My City Is Burning

I started writing this song during the last big California wildfire, but it quickly grew into something else, encompassing my anxieties about capitalism, the ecology and humanity's life out of balance. It was a major catharsis recording this with my amazingly talented friends.

Big thanks to Ruben Sandoval my main writing partner and sounding board. Couldn't have done it without the generous funding of the San Francisco Arts Comission

DANIEL RIERA, Vocals, Wind Synthesizer, Words and Music, Recording and Mixing, Video Post-Production

AHKEEL MESTAYER, congas ALISON COHEE, vocals CAMILLE MAI, vocals JOSH JONES, drums MARCUS STEPHENS, tenor saxophone MAX MILLER-LORAN, trumpet OMREE GAL-OZ, keyboard RUBEN SANDOVAL, trombone STEVE HOGAN, bass production NAOMI PASMANICK, videography NEIL GODBOLE / AIRSHIP LABORATORIES, mastering CAMILLE MAI, calligraphy

San Pancho Shows at Arcana

For the past few months I’ve been performing weekly gigs with my family band San Pancho at Arcana on Mission St. in San Francisco. Look out for our upcoming events here

Affectionately named after the City’s nickname, "San Pancho," they perform music from Cuba, Puerto Rico, Mexico, and Brazil. The band consists of family members Daniel Riera on acoustic guitar and flute; his wife Camille Mai on vocals; and Daniel’s father Arturo Riera on Latin percussion. Special guests round out their performances. San Pancho’s music ranges from romantic boleros to bossa to danceable Cuban “son.” San Pancho is the perfect trio when you're looking for tasty Latin flavor for special events and entertainment venues.

videos by Sylvia Ramirez

San Francisco Arts Comission Grant Winner 2022

Very pleased to announce that the San Francisco Arts Commission has chosen to fund me with their Individual Artist Grant for 2022!!!! I will be creating some new compositions and recordings focusing on Afro-Latin styles along with my collaborator and Soltrón alum brother Ruben Sandoval. Big thanks to Arturo Riera for his mentorship throughout the grant writing process. He's helped many artists in our community receive grants from SFAC this time time around!!

Snap Judgment - Ping

Newest Snap Judgment episode featuring my original score and sound design! Had a lot of fun with the different moods in this one, featuring a lot of solo guitar, as well as some synthwave, and Ghibli inspired orchestral cues. Plus a really fun monkey attack that was a blast to create sound design for!

Rebirth Canal featured on Tiny Desk Concert @ NPR Music

Rebirth Canal featured on Tiny Desk Concert @ NPR Music "Entries we Love" blog Woohoo!!!! Wish us luck for the grand prize!! I played wind synth and did the recording, mixing and mastering for this.

"Rebirth Canal describes its entry as vocal jazz fusion, but there really isn't a box that can fit this performance. It's jazz, it's electronic, it's world, it's postmodern — but above all, it's surprising. The group's first Tiny Desk Contest submission, "AI," builds with craft and intrigue: Beginning with syncopated syllables chanted over a simple electronic beat, the seeming nonsense sounds invite the listener to linger and wonder. The performance ramps up as phrases begin to lock and loop into place, the camera panning to capture layering instruments. The EWI (electronic wind instrument) particularly stands out, tying genres together with a unique and memorable melody. The real showstopper, though, is the dog sitting contently in the middle of it all, absorbing the surrounding soundscape and making us wish we were there, too."

AC Jobim - "Two Kites" Cover

Beautiful song by AC Jobim that caught our imagination. We decided to record this on a rainy day using a 4-track cassette tape recorder.

Daniel Riera - Guitar, Bass, Flute, Vocals

Camille Mai (Rebirth Canal)- Vocals

Snap Judgment - Yellow Pearl

I did the music score and sound design for this Snap Judgment podcast, about a radical Asian-American folk band set in the 70's. I had fun recreating the sound of this real band to complement their actual songs with music beds that fit the era and tone of their story. My segment starts at 4:16

SOLTRÓN - Eclipse Del Amor

Video premiere of "Eclipse del Amor" by Soltrón SF!!! I wrote this song starting about five years ago, and it's been an amazing journey to finally get to this point of a finished music video. Along the way I tapped in to my amazing artist community here in the Bay Area featuring vocalists J. Ele Music and La Doña, lyricist Arturo Riera musicians Raul Bass, Mireya Jazmin Leon David Lechuga-Espadas, Magna Freaq, Ahkeel Andres Mestayer, Ruben Sandoval and Camille Hoàng Mai, video director Naomi Garcia dancers Joseline Granados and Diana Aburto Vega thanks to San Francisco Arts Commission for funding this work!

Spooked - Pinky's Place

My latest score and sound design project for Spooked! Had fun exploring some 1920’s inspired themes as well as some “switched on” orchestral synth cues.

Spooked Podcast - Corporal Cummings

"Corporal Cummings" is out now on Apple Podcasts and Luminary. The first episode I scored and did SFX for. Ghost story set in the American-Vietnam war. I had fun exploring a 60’s psychedelic rock sound plus some heavy industrial synths for the battle scenes.

SOLTRÓN - Estamos Aquí

So happy to share the first new music video for Soltrón from our new EP frisco tales! I wrote this song along with our featured vocalists and co-produced with my good friend Ruben Sandoval.

SOLTRÓN - Frisco Tales EP

San Francisco is in the midst of an ongoing housing and gentrification crisis. As people deeply rooted in the Mission's Latin arts community, we want to document the stories of eviction and displacement that our extended circle of artists and activists have experienced. We seek to do our part to tell the stories and preserve the rich cultural legacy of the Mission while building upon our musical traditions.

Inspired by San Francisco's Latin-rock movement of the late 60s and 70s, and artists such as Santana, Malo and Azteca, we want to draw from the more contemporary sounds of Hyphy Hip-Hop and Urbano music, combining all of that with socially conscious lyrics to educate, empower and entertain people. We call this the new “Mission Sound,” telling Mission District stories.

This work is funded by the San Francisco Arts Comission Individual Artist Grant 2020

credits

released June 24, 2021

Mixed and Mastered by Neil Godbole at Airship Laboratories

Cover Illustration by Kroniko Arte