Gabriel Rios

Gabriel Ríos came into the world in Puerto Rico in 1978 and first picked up guitar instruction from his father before singing in his church choir throughout his teenage years. At eighteen he moved with his girlfriend from Latin America to Ghent, Belgium, where he took up painting studies and performed with local groups such as the Nothing Bastards and L. Santo. His developing sound gradually absorbed the rhythmic character of salsa, bomba, and plena, leading him to form a creative alliance with Belgian producer Jo Bogaert, whose prior credits include the global house hit “Pump Up the Jam” by Technotronic. The partnership yielded Ríos’s 2004 debut album Ghostboy, which registered both critical and commercial success throughout the BeNeLux region. One year afterward came the interim live recording En Vivo, followed in early 2007 by the second studio album Angelhead. Three years after that release Ríos joined Belgian pianist Jef Neve on the project The Dangerous Return.