I'm honored to be returning to Los Angeles to join the RAIL UP crew another time, this round for Red Bull Music Academy's month-long series in the city.
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Sounds from the African and Latinx musical diaspora.
DJ Firmeza
Riobamba
Tygapaw
Laventille Rhythm Section
Amazondotcom
Muñeka
Kelman Duran
Foreigner
Lil M
Helikonia
NGUZUNGUZU
The best parties are collisions of diverse personalities, philosophies and musical styles that shape and shake the dancefloor. Local LA party Rail Up find transcendence in such unexpected connections, though “party” is perhaps too limiting a term to describe the group’s efforts celebrating diverse sounds from the sprawling African and Latinx musical diaspora. Led by Muñeka, Kelman Duran and Foreigner, Rail Up functions first and foremost as a community. For this bash as part of the Red Bull Music Academy Festival Los Angeles, the trio is joined by artists from both coasts and beyond that reflect Rail Up’s inclusive energies and global focus. Guests include DJ Firmeza [Portugal] and Laventille Rhythm Section [Trinidad & Tobago] making their US debuts, Riobamba [Brooklyn], Tygapaw [Brooklyn] and Los Angeles locals Amazondotcom, Lil M and Helikonia alongside scene stalwarts NGUZUNGUZU.
Proceeds will go directly to relief organizations in support of Puerto Rico and Mexico.
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Post-RAIL UP– You can stream my set via RBMA at On The Floor – Riobamba at Rail Up: Mundial:
PICÓ PICANTE co-founder draws on her Ecuadorian roots to play global Latinx club sounds at Rail Up: Mundial, at RBMA Festival Los Angeles.
Currently based in Brooklyn, Riobamba is a DJ and producer of Ecuadorian and Lithuanian heritage. Her sound explores the radical potential for Latinx music – taking from her diasporic roots and online Latinx discourse and music genres, Riobamba uses elements of sound design, field recordings and online sound sources to inject a hyper-reality into her twisted beats. It’s a sound she plays out Picó Picante, a Boston-based club night that she co-founded, and also at New York’s global bass party, Que Bajo?!. When she’s not making music and DJing, Riobamba run a creative agency called APOCALIPSIS, which, among other things, runs a program of music education for restorative justice programming.