Orlando Perez lives and breathes music. An accomplished musician, producer, singer and songwriter, Orlando’s musical career has covered everything from DJing and sound engineering to teaching music, as well as creating it. “I remember climbing onto a chair to sneak onto my cousin’s DJ decks when I was a boy growing up in New York,” Orlando recalls. “That fascination with music has stayed with me throughout my life”.

And that life has been a busy one. From DJing in New York clubs as a teenager and remixing music for some of the world’s biggest record labels, including the legendary Motown, Orlando then moved to the Caribbean and learnt about a new sound – the sound of sunshine and carnival. In the Caribbean, he was a DJ and radio broadcaster before putting pen to paper and writing his own music, which was exported across the region and into the UK, USA and Canada. He also performed at carnivals and concerts across the region, getting on stage at national events with audiences of 10,000 people and hosting carnival performances on top of the carnival float in the scorching sun. In the UK, Orlando set up a school, using music as a means to inspire disadvantaged young people in London and writing courses to help young people to record and produce their own music. “Music is a powerful force for change,” says Orlando. “It can bring people together, it can make you feel happy, and it can motivate you to continually strive for better, to continually want to improve yourself. I have tried to learn as much as I can, but I am still learning, and still enjoying it too!”