One of the most exciting figures in the contemporary Dominican Republic is back, linking rhythms from the island with exciting new sounds. Riccie Oriach presents Mi Derriengue, an EP that will surely help him establish himself as one of the most forward thinking musicians in Latin America.
After becoming a gifted skater before turning 13, Oriach became immersed in the punk scene. While traveling the DR countryside, Riccie fell in love with the folk rhythms he encountered which he used in addition to modern styles, beginning with “Viaje Al Infinito” and expanded with the 2017 EP of the same name. Oriach has gained critical recognition and played in the U.S. and Dominican Republic, as well as having collaborated with artists such as Michael Olivera and Trending Tropics. In 2018, he received a Soberano Award.
Now Riccie Oriach returns with Mi Derriengue, a project that showcases the singer-songwriter’s talent for fusing music to his will. “You’ll travel throughout the whole island by closing your eyes and listening [to the EP]” says Riccie. Relying on his eclecticism and artistic sensitivities, Oriach has taken rhythms inherent from Dominican Republic like capitana, salve, palos, gagá, merengue, and pripri and thrown them with international styles like rock, hip-hop, salsa, and even punk. Each song flows from one style (or two or three at a time) to another in a seamless fashion, to inform the surrealistic narrative of heartbreaking and dance of “Mi Derriengue,” the shapeshifting flirtiness of “Antojo,” “No Se Men”’s deep grooves and mutant funk timbres, “La Cuyaya”’s impossibly effortless fusion of bachata, merengue and metal, and the slow pace of “Bendita Maldición.”
Mi Derriengue was produced by Eduardo Cabra, otherwise known as Visitante from Calle 13 and Trending Tropics fame, and features guests spots from Vicente García, Yenni Nuñez, Nicola Santiago, and Mártires, known for his work as Romeo Santos’s guitar player.
Riccie Oriach debuted the EP on February 8 at Santo Domingo’s Hard Rock Café and is slated to make appearances in the U.S.A, Latin America, Europe and the Caribbean, as well as in various parts of Dominican Republic where he will also be raising awareness about environmental, humanitarian, and artistic issues.
