Riobamba is a first-generation, Ecuadorian-Lithuanian DJ, death doula, and cultural activist. She’s the founder of APOCALIPSIS, a record label that amplifies artists de aquí y de allá.
Riobamba’s rowdy, deeply researched live sets reflect back nightlife’s power as a site of joy and resistance, amplifying connective tissues between YouTube clips, bodega soundtracks, and noise hyperreality "suped up with a twisted, industrial gnarl" (Complex).
The Fader has called her production work “a radically self-expressive piece of futurism that stands against a single, boxed-in definition of what Latinx club music can be." Riobamba’s most recent releases include a remix project for MJ Nebreda on Fool’s Gold Records, and she has released collaborations with artists Helado Negro and Madame Gandhi.
Riobamba’s past performance highlights include Lincoln Center, Barcelona Museum of Contemporary Art, MoMA PS1, Fania Records' 60th Anniversary, Rolling Stone's Future of Music, CTM Berlin, and Red Bull Festival Chile. She has been featured in Vogue Magazine, Rolling Stone, The New York Times, The Guardian, TIDAL, Billboard, Resident Advisor, Fact Mag, The Fader, and Complex.
As a cultural activist, Riobamba previously led A&R for Fania Records, and was the Music Editor for digital arts and culture platform Remezcla. She was the first Fulbright-mtvU researcher based in Colombia, where she investigated the subversive power of digital music production for healing the region’s legacy of civil conflict.
She is currently a PhD student in Performance as Public Practice at the University of Texas at Austin. Her research investigates the intersections of queer dissonant sound aesthetics and death ritual & ceremony in Ecuador as resistance technologies for disrupting neoliberalism.
Photo by Xtinafi Photography.
ASSETS
PRESS
VOGUE – How Riobamba Brought the Sound of the Latinx Diaspora to the Chromat Runway
Lithuanian National Radio and Television – Lithuanian DJ and Death Doula Living in New York
Red Bull – APOCALIPSIS: It’s a Family Affair
Clash Magazine – “You Can’t Flatten Culture Into a Tagline”
BESE – Breaking Glass: The Label Boss
The New York Times – These Women are Changing New York’s DJ Game. Watch Them Work.
The Guardian – Place:Ecuador Review – A Wild Night in Quito
Rolling Stone – This Week in Latin Music
Mic – Listen to ‘Sin Fronteras,’ The Radical Music Compilation Supporting Immigrant Rights
The Face – Raving Outside ICE’s New York Headquarters
FACT Mag – Riobamba Marks ‘Criatura’ EP Release with Protest-Rave Outside ICE Headquarters
Billboard – Latin Halloween Playlist with Spooky Perreo, Gothic Cumbia, Morbid Salsa & More
Jezebel – Riobamba is Styling
FACT Mag– FACT Mix 635: Riobamba
The Fader– Listen to a Cathartic New Mix from DISCWOMAN's Riobamba
Remezcla – Watch Boiler Room's First-Ever Reggaetón Showcase Turn Into a Perreo Throwdown
The Fader– Riobamba Launches APOCALIPSIS Label. Listen to a Cathartic Bootleg Now.
The Fader– FADER Mix: Riobamba
Complex– Mix Up Look Sharp: The Best Mixes of the Week