Gabriela Riley
Where are you from/Where are you now?
I was raised in an international commune in Vermont that started in the 1950s. I am currently in Queens, New York by way of Rio de Janeiro by way of LA. I decided to move here because I was coming back to the states after six years in my mother’s city, Rio; and New York seemed most like home, I’d lived here years before. My mama raised me in the woods, but made sure I was in the city enough to know how to move naturally where people know what’s good.
What is your current musical identity and what projects are you working on?
My musical identity has become mostly about collaboration. I am working on single tracks with artists I enjoy, more intentionally in NYC than in Brazil. Prior, I was adamant about only working on full albums intended for vinyl pressing. I started collaborating and I wandered into Ray Angry’s Producer Mondays at Nublu in its early days; where many solid & fun musical relationships began budding. I stumbled upon Philly folk Steve McKie, Corey Bernhard at the Roots jam, I became an instant fan of these two, & recording an interlude for their band Killiam Shakespeare’s release; (I whisper a cosmic message into the track “Sumido Querido”). I was enjoying all these new connections so much that I wanted to explore each one further; singles felt like the best way to do so. I have more music coming out soon with Colombian singer/producer Natalie Oliveri, (her voice is like thirst quenching sweetwater). Our single “Mar”, sung in Spanish and Portuguese, will be out soon, co-written and co-produced. The process with her has been so smooth, uplifting, and motivating. Also with Brazilian pianist Zé Manoel, from the Northeast Sertão region of Brazil; and with Brazilian composer/arranger Alberto Continentino as well.
You've worked and collaborated with lots of bands & musicians: can you share one of your favorites and why?
I think my favorite is João Donato. I wrote lyrics and recorded vocals for an album, Sintetizamor, that he and his son did together which harkened back to his 1970 release A Bad Donato. It is my favorite because getting to be on wax, with true legends who’ve been sampled every which way and idolized by many, myself included, is a very humbling and special experience. It is important to remember all idols are human. My album cover is, low key, a visual homage to his Quem é Quem.
Were there any specific 'magical' moment while recording that you can share?
Yes, I recorded a record Happiness of Living (On Fillmore - Glenn Kotche & Darin Gray) in Rio with a cast of amazing creative characters. It was an experimental music madhouse of the best kind in the studio that day as cords, pedals, mics and peculiar instruments, mostly percussion, covered every inch of Rio's darling house of independent music, Audio Rebel. I was about to record when I received a text saying that a young man in my world had been killed. I was overcome with emotion but we had limited time, so I said nothing, swallowed the lump in my throat and began recording. When I finished everyone was silent and all mouths were actually gaping open, someone started to speak and Glenn said “shh shh”. We all sat for a moment. I never told them the story of the text I received, and they, upon their own intuition, titled the track “Despedida Suspensa” (Suspended Goodbye). In that moment, I had a clear view into the power of my own voice, strongest when expressed in its most raw and honest form, a channel of sorts, as it was that day.
How many albums have you released and on what record label?
I have one eponymous album “Gabriela Riley”, released and distributed it myself through my publishing company Soul Goodies. Labels are great when they work with artists, offering good distribution, promotion and can guarantee they won’t shelf your work while promoting others with sounds the label have deemed ‘similar’ to yours. Though I self-released, I’ve had relationships with big labels and smaller indie labels as a session vocalist, the experience has always been colored by how clear I am about my needs and expectations vs. theirs. It was released in 2018, but just went up this year on Bandcamp. Ahhh Bandcamp, the wonderful land where musicians are paid nearly directly for their work AND full sound quality can be accessed thus all the musicality within it is honored. It is a pleasure to be able to download and hear music in the least compressed of digital formats. Though I will never relinquish my fidelity to wax culture - I like to tell myself all the singles will still come out on 45s - I am enjoying exploring the (digital) single life.
What is the inspiration & driving force behind your work?
Honoring my mother's very hard work to create a life of decency and opportunity outside of Rio's systemically supported mental and physical violence is probably what drives me most hard. She and my family are from a Brazilian generation that was de facto apartheid, it would feel very dishonorable to me to be lazy about the creative space her determination afforded me. We must work hard, I must, in order to keep pushing for more mental and physical freedom for generations yet to come. I love music like a baby loves a womb, out of everything on earth and beyond, music makes the most sense to my heart and soul. Music, when it's actually music, is transcendence, telepathy, it is truth to me, the purest of truths. It connects me to what is both beyond and within me; it may have pursued me more than me ; it pursues all of us, we just have to listen.
What struggle/opposition (if any) did you experience when creating/pursuing this creative path?
It is tricky to be a woman in music sometimes, I was a funny-looking teenager in the eyes of others, so I relate to myself first as a mind and had not been accustomed to calculating for how others perceive my physical body. I have a collection of moderate, but still unacceptable, music industry stories of woe. Thankfully things are changing and this is a common dialogue now so the likeliness of having a shady experience is decreasing some.
What's the strangest feedback you've heard in relation to your artistry?
The best and strangest feedback I’ve gotten is that I have wonderful enunciation. I was gassed because I write strange lyrics, so it's important that the words be understood even if the message may be misinterpreted.
How would you describe your music to someone who has never heard music like yours?
I wouldn't probably because I would be imposing my perception on their experience. If I had to entice them into having a listen, I might say "How do you feel about dreamy spaces?"
What musical artists inspire you and why?
Sam Cooke is my favorite voice of all time, but also his business prowess and commitment to changing tired status quo music politics of ownership and rights inspires me like no other. He really was going to stick it to the industry so hard, thanks to the influence of Malcolm X, and then, he, like Malcolm, was killed suddenly in a way that was far too mysterious for me to accept blindly. Another musician I admire is Shabaka Hutchings, his artistry is absolutely holistic from concept to execution and performance, I am always impressed and humbled.
Did the quarantine inspire you creatively?
YES! I have been forced to beef up my home studio set up and forced to get comfortable with recording long distance, mixing via zoom. It's been trying at times but also very fun. All of this has actually enhanced my collaborative spirit and productivity levels. I have had some time and space to think more during quarantine, and to lean into my inherent tendency to be somewhat reclusive, this has all brought me back to my creative essence and I'm happy to be back to it.
What would be a dream collaboration?
Can Sam Cooke and Jimi Hendrix and Galt MacDermot come back to life? I kid, I definitely dream of collaborating with Bernard Purdie. I dream about it a lot. Drums are the most special to me and his drums are VERY special.
What else should the world know about Gabriela Riley?
I love history, I need history, I am history. Knowing every corner of what has moved around this earth before me is extremely important to me. I have family ties to many nations of the world and I am determined to at least feel the truth wholly even if I cannot know it all firsthand. You can find me on most days of my life tuning into non-fiction, historically based texts, poetry and music that inform the present. I am currently reading a lot of Aimé Cesaire and Leopold Senghor.
What advice would you give to a young person from the diaspora who wants to do what you do?
Be yourself, find out who you are truly outside of the influence of the lies “society” tells you about yourself, your history and your people. Find the truth, nourish it, and seek out what makes you flourish as a human in the culture you know to be true; then feed it some more as your relationship evolves, keep growing and funnel your growth wholeheartedly into the greater good. We come to earth to learn, to give, to grow, to be one with the cycle of it all. It is hard work, but hard work is gratifying and a huge part of our human purpose.