat. Joss Stone & Sean Paul | The Trinity | × | × |
Nelly Furtado | Más | Mi Plan | × | × |
Como Lluvia feat. Juan Luis Guerra | × | × | ||
Silencio feat. Josh Groban | × | × | ||
Vacación | × | × | ||
Te Busqué feat. Juanes | Loose | × | × | |
Undercover | × | × | ||
What I Wanted | × | × | ||
For Sure | × | × | ||
Nelly Furtado | Stars | The Best of Nelly Furtado | × | × |
Enrique Iglesias | Sad Eyes | Enrique | × | |
Enrique Iglesias | "Quizás" (Enrique Iglesias song) | Quizás | × | × |
Para Qué la Vida | × | × | ||
Mentiroso | × | |||
Josh Groban | Un Alma Mas feat Arturo Sandoval | All That Echoes | × | × |
E Ti Prometerro feat Laura Pausini | × | × | ||
False Alarms | × | |||
Voce Existe Em Mi | Illuminations | × | ||
Sam Sparro | Return To Paradise | Return To Paradise | × | × |
Adam Lambert | Broken English | Trespassing | × | × |
Shady feat Nile Rodgers & Sam Sparro | × | × | ||
Donna Summer | Be Myself Again | Crayons | × | × |
PlayRadioPlay! | Loco Motion | Texas | × | |
Madi | × | |||
Pirate & Princess | × | |||
See U Soon | × | |||
Tooth Decay | × | |||
Attendance | × | |||
Texas | × | |||
Jason Mraz | Mr.Curiosity | Mr. A–Z | × | |
Madi Diaz | Ghost Rider | Phantom | × | × |
Jewel | Forever and a Day (Always) | Lullaby | × | |
Jewel | Drive To You | Goodbye Alice In Wonderland | × | |
Stand | 0304 | × | × | |
Run 2 U | × | × | ||
Intuition | × | × | ||
Leave The Lights On | × | × | ||
2 Find You | × | × | ||
Fragile Heart | × | |||
Doin' Fine | × | × | ||
2 Become 1 | × | |||
Haunted | × | × | ||
Sweet Temptation | × | |||
Yes U Can | × | |||
U & Me=Love | × | × | ||
America | × | × | ||
Becoming | × | × | ||
Rittz | Switch Lanes feat Mike Posner | The Life and Times of Jonny Valiant | × | × |
Oh land | Helicopter | Oh land | × | × |
Ladyhawke | Human | Anxiety | × | |
Mr Little Jeans | Back To You | Pocketknife | × | × |
Far From Home | × | × | ||
Katie Noonan | Sweet One feat. Sia | Emperor's Box | × | |
Lamya | Black Mona Lisa - Single Mix | Learning from Falling | × | |
Anastacia | You'll Be Fine | Heavy Rotation | × | × |
Naughty | × | × | ||
Same Song | × | |||
All Fall Down | × | |||
The Way I See It | × | |||
Wyclef Jean | Three Nights In Rio feat. Carlos Santana | The Preacher's Son | × | |
Mýa | Do You Only Want To Dance | Dirty Dancing : Havana Nights | × | × |
Jem | It's Amazing | Down To Earth | × | × |
I Want You To | × | × | ||
I Always Knew | × | × | ||
On Top OF The World | × | × | ||
Once in Every Lifetime | Eragon | × | × | |
Jeffree Star | Get Physical | Beauty Killer | × | × |
Gorgeous | × | × | ||
Kiss it Better | Single | × | × | |
Jessica Simpson | A Public Affair | A Public Affair | × | × |
The Lover In Me | × | |||
Let Him Fly | × | |||
Paulina Rubio | Algo De Ti | Gran City Pop | × | |
A Contra Luz | × | |||
Escaleras De Arena | × | |||
Angelique Kidjo | Fifa | Fifa | × | |
Akwaba | × |
References
- ^ "Lester Mendez". grammy.com. The Recording Academy. Retrieved 1 November 2020.
- ^ "Lester Mendez". latingrammy.com. The Latin Recording Academy. Retrieved 1 November 2020.