The multi-talented artist, Raul Pacheco is proud to announce his newest release “Cruisin’ Song” out now with tastemaker imprint Americano Label. Based in Los Angeles, Raul Pacheco is a singer and guitar player with the Grammy Award winning band Ozomatli, a band he has been a member of since the inception of the group.
Today he returns with a collaboration with Camilo Quiñones, “Cruisin’ Song.” He reflects, “it is an homage to the neighborhood I grew up in, Boyle Heights in Los Angeles. Like other songs I’ve written, it’s a slice of my personality and focuses on the unique style and confidence that shaped me while growing up in this neighborhood.” He joined up with drummer and percussionist Camilo Quiñones at his home in Albuquerque, NM. Together they laid down the music, lyrics and production.
The new single will be part of the Sounds of California: Boyle Heights project, a collaboration between the Alliance for California Traditional Arts (ACTA), the Community Power Collective (CPC) with support from Radio Bilingüe and Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Culture. Born and raised in Boyle Hights, Raul is one of 10 composers that have created songs which will be part of a broader archive that will launch with a website in April 2021. Sounds of California: Boyle Heights is a collaboration with residents to record, compose, present, and archive the local soundscape, focusing on themes of anti-displacement and belonging. For more information visit: actaonline.org.
“I was asked to create songs that represent the community of Boyle Heights and its struggle to protect its history and culture,” he recalls. Historically Boyle Hights has always been one of Los Angeles most diverse immigrant communities that have felt the repercussions of on-going gentrification and displacement of generational immigrant families.
For Raul it was an honor to be asked to create a dedication to his home and to reflect upon his roots he says, “‘Cruisin’ Song’ captures the youthful memories and feelings that have shaped me into my adult life. There is a distinctive style, flow and attitude that comes with growing up in Boyle Heights. Cruising through life is a state of mind…”
Raul is staying busing during the time of COVID-19, and taking advantage of his time at home by writing and creating new music. His band Ozomatli will be releasing a new single and album very soon! In the meantime, take a piece of Boyle Hights into your home, catch the single here: music.empi.re/cruisin
Cruisin’ Song by Raul Pacheco & CQ The Drummer
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