StarCitizen:Juan Garcia-Herreros
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Juan García-Herreros, whose real indigenous name is "Snow Owl”, is a composer, producer and bassist who worked with Pedro Camacho on the Star Citizen music for patch Alpha 4.3 Dark Territory, for which he did picked and bowed electric basses.<ref>"[...] @6StringOwl (picked and bowed electric basses) [...] Also the main bass motif started with me and then finished with Juan Garcia-Herreros wonderful good taste. More importantly it was the first time we worked together!", @pedrocamacho, Twitter, Aug 17, 2025</ref>
Other work
He's a composer, producer and bassist. He made several albums, including representing the three spirit paths a soul chooses when it enters this world: the Blue Road is the sprit way, the second one is the Red Road, which is the warriors way, while the Yellow Road is the balance between the warrior and the spirit.<ref name=":4" /><ref name=":3" /> After a video of his cover of Hans Zimmer music for the movie Inception was seen by him, he got invited to perform on The World oh Hans Zimmer.<ref name=":2" /> He worked with Hans Zimmer on the music for Denis Villeneuve version of StarCitizen:Dune.<ref>Dune: Hans Zimmer & Friends, soundonsound.com, April 2024</ref><ref name=":1">Britain's Rare Guitars - Snow Owl Interview, Juan Garcia-Herreros (Snow Owl), Youtube, 28 February 2020</ref><ref>Dark Side of the ‘Dune’: How the Movie’s Trailer Landed That Pink Floyd Cover, variety.com, Sep 15, 2020</ref> His sound collective Totem Warriors is producing soundtracks for [[StarCitizen::Category:Video games|video games]] and film, including Call Of Duty: Black Ops 6.<ref>totemwarriors.com</ref><ref>"Snow Owl reporting for Duty… Black Ops 6🔥🔥🔥 Thank you dear @pedromacedocamacho for introducing and recommending us to Jack Wall!", @6stringowl, instagram 25 October 2024</ref>
He taught at the University of Graz for four years but had to stop as he was too busy playing and touring.<ref name=":2" />
Awards
In 2019 he was voted Best Bass Player in the World by the readers of Music Radar, Bass Player Magazine and UK Bass Guitar Magazine.
Early Life
His grandmother was a percussionist.<ref name=":2">Bass Musician Magazine, 02/2017</ref> He was forced to flee Columbia with his family due to the guerilla war with the FARC and the drug cartels which was out of control in the 80s. His father was an airline pilot and famillies with some income were a target, kids were being kidnapped, meanwhile his uncle Rafael Garcia-Herreros was involved in putting Pablo Escobar in jail, so his familly left the country when he was 9 years old and they became refugees in New York.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":0">The inspiring story of bassist Snow Owl | Documentary, NYC, Thomastik-Infeld, Youtube, 27 November 2019</ref> He learned the flute, taught himnself the piano, didn't want to be a bass player originally, however when they moved to Florida his brother who was learning drums needed a bass player and bullied Juan into being a bass player. The first song he played on the bass was Smell Like Teen Spirit by Nirvana, and after an hour of it his fingers were bleeding.<ref name=":0" /> He was 14 when he started the bass. As there was no grounding and there were always lightning storms, he had to play wearing rubber boots to avoid being electrocuted and he even heard the military radio through the pickup.<ref name=":3">Latin Grammy nominated Snow Owl talks with Fiona Ross, jazzineurope.mfmmedia.nl, April 13, 2018</ref><ref name=":2" />At 16 he applied for a scholarship to the Berklee College of Music, while he had nothing, only holes in his pants. then he went back to New York. He was invited to the Tampa Bay Symphony when he was 17.<ref>Juan Garcia-Herreros: The Snow Owl, The World of Hans Zimmer – A Symphonic Celebration, highfidelity.pl, Issue 191, 1st March 2020</ref> His break came when he was 21 as he started playing with Michael Stuart for his tour, and then for Elton John tour, and from then on he would get recommended.<ref name=":2" />
After 9/11 he felt that many dreams had died that day and decided to achieve his dream to study composition so he went to Vienna which was known for classical music.<ref name=":0" />
Quotes
"Why are you going to pursue electric bass? You can’t even play in an orchestra with it." -Juan's guidance counsellor in high school.<ref>The 10 best bassists in the world right now, musicradar.com, 25.03.2019</ref>
External Links
Trivia
- He's using a bolt on contrabass that he designed with Andreas Navarro, made from alder ash and pear wood, named the Phoenix.<ref name=":1" /> It's the only bass he has at home.<ref name=":2" />
- He's a spokesman for the peace process in Colombia and runs the Unity Through Arts, an organization that does social welfare work for refugees.<ref name=":2" />
- His name was given to him in the jungles of Colombia by the leader of his tribe, which believes that man and nature are inseparable.<ref name=":4">Planting a Flag: Humankind Can Be United Through Music, debbieburkecreative.com, 14.11. 2017</ref> The owl has multiple meanings and characteristics, when someone is born, the leader of the tribe gives them a tribal name or a spirit animal name that he sees inside of the person. The chief looks at the person and says which animal from the spirit world the person is. Walk in the snow without leaving tracks is very symbolic of letting go of the past. The snow owl, and the person that carries the snow owl, is able to see within people’s darkness and bring them back to the light.<ref name=":3" />
- The face paint is a tribal mask called the "Face of the Universe” that carries cultural significance and on a deeper note its function is meant to deliver a spiritual message to each listener who is attending the performance.<ref name=":4" />