Born in Puerto Rico, Gabriel Ríos came to Belgium at the age of 17 to study painting in Ghent. Instead of painting and canvas, he chose the path of music, a love he had already discovered at a young age in his native country. In Belgium, he found his way within the vibrant music scene. He became friends with artists such as Jo Bogaert (known for Technotronic), jazz pianist Jef Neve, Kobe Proesmans of The Colorist Orchestra, and multi-instrumentalist Ruben Samama. Together they created a series of colorful albums: from the sultry Latin crooner-pop on Ghostboy to the deep, reflective tones of This Marauder's Midnight. On 2021's Flore, he delved into the rich world of Latin classics and brought them to life with love and subtlety.
With his sixth album, Playa Negra, Ríos returns further to his roots and sings exclusively in Spanish. After experimenting with the covers he performed on Flore, Ríos has now found his authentic voice as a Spanish-speaking artist. Cryptic and hermetically sealed: for all his contradictions, Gabriel Ríos is more vulnerable and candid than ever on Playa Negra, within a language he dares to share with the outside world. In his own words, “Why go back to English when in Spanish you finally sound the way you really are?”
