Interview with Angel Estrada about his September show at The Space in Hamden

By Sarah Farquharson

Me: So, what were you thinking before the show.
Angel: I was thinking that I needed to do better than the last time, because I didn’t like that performance whatsoever. My voice wasn’t listening to me. Not that it cracked or anything; sounds wouldn’t come out.
Me: Did you have any good luck charms that you had with you for the show?
Angel: I guess my rings are my good luck charms. I use them as a symbol of my strength and unity even if they’re so different. They have chains on them.
Me: Did you say any prayers or inspirational quotes before you went on the stage?
Angel: I did pray for everything to go well in the first place. I mean, maybe everything didn’t turn out the way I wanted to because I didn’t do my part of the deal [with God], which was working towards becoming better.
Me: When you were on stage, what was going through your mind?
Angel: “I’m so nervous I hope I don’t choke”. Because I always end up choking in auditions. When I actually do a concert it just comes naturally. [It] doesn’t make sense; it should be the other way around. I feel better ever ytime I finish a show. I feel so much better because I feel accomplished and it’s something I wanted to do. I was scared people wouldn’t accept me. It’s what’s right for myself. Going out into a crowd and singing, you might make a complete fool of yourself. But it’s like coming out to your family and being yourself, because your family won't always accept you for who you are. It’s sad but it is true. My family doesn’t accept the fact that I sing like a girl; they’re close-minded. They don’t like it. They say “ Boys sings like boys and girls sing like girls.” Men in choirs during the 16th century who were castrated or not; they were trained to do it. It was because women weren’t allowed in theater and in choirs. When everything changed those men retired from their positions they never returned to public again. There are still men out there who still do that.  bring up that information in the conversation and they say, “What about now?” We all have to look into the past to see our mistakes and what was right and wrong. Singing and vocal tone isn’t a mistake, it’s not wrong. Everyone likes it. 
Me: What do you think you’ll take away from this experience?
Angel: Power,individuality, and confidence is what I take away from this. I tell my family because I am proud of myself because I have done something that made me happy regardless of their opinion. I like making myself happy. I’m going to do it because it is my gift and talent. It is something that makes me special. The people around me in the outside world love it. They are fascinated by this. I tell them it takes years and months of practice and it’s all worth it once you have it down pat.
Me: So what do you plan on doing with your singing career?
Angel: I plan to do as much as I can; that’s pretty much my plan. I want to be out there. It’s not about fame or money. It makes people happy; it makes me happy. I’m reaching out to the people who need to hear me. There are people on Youtube waiting for me to post new videos. International people don’t really hear trapsinging every day. They love it and ask questions. One girl inboxed me and said, “I really love your channel, keep doing what you do. I love your voice . Your videos are amazing...” I Just felt really good reading that. As long as they enjoy what I did it makes me happy. My goal as a singer is to create happiness. To manifest it with music within people.

Angel Estrada performs a "self duet" to DECO*27 and akka's "Nisoku Hokou" 

A Brief History of Trapsinging

By Angel Estrada (11/27/12)

Dear Reader,
      I’m Angel 天使 (Tenshi) Estrada IV and I am the section author of TSP (Trap Singer Progress). A Trap is a word that started on the internet to describe a person that can produce both MASCULINE and FEMININE vocal tones. Here, you will gain knowledge of a half millenia old art that has been all but forgotten. It’s started roughly between the 15th and 16th century. The story begins when women weren’t allowed in church choirs in the 1500s. Society found it easier to castrate young man at an age before puberty. Castration, in this case, is a surgical procedure in which a man loses the hormonal function of his testicles. Without the hormonal effects of the testicles, men do not gain masculine development, thus, the young man’s voice stays at a higher register.

History of Trapping
     From 1629 to 1673, Japan banned women from the kabuki (song and dance theater) for they felt that the female kabuki was too erotic. As a result, the kabuki hired young men to play the roles of women. The kabuki eventually became co-ed after many brawls broke loose mid-show. In the case of choirs and kabuki theater, many young men had taken over the feminine role.
     A large number of Traps have quit or been cast aside by society because women were allowed back in choirs and theaters in the late 19th century. Over the years, people started to forget about them. Unfortunately, within the past hundred years, those who trap get ridiculed and cast aside. Over the past decade, the world has become more accepting. One of the most famous, if not the most famous, Traps of our time is JPOP/indie artist, ピコ (Piko). He is the first person you see pop up if you search “trap singer” in Google. His typical vocal partner, 赤飯 (Sekihan), is also a Trap. They’ve had big hits like "Magnet,"  "Cendrillion," "Imitation Black," and more.
     There is also another kind of Trap labeled Reverse Trap, much like Valshe, RT(Reverse Trap) legend.These are women who produce masculine vocal tones as well as their natural feminine vocal tones.

Guitar Theory
     To explain how trapping works, usually I use my “guitar theory”. When tuning a guitar, one must turn the tuning keys in order to get the string in the right pitch. When the string loosens, it produces sound at a lower key. When the string tightens, it produces sound at a higher key. Our vocal cords are much like this because when we try to imitate someone with a low voice we usually feel as though we have an open space in our esophagus. This is because our vocal cords have loosened and come to a relaxed state. Where as when imitating someone with a high voice, we constrict our vocal cords and we become more likely to feel our vocal cords.

My Story

By Angel Estrada (11/27)
How I Came to Be
     The reason why I trap is because a year or so back, one of my friends, Elly Nuy, sent me a link to a YouTube video. I clicked on the link and discovered Piko and Sekihan for the first time. The video was of the two Traps singing "Magnet" live. I was amazed at their vocal ranges before they had reached the second verse. At first, I couldn’t explain how astonished I was when I first heard Piko start trapping in the second verse. I sat through the rest of the video, jaw dropped, and said to myself that I have to learn this amazing skill. After the video came to a close, I started to fiddle with my voice and come up with theories for improvement. Then I came to a realization; I had become a Trap two years before I had seen that video.
     The first time I had ever trapped was when I was on vacation in Puerto Rico. I was on the phone with former Coopian, Cecelia, and I said to her:
      “Hey, you wanna hear something crazy?”
     “Um... okay?” she replied, unsure.
     I thought to myself at that moment, what can I do to freak her out right now? I’ll try sounding like a girl. In the spur of the moment, I began producing feminine vocal tones. Although it lacked control and proper training, it was authentic enough.
     “Ew, Angel stop that! Why does that sound so real?” She complained, confirming my success.
     “I didn’t even know I could do that.”
     Until I saw that video, I had never done it or thought about it again.
     After I relived that experience, I had an vast amount of confidence in myself. I knew that I could learn how to trap again and actually manipulate it to my will. Every day, and still today, I rigorously practice trapping. With each day that goes by, my vocal range increases with my diligence. The way I trained myself in trapping, at first, was strictly singing. It was difficult for me because I had only done it once two years prior to the commencement of my actual training and my range was low baritone to mid-range tenor. When I first started training myself, Cecelia and my friends weren’t too supportive. My friends grew comfortable with this new talent I started to develop within the third month. Two months after, Cecelia came around to it and decided to help me improve my technique by telling me to try my best to imitate her. It took me a month or two to actually gain REAL control over my vocal cords. That’s when my progress started to skyrocket. That’s when I started to watch TV and speak word-for-word with the characters on TV; trying my best to make the words flow like water and my intonation fit like a glove. Learning to speak while trapping was like learning an entirely new language. I literally had to teach myself after all that to get a quality voice that was worthy of being recorded.

Most Recently
     I have an range that keeps growing with each passing day. Now, I’m generally producing low bass to low soprano. I have two songs recorded and posted on YouTube along with many others in the recording process. I have performed at The Space, an all ages music venue and vintage store. I’ve also performed at other locations, such as Yale’s Henry R. Luce Hall, United Church on the Green, Dwight Hall and right here at Co-op. My partner, ゼロ (Zero), and I are in the process of recording for our EP. It has been a while since I’ve posted anything on YouTube, so every so often I get inboxed by users who love my music and my channel. Once I got this really heartfelt message from a user that read:
     “I love your channel! Keep up the amazing work!!! ^-^”
     I was so proud to have received it, it gave me drive to record more often. I like when people personally tell me that they like my material, but one thing I like more than compliments is being told how I can improve. I always look for ways to get a better sound in my music. I have lots of other projects and shows to plan out, but until then I will be hard at work on recording.

The Effect of Trapping on Others
     I love when my friends ask me questions about my voice and how I trap because it makes me feel like I’m already out here making a difference and educating people. I also feel very proud when people request instruction in the art of trapping. Even though it’s not an easy task to trap, I try to do everything in my power to help an aspiring follower. Usually, I give a basic knowledge to those who follow my teachings; upon things such as my “guitar theory” of singing, and going through daily independent study as to maintain their vocal progress. Even with my knowledge about technique and the work ethic it takes to maintain a stable voice, there have been very few that  have followed through with my teachings due to a lack of desire or negligence. Many people have a misconception about trapping; they think stability and control are virtually instantaneous. I feel really bad for those few who have stopped for had they continued, they would have an authentic voice in least. 

Potential

By Angel Estrada

To breathe in heavy,
And let it out light
To live one way,
And speak opposite
The beautiful weightless words
That come to be received
“How does he do it?”
He takes control
And changes things,
Making them higher than what they are
If only it were actually natural
It’s too easy to use
Not much effort
Why not let me have it forever?
So far, nothing corrupt has been done
I will continue to do good as long as you let me fully wield it
Don’t just give me some,
If you know what I can do with it