Raul Midon - Synthesis - International Music Network

Raul Midon Pushes Musical BoundariesBy Cathy Rose A. GarciaStaff Reporter02-26-2008The name Raul Midon may not ring a bell. But try searching for Midon's live performances onYouTube and you'll wonder why he's not yet a superstar.Midon is literally a one-man band on stage, armed with his distinctive soulful voice, while hisfingers work magic on a guitar. When you have the immense talent of this man, a voice andguitar is all you need.``I've always been a musician. I think music chooses you,'' Midon told The Korea Times. The41-year-old blind singer has earned rave reviews for his first two albums, 2005's ``A State ofMind'' and 2007's ``A World Within a World."Being blind never stopped Midon from pursuing his dream as a musician. Midon and his twinbrother were born in Embudo, New Mexico, to his Argentinean father and African-Americanmother. They became blind as babies, when they were placed in an incubator without properprotection for the eyes.Midon learned to play drums when he was four years old, and began playing the guitar when hewas six years old. Later, he was accepted in the University of Miami's jazz program. Aftercollege, he started singing backup for stars such as Shakira, Alejandro Sanz, Jennifer Lopez,Christina Aguilera and Ricky Martin.Did he consider being blind an obstacle to pursuing a career in music? ``No, I think it is an asset.I think being blind helped me to focus and direct my life better. I knew what I could and couldn'tdo and with lots of practice I became good at it,'' he said.Midon writes and composes his own music, which he describes as a mix of ``eclectic, genrejumping,pop, jazz fusion.'' His unique guitar-playing skills have also attracted a lot of attention.``I absorbed a lot of techniques from studying classical, flamenco and jazz guitar. Then I startedbreaking the rules of those traditions and came up with something that was my own,'' heexplained.Midon has been compared to Donnie Hathaway and another blind superstar musician, StevieWonder. He is flattered to be compared to his idols, saying that this only pushes him to become abetter musician.