Island Boy

Late on a Friday afternoon, just as the happy-hour rush gets into full swing, Richard Hunter-Rivera’s presence is a serene counterpoint to the chaos along 30th Street in North Park. The songwriter and producer behind Island Boy has a calming and thoughtful demeanor, in stark contrast to the arena-rock playlist blaring inside Coin- Op bar and the rowdy group of dudes on the sidewalk trash-talking about football.

But just as the atmosphere settles into a temporary moment of stillness, Hunter-Rivera confesses a particular goal: “I’ve always kind of wanted my music to be sexy and danceable.”

Sexy and danceable is a good way to begin describing the sonic makeup of Island Boy. Composed and performed by Hunter-Rivera—with some lyric and vocal contributions by Jessica Sledge—the music is a complex and fluid thing, with influences pouring in from a variety of sources. In basic terms, it’s electronic pop, crafted on samplers and synthesizers and based heavily in dancefloor beats. But that opens only a small door to Hunter-Rivera’s eclectic musical playground.

Island Boy’s new album, Basic Instincts, which was self-released in June, is a sensual and sensorial journey through the far corners of dance music’s past, present and future. Hunter-Rivera, born in Texas and Puerto Rican by heritage (hence, “Island Boy”), digs deep into traditional Latin American music while fixing his gaze forward, blending seemingly disparate styles into something unexpectedly harmonious. Where opening track “Hospital Bed” juxtaposes eerie darkwave synthesizers with a thumping reggaeton beat, further down the track list, “El Dembow Me Salvo” combines hypnotic neo-psychedelic textures and salsa rhythms.

Hunter-Rivera, who spent his teenage years in Puerto Rico, says the sounds he pursues are equal parts tradition and reinvention.

“The sounds of salsa and merengue and reggaeton—they just got embedded in me,” he says. “When I started this record, I was trying to dig deep and find out what I stood for musically, and I was messing around on my sampler and thought, Maybe I could make a reggaeton beat, just for kicks. And it came together beautifully. It was exactly what I was looking for.

“I don’t like everything about reggaeton,” he clarifies. “Some of the themes that they sing about are kind of boring. But I like that beat, and the swag that comes with it. So, I’ll take what I don’t like, take that out and put in some indie rock or classic French house and make it into something that I do like.”

Island Boy isn’t Hunter-Rivera’s first musical project. Between 2008 and 2012, he was in local indie-rock group Moviegoers, and he launched his own musical pursuit in the aftermath of that band. But his musical pedigree goes back much further than that. He learned how to play guitar when he was 14, and as a teenager, he immersed himself in learning about home recording while playing in bands with his friends.

“In Puerto Rico at the time, you were either a surfer or a skater or something else—so we decided to be rock ’n’ roll kids,” he says.

Music was also part of his household while he was growing up. His father was a musician who toured Puerto Rico in a van in his early 20s and continued to play music at home even after leaving the tour circuit for an engineering career. Music was something both of Hunter-Rivera’s parents encouraged him to pursue.

“My mother encouraged us to learn piano because she thought it would enrich our lives,” he says. “And as much as I hated piano lessons, because they were sort of forced on me, I’m grateful for it now.”

Hunter-Rivera has taken a long journey—both physically and symbolically—since first learning piano. His first two CD purchases were Billy Joel’s River of Dreams and Green Day’s Dookie, and his taste evolved into a love of classic rock, thanks in part to his dad’s rock roots. And while he wasn’t as interested in Latin dance music as his friends were during his teen years, all of these sounds and textures have stayed with him.

In fact, he sees Island Boy as part of something bigger. For Hunter-Rivera, it feels like part of a broader cultural movement, as well as a project that’s highly autobiographical, in a symbolic way. But, you know, sexy—and you can dance to it.

“I think some of the music represents... if you want to call it the scene that I’m part of, the new Latin wave,” Hunter-Rivera says, “first-, second-, third-generation Latinos living in the United States incorporating the music of their parents’ homeland.

“I feel like the project’s always been kind of inside of me.” - San Diego City Beat

Having recently released their Basic Instincts album on Rita Records (also a home to one of our heroes, Gary Wilson, we might add), check out the world of Richard Hunter-Rivera and Jessica Sledge, otherwise known as Island Boy. There is a minimalist home-spun magic at work here that invites all to listen with warm, whole hearts, and open ears of summer delight. Serious weights permeate the lo-fi electro mixture that abounds on “Hospital Bed”, “I Want”, “Too Straight”, “Ashes”, and the underground dance-works of “El Dembow Me Salvó” and “Breaking”. The media of the past feel like an immediate part of the present on the time capsule tripping of “16mm”, the Pacific tropic heat of “Parada 15″, the synthesized ecstasy of “Ephiphany”, and the circular slow spin of the closer “Mandala Baby”. Following up their self-titled EP, Island Boy has made a beautiful summer record that should put this West Coast act on everyone’s must hear lists everywhere. Richard wrote us the following about recording his labor of love; Basic Instincts:

Basic Instincts started taking shape in January of 2013 when I spent a month in Puerto Rico reconnecting with family, old friends, and the San Juan music scene. I brought my sampler to the island, so every night after going out I’d come home to my mom’s house and bang out Latin rhythms I’d heard blasting out of clubs and Mitsubishis. Simply put, I got infected with dembow fever. I returned to San Diego and continued writing for six months. It needed to be sexy, danceable, yet meaningful. Everything on the album was produced with a live show in mind. Beats, then bass lines, then melodies. My musical co-consipirator Jessica Sledge fed me lyrics via text message, sometimes we’d discuss them over dinner. She came to every show and gave me feedback. ‘Reggaeton on Special K,’ someone called it. I don’t know, I’ve never done Ketamine, but fine. I wanted the album to flow, like Purple Rain flows, to have a nice arc to it. I wrote a ballad, some slow-burners, a couple pop-bangers, a droned-out track and an instrumental and pieced it all together in way that I think tells a story. In July I started recording. My brother Robert and I have been playing music together since we were kids, I had him come into town and lay down some epic guitar.

island boy week in pop 2

Thematically, Basic Instincts is an exploration of the relationship between the human tendency to submit to a higher power and the determination needed to ensure self-actualization and true spiritual freedom. Sonically, it weaves together dembow rhythms, reverberant leads, and dubby-basslines into an experimental yet poppy tapestry of sound. Entirely self-produced, the record is the direct result of my renewed dedication to music and performance after years of toiling away at a desk job in the tech sector. It is hopefully a testament to the fortitude needed to break away from what our conscious minds think we ought to do and instead investigate the depths of what our bodies and souls yearn for. - IMPOSE

Richard Hunter-Rivera, the songwriter and performer behind Island Boy, spent more of his childhood traveling than your average American kid. A U.S. native, Hunter-Rivera moved to Italy with his family at a young age and then spent his teenage years in Puerto Rico before making his way back to San Diego.

It's that Puerto Rican heritage and experience that partially defines Island Boy's musical identity as a one-man, synth-based project incorporating elements of Caribbean music, such as SoCa and reggaeton. So, no, it's not just a clever name.

That Caribbean influence plays a major role on the sound of Island Boy's new album, Basic Instincts. Its 10 tracks, with their danceable appeal, incorporate a much more diverse and vibrant set of sounds than the stereotypical full-length set of club jams. "El Dembo Me Salvó" swings and sways with calypso rhythms and dense layers of vocal effects. And a heavy Latin thump underscores the hypnotic, exotic pulse of "Hospital Bed."

Yet, there's another, perhaps more important, island that appears to be a massive influence on Hunter-Rivera's music: Great Britain. His vocals frequently recall the detached cool of Echo and the Bunnymen singer Ian McCulloch, even when the beats are turned up high enough to rattle trunks. And perhaps it's just the vintage analog synth sounds that make up the foundation of most of his songs, but Island Boy is steeped in classic new wave, coldwave and post-punk aesthetics, whether he's pulling off some darkly orchestral manoeuvres on "Too Straight," creeping into sultry goth-pop atmosphere on "Ashes" or trying his hand at gorgeously synthetic balladry on "16mm."

More than a few elements of Island Boy's approach seem familiar in some way or another, but the way that Hunter-Rivera combines such disparate influences offers something unusually novel. What makes it work is his subtlety; his vocals are never offensively hammy, nor his production too intense. In fact, he might afford to stretch out and intensify some of his sounds, but it's hard to hear Basic Instincts as anything but a successful experiment. - San Diego City Beat

"I’ll kiss you through the ashes…" seems like an appropriate way to start a song about burning down a relationship. San Diego’s Richard Hunter-Rivera puts on a numbing edge here, and I’d imagine the effect works.

His new Basic Instincts LP comes out on Rita Records
on June 17th. - YVYNYL

Revealing a different side to his forthcoming EP, Island Boy’s new jam, ‘Hospital Bed‘, is a somewhat dense and interwoven track, where murky vocals meet a flourishing instrumental which sounds almost tribal in its vivid display of force and colour.

Following on from last months first taster, the track is a different breed to ‘Ashes‘ which painted a much hazier and languid picture; two elements which simply aren’t present on Hospital Bed. From the outset its a brash and assertive track which dips and dives confidently through an ever-changing backdrop. A radiant moment and another indicator that Island Boy is about to drop one of the Summers most inspired records. Check it out below. - Goldflake Paint

hometown: San Diego, CA / San Juan, PR
categories: Dream Pop, Electronic, Lo-Fi, New Wave
for fans of: Washed Out, Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, Yeasayer
why you should check them out:
Island Boy, much as the name implies, make music best enjoyed in warm weather. There’s everything from shimmering guitar solos to reggaeton beats to slinking synths. Characterized by a hazy mist and a lo-fi aesthetic, the only accessory needed is an ice-cold beverage to accompany those thoughts of a pristine white beach.
background check:
Island Boy is the moniker of Richard Hunter-Rivera’s ongoing project. As far as names go, it’s a poignant choice: though he resides in San Diego, Hunter-Rivera considers Puerto Rico his true home. Island Boy reflects Hunter-Rivera’s heritage in more than just name though; hazy beats drenched in reverb and coupled with deadpan vocals feel like the music is fighting its way through the Puerto Rican humidity.

Recent single “Ashes” is Island Boy at its best. Languid vocals dip between tribal beats and pulsating synth melodies. Tension slowly builds as synths and percussion are layered into a dense and beautiful racket. Compared to earlier Island Boy recordings, newest releases “Hospital Bed” and “Ashes” are more fully realized and alive, a sign that bodes well for upcoming debut LP Basic Instincts, out June 17th on Rita Records. - MySpoonful

Unlike the literal definition of an island, detachment and stranded are two feelings you couldn’t dare feeling while mesmerizingly listening to any of the ten tracks on Basic Instincts, released on June 17. The first full-length album produced by IslandBoy, alias Richard Hunter-Rivera. His nonchalant combination of innocently alluring vocals and repetitiously, innovative beats are futuristic.

Although his Puerto Rican background has translated well on to “Hospital Bed,” and “El Dembow Me Salvó” which have a really really really slowed down reggaeton-esque feel. You know those songs you might have heard while inside of the small liquor store on the corner, probably owned by a fella everyone called ‘Tio’ who actually wasn’t related to anyone.

“Breaking” is the shortest track and its elongated static intro, if you can even call it that, is a key transitioning piece for the change of pace felt on the tracks that follow. The lyrics in “Ashes” paint a hopeful picture later revisited through the vibrant beat heard in “Parada 15”.

It is clear why “Mandala Baby” was chosen as the last track, it is a summation of the entire album. It is rhythmically soothing. It is enlightening and thought-provoking. It caresses the listener and reveals for certain the odd amorous vibe that was subtlety present through the entire work. IslandBoy himself stated, his album begins one place and it ends in another, fortunately for us the journey between the two was nothing short of outstanding. Enjoy it for yourself here. - The Juice Daily

San Diego’s Island Boy has a knack for integrating Latin rhythms with soaking wet reverb. The hypnotic “Hospital Bed” is from the 2014 release, Basic Instincts, available through Bandcamp. - The Dadada

Richard Hunter-Rivera has been producing mesmerizing electronic music under the moniker “Island Boy” since 2011 and is gearing up to release his first full-length album, Basic Instincts this Summer. Pulling together elements of French house, reggaeton, Latin freestyle, and new wave, the San-Diego-by-way-of-Puerto-Rico-based producer creates breathtaking, cinematic soundscapes that transports his listeners to far-off, tropical lands. While in his studio, arranging his next live show, Island Boy took a beach break with us to discuss the new album, his gratitude for making music, and how he plans on learning Japanese.

Island Boy Beach Break SelfieWhat is your name and where are you from?

Richard Hunter-Rivera, I’m historically a bit of a drifter but I call Puerto Rico home.

Where are you right now?

I am in my studio space, rehearsing and arranging.

Hey, can we see a selfie to see what you’re up to?

Sure.

What project are you currently working on?

Releasing Island Boy’s debut album, Basic Instincts.

What 3 words best describe your sense of humor?

Fair and balanced.

What sentence best sums up your latest album?

The new record is a self-reflective progression, musically and thematically – it starts in one place and ends in another.

What are you most proud of in your professional life?

My continued existence as an artist.

What was the best night of your life?

Personally speaking, the details are hazy…and maybe a bit too risqué to get into. Professionally, it would have to be opening for MS MR last year at Soda Bar, an awesome venue in San Diego that was probably too small for the crowd the headliners brought…the line to get in was around the block. I snuck a couple friends through the back door of the club and we had a great time.

You’re stranded on a desert island, you’re allowed to take take one book, one song, and one film; what are they?

I’m a pretty practical person so I’d want to bring a book I haven’t read before, a long one, maybe War and Peace? Music, I’d want something meditative, something I can zone out to, so let’s go with track one off Brian Eno’s Music for Airports. As for film, something pretty, Akira Kurosawa’s Dreams comes to mind. Added bonus: I don’t speak Japanese, so maybe I’ll learn a few things after watching it 100 times…

Island Boy Basic Instincts Album ArtYou’re on the same desert island – you’re allowed the company of three heroes, living or dead; who would they be?

John, Paul, and George. I get to be Ringo.

If you could be transported to any beach in the world, right now – where would it be, and why?

That’s an easy one: Flamenco Beach in Culebra, PR. Pristine white sand, crystal clear 80 degree water, just perfect in every way.

What is your personal manifesto/code to living?

Keep the bullshit to an absolute minimum. Be kind. Be considerate. Piece together a living that makes you happy. We are all individuals in our own little worlds, but those worlds are in a constant state of collision. Mine is no more important than anyone else’s.

Where online can fans find out more about you?

http://islandboyisland.tumblr.com or come to my next LA-area show – June 21st at Mountair. - Static Beach

Island Boy is dope. Period. Hailing from San Diego, California IB is weaving complex and lush electro-pop soundscapes which take you away to someplace magical that you never want to come back from. Check out his tracks "Heart Attack", "On The Rise", and "Unrequited Television Love" for the perfect Autumn soundtrack for watching the leaves change and walking around on a beautiful day. Oh, and he's playing our CMJ party so BOO-YAH. - Sonicbids

(See link for full review) - Unsigned & Independent

Summer wouldn’t be complete without the elusive perfect summer album. What makes the ideal summer album is hard to define, but it must be appropriate for relaxing by the pool as well as dancing your responsibilities away. Above all, it must have that certain je ne sais quoi that just screams summer. San Diego native Richard Hunter-Rivera, who goes by the stage name Island Boy, may have done just that with his first full-length album release Basic Instincts.
This is no accident; Hunter-Rivera seems to have been crafting his unique gloomy tropical electro-pop sound his entire life. Originally born in the U.S., Hunter-Rivera moved to Italy at a young age, then to Puerto Rico in his adolescence until he ultimately returned to San Diego. This diverse blend of cultures and influences has made Hunter–Rivera a force to be reckoned with in the San Diego music scene.

Hunter-Rivera’s bandcamp scream tropical paradise. The album sounds like something Devendra Banhart would record on tons of LSD. A perfect example of this is the album’s opening song “Hospital Bed”. The track starts with a bouncy Latin beat accompanied by Hunter- Rivera’s distant vocals, which jump from English to Spanish midway through with lyrics that roughly translate to, “dance with me white boy”.
Towards the end of the album, Hunter-Rivera simmers down with some classic island sounds on the track “16mm”. The song consists of infinitely repeating drum machine and keyboard loops that synch together to form a tune sweeter than some fruity drink served with a tiny umbrella.
Hunter-Rivera masterfully blends a cocktail of Caribbean flair, electronic weirdness, and the post-punk apathy on Basic Instincts that is delicious to the last drop. He manages to create fun atmospheric dance tunes with a subtle underlying layer of gloom that balance together to form something beyond the perfect summer album. What results is a diverse album that will carry you through your dreamy summer days well into your dreary fall afternoons. - Listen SD

Admitiendo que su español ya no es lo que solía ser, Richard Hunter-Rivera nos cuenta que durante la adolescencia vivió en la tierra natal de sus padres, Puerto Rico, pero que desde hace más de nueve años vive en Estados Unidos (últimamente en San Diego, California). Durante aquellos lapsos de constante movimiento ha conocido muchos artistas de diferentes estilos y géneros, por lo que al fin se decidió a estrenar unos temas bajo un proyecto personal (ya que antes era parte de un colectivo). Island Boy retoma su vida desde pequeño y la expone en una marea de sentimientos efusivos, mayormente traídos mediante dream pop de vocales translúcidas que hacen recordar a un Youth Lagoon primerizo, lo que sabemos es un cumplido.

En su fan page leí la cita más conocida de Héctor Lavoe: Pronto llegará el día de mi suerte. Si bien es una frase que refleja el optimismo de una cultura que no siempre ha tenido las mejores oportunidades, también es un mantra que muchos nos hemos repetido no para engañarnos, sino porque de verdad vivimos esperanzados con un mañana de cielo despejado y bastante sol. Para Island Boy aquel día no tardará mucho. Apartando el hecho de que él mismo hace tanto la mezcla como la masterización (y obviamente la grabación), le confío el oído musical que se requiere como medio de navegación en un océano donde es fácil perderse. - Matineé as Hell

Taking a step back from the music blog hype of being the first to post about something that was uploaded less than 5 minutes ago I bring you the delightful sounds of Island Boy. Take a listen to the dreamy single Heart Attack above as voluptuous synths melt around the simple guitar loops adding a characterised texture to his reverbed vocals. - Scientists of Sound

EXTRASPECIALGOOD

Island Boy
Island Boy EP

What is chillwave (or glo-fi or coldwave or—) if not a modern-day update of a John Hughes movie soundtrack? Whatever genre classifications are cleverly coined to describe the sound, it seems there'll always be a market for synthy teenage symphonic odes to God or underage sex or pharmaceutical drugs, or whatever. This local duo would've done well had they released this EP two years ago, when everyone was freaking out about chillwave bands like Neon Indian and Washed Out. But the sentiments on this EP—and, more importantly, the music—are timeless. The music-video treatment runs through the listener's mind throughout the opening track, "On the Rise": The broken-hearted girl jumping into the back of a friend's car and going somewhere, anywhere dark, so she can just dance and hope nobody notices her mascara running. The other two tracks, the danceably forlorn "Heart Attack" and the suitably named "Unrequited TV Love," are just as catchy, with frontman Richard Hunter-Rivera bemoaning wasted days and waiting for that special someone to call. Hopefully she didn't, because these guys have a lot to offer and, sad as it is to say, no good song ever came out of the girl calling you back.

—Seth Combs - San Diego City Beat

Richard Hunter-Rivera is the man behind Island Boy who craft a damn fine early spring soundtrack. The sun-drenched guitars and reverb-soaked synths along with Rivera’s hushed vocals on “Heart Attack” are what make this some of the best shoegaze we have heard in a while. Their debut EP is available for free download here via Rita Records. - I'm Only Dreaming

Built on a simple guitar progression and a reliable snare drum, Island Boy launches "Heart Attack" into an echoing stratosphere of pop. It adds complexity, a chorus that explodes out of the speakers like the best parts of the Small Black catalog, all whipping synthesizer drums and vocals drowning in layer upon layer of reverb. The final movement grows no bigger than the original conceit, it merely reaffirms the idea: a long slow jam for someone with far too much to think about. Like the cover art, it is a flight over water, pensive and relentlessly existential.
- 32ft/second - Music/Mp3s/News/New York

Basic Instincts, Island Boy: It’s easy to find good synth-based music in San Diego, but one of the best new sample-based artists in town is Richard Hunter-Rivera, whose debut as Island Boy finds a unique hypnotic and exotic blend of sinister darkwave and Latin rhythms. Never before has reggaeton sounded so appropriate for a goth club night. - San Diego City Beat