Los Retros
2017 - Now
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(Press Release)
Before You Go
(album feature)
Hitomitoi (feat. Los Retros)
Release Date
26 March 2025
Originally, I invited Hitomi to be featured on a song for my upcoming album. Shortly after, she asked if I would also produce and sing with her on a song for her new album. Of course I accepted, especially after she agreed to be featured on my album. Since Hitomi is from Japan, we messaged each other back and forth through Instagram to share ideas and files. Hitomi sent me about a paragraph describing her album and I immediately was captivated by "City Pop" and "80s". Mainly because that described my upcoming project's style of music. At first, I did not know anything about the other artist that would be featured on her album, nor the name of the album, or any recordings of the other songs; therefore, I had no audible references to think about how I should approach making a song for Hitomi's album.
So I began to listen to all of her discography as a reference.
I listened to her voice and the style of music from all her albums to get a good idea of how she would sound on my production.
I took great inspiration from older music I enjoy, to come up with the instrumental I made for her. I tried to reintroduce that iconic 80s City Pop sound which I am very fond of. I started with a sequenced drum track to set the rhythm, and then I composed chords according to that rhythm. After I made chords for every section of the song,
I added bass guitar to make the song sound full and more complete.
This allowed me to create solos, add guitar, and make melodies more comfortably for all the sections. Along the way, I was able to come up with some nice melodies for vocals which were eventually used in the final version.
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In about a month, I managed to finish the instrumental which meant we could start working on lyrics and melodies. At first, I wrote concept lyrics in English and sent her a demo of my voice so she could have an idea of how the melody would sound when sung with words. In response, she liked my melody but wanted to try her verses in Japanese while my verses remained in English. Once she sent me her vocals, I began finalizing the mix and adding one last flute solo on the DX7 before the last chorus.
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I would consider this song as a foreshadow of my upcoming album, along with my future projects. From the composition to the lyrics, it sounds more mature and wholesome compared to my older music.
In the end, I was very satisfied with what we had made together.
As I mentioned earlier, she will also be featured in my upcoming album which I am very excited about.​​
7 September 2021
Release Date
While some people say that my older songs remind them of Románticas and Ballads from the 70s-80s, I believe this song truly does a better job at sounding "older". From the composition to the mixing, my intention was to make it sound a lot more mature and simple. No extensive or crazy effects, no overly compressed instruments, and no sampled drums.
In the past, I couldn't afford drums so I usually used samples, but as soon as I got my hands on some random drum parts, I began practicing and recording.
This song was recorded in my parent's living room when I was still living with them, so I really appreciate them dealing with my loud monitors and drumming for hours.
(Fun fact: A popular artist who makes Spanish music, reached out to me to collaborate on a song. They said they were a big fan of my music, and really wanted to work together. While their style of music was more modern, I wanted to make something much older and from my roots, so I came up with this instrumental for us to sing on.
They agreed to meet at my house on a specific date; however, they didn't show up and I later found that they were hanging out with another popular artist that same day on their Instagram story. I never heard another word from them and they ended up unfollowing me on Instagram, so I simply kept the song for myself)
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I would have made a whole album in this same style of music, but at the time I was having personal issues in my life so I had very little motivation.
That album idea is still something I hope to do.
Jintana & Emeralds (feat. Los Retros)
Aug 25, 2021
Release Date
On November 12 of 2020, I received a text message from my manager Josh about a band that wanted to collaborate:
"Kota has a band in Japan that is a big fan of yours
and wants to have you on their album..."
When I first heard their music, I enjoyed it because it sounded like 50s-60s Doo-wop. Which in my opinion, reminds me a lot of the ballads and Románticas I grew listening to through my parent's CDs.
Their recordings sounded like they were inspired by American music in the 50s-60s: while I on the other hand, was trying to sound like Japenese music in the 70s-80s.
While me and Jintana were a pacific ocean away, we had the same goal as you can see through his email:
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"As you said in ZOOM, music is more than words. I really agree with it.
So our track sent is like 'Hi Mauri, this our feeling with you. we are both old music lovers, isn't it?'..." -Jintana
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In return, I wrote my verse along with melodies and harmonies that Jintana requested. The next verse was sung by their singer Hitomi who mirrored my verse just as I have done before in "Someone to Spend Time With"​ where two lovers have a verse in response to each other.
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"The main vocal was composed so that you and Hitomi would alternate.
What we spent most of our time on was an elegant chorus work by three female vocalists.
We put a lot of vocals layers around you and Hitomi's main vocals to make a soft sound like a cloud." -Jintana
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It was a pleasure to work with these musicians/singers from Japan, especially since I resonate more with them, than my own peers here in America.​
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(Back of Vinyl)
Apr 30, 2021
Release Date
Most of the songs on this album were originally release on the first album ever (retrospect) in 2017, before I was signed to Stones Throw Records. The other portion of songs never had an official release but were well know by my fan base in the past. In a sense, this EP was meant to be a throwback to the beginning of the band's journey.That is why I named the album "Looking Back". The album would have been longer and had more songs from the past, but I personally wasn't fond of my old work and a bit embarrassed at my lack of skill, both in instrumentation and mixing. Also many of the songs that didn't make the cut, were about past lovers who I no longer wanted want to be associated with or sing about. I had a lot of heartbreaks in my past and I got tired of singing about sadness all the time.
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Here are two images of the original Album Cover Ideas I proposed to Stones Throw:
These are school pictures of both Chaisson (former band member) and I when we were about 4-5 years old.
We didn't meet each other until High School.
This is the first idea for an album cover that I had in mind. Here I am sitting in my living room where I also slept and recorded music. If I remember correctly, I was sleeping on that same floor in those days.
(Back of Vinyl)
Jun 18, 2020
Release Date
At the time of making this album, I had proposed the idea of an LP to Stones Throw that was more Funk and Jazzy. The album would have been called Happy Hour.
Above is the Original Album Cover idea which was later replaced with a photo of me on top of my parent's roof.
This picture was taken by my friend Andy Arroyo in the living room of my parents house. We used a green screen
However, because Stones Throw wanted an album to release much sooner, I had to cut the idea short so I tried my best to introduce the kind of music that I liked at the time with just a few songs.
Shortly after, I began having personal struggles in my mind and I began to question the inevitable destiny of all people,
that being death.
Most people shrug at the thought of death, or are ignorant towards that topic because they don't want to worry about it at the moment.
But since I was a child (4 years old), I already contemplated these things very deeply. Life and Death were always a wonder to me.
I loved my life, even if I didn't have everything I wanted; therefore, I didn't want to die and I wanted to live forever. At about 20 years old, this contemplation became troubling because I started realize how life is like a vapor and but a breath. 1,000,000 years may seem like a lot of time, but compared to eternity, it is but a strand of hair or a grain of sand.
Therefore, I began to look for answers in all places that point towards life and death. I would start with the very obvious but most overlooked things of this existence.
The sun, and the earth.
I knew that if we are indeed created by someone, that the answers would not be secret or hidden, but right in front of my eyes.
So I put it to the test, and this is somewhat how my mind pondered:
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"Without the light, what is man?"
He could not see where he is going, even in the night since the moon would have no light from the sun,
He could not know time since even the stars are as the sun with a source of light that moves and helps measure the days and seasons,
Therefore he could not tend to his crops, because without the light, his crops could not grow in their appropriate seasons,
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So he could not eat, nor smell food that is meant to keep us alive everyday,
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and without food, even all the animals in the world could not live.
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the world would be dark, cold, and lifeless without a sound of a living thing,
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so man could not hear a thing,
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and we know that a man who could not hear, smell, taste, see, and feel is the description of a dead man.
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Furthermore, I would continue with the very obvious but overlooked things that allows us to live.
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"Without a father, what is man?"
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He could not exist since a woman could not give birth without the seed of a father,
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A woman could also not exist since she is also dependent on the seed of a father,
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Therefore if hypothetically a baby were to be born without a father and mother, it could not be raised and it would die since it is dependent on its own kind, both mentally and physically, discipline and provisions.
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I could not deny, that as much as a man may seem powerful and change the world, he is no different from a baby and a seed of the earth, because he will always be dependent upon something greater than himself.
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A man is nothing without the light, and a son is nothing without his father.
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It made more sense that man is dependent not a thing, but a person greater than all that we deem great in this universe.
As a son who looks up to his father, a man was made to look up to someone greater than himself in hopes of reflecting that grand image. In the end, that grand image is the reason why he even came into existence.
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Other than my own observations, I read about many world views with skepticism. However, there was none so resonating than that of Jesus Christ, whom was "dependent upon his Father". And because of this, he was righteous, honoring the image that he belongs to by following in his his father's steps.
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Reading many different sayings from Jesus Christ actually pointed towards key points in life and it all aligned with my own observations of the "dependency of mankind".
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For example:
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Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work.
John 5:30
I can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me.
John 6:38
For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.
John 8:42
Jesus said to them, "If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and came from God; nor have I come of Myself, but He sent Me.
John 10:30
I and My Father are one.'
John 1:1-3
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.
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Christ was righteous, holy, pure, and without blame.
His whole life was dedicated to honoring his father and depending on the one from whom he comes. Jesus Christ also provided truth which is the true light of the world because just as a man is without light, he cannot know where he is going or what he is doing without truth.​
When all trees of the earth grow, they do not grown downwards, but instead they grow towards their very source of light which is above, and anything above is greater than that which is below.
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So I conclude:
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As a tree is without the sun, so is a man without his God.
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These were the thoughts that convinced me that Jesus Christ truly is Lord, even despite all the false Christians, preachers, priests, pastors, leaders, that misrepresent God.
I knew that I must get right with God and turn from evil, for the sake of my own salvation, that I may return to my Creator.
I must follow God to serve and honor Him, not for some earthly benefit.
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Jun 21, 2019
Release Date
The name of this album refers to the old name of the band before it was changed to Los Retros.
As you can see in the album cover, it is a representation of where I spent a lot of time recording and composing music. That being my parent's living room which is where I also slept on a couch.
This was my first album on Stones Throw Records, which had no specific direction. I simply released whatever projects I had at the time, that including an old song called Oh Grace from the original (retrospect) album from 2017. During the making of this album, it was my first time using Ableton to record music. Beforehand, I would use Audacity which is a free recording software.
With my first advance paycheck from Stones Throw of $5,000, I bought a laptop ($1,000), a pre-ordered Tascam Model 24 ($1,000), I believe a new snare and cymbals for my drums (about $700), my first condensed microphone (about $200), XLR cables, and some 1/4 cables ($150). Stones Throw also got me a discount on Ableton for about $250.
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With these few upgrades, I was able to make better recordings, but I was still naive to a lot of things. I wasn't the greatest at mixing; however, I could surely hear an improvement compared to my old recordings.
It was this album that introduce real drums into my songs along with new styles of music I was trying to make that are considered retro, such as Soul, Psychedelic Rock, Funk, Jazz.
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(feat. Firelordmelisa)
Feb 12, 2019
Release Date
This was my first song ever released on Stones Throw Records.
It became a hit around the world and I think I know why.
The song's message is about being lonely from morning unto the night, not having someone to embrace and share moments with.
This is the life of someone lonely who wishes to know love but has a hard time finding the right person to be vulnerable with.
I'm certain that there are many young people like this all around the world such as myself in those days.
It feels nice to be seen and heard by someone who truly cares, but it is rare to find that someone in a world full of conceit and vanity.
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At the time, I made an online friend named Melisa who is from Arizona. We would chat online and sometimes video call. She also happened to make some music on Soundcloud.
We agreed to make a song together so I immediately began working on chords and recording all the instruments overnight.
I can't remember the exact date I made the instrumental, but in my Google Drive it says "Created May 20, 2018" so it was most likely made around that time.
I wrote all the lyrics, and then sang the whole song so that Melisa could hear an example of the melody for her part.
Since she had no recording gear or software, I told her to record her vocals on her Iphone 6 while using a shirt as a pop filter.
Ironically, this song went Gold even though her part was recorded on a phone.
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December 2, 2017
Release Date
This was the first project ever released that was official.
Our band name at the time was "retrospect" so the album was named after the band. In the early days, Chaisson (former bassist) was more involved and so we worked on a few tracks together to have a complete album.
In those days, we would eagerly publish our songs as soon as we made them. This was when we would use Soundcloud as our only way of putting our music out there.
We eventually compiled many of our songs and turned it into this album which was released on Bandcamp.
The program I used at the time was Audacity which is free, mainly because I was broke. I didn't have an interface at the time but I did have a Yamaha MT4X Multitrack Cassette Tape Recorder. The only way that was possible to record was by plugging in instruments to the tape recorder, and have RCA cables as an output that converted into 3.5mm Stereo Aux. That Aux cable would then be connected straight into my computer. If I wanted to record multiple instruments at once, it had to be recorded into a single channel on Audacity which in not very ideal. So in most cases, I recorded instruments separately. This same method was used for "Someone to Spend Time With".
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I remember feeling satisfied releasing music at the time, but looking back, I feel embarrassed at how rough the mixes were and how naive I was.
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Eventually, all my gear became fried one day. Since I was broke and naive, I would connect a lot of cables from device to device with what I had at the time and suddenly one of my cables caught on fire and the room's electricity shut down.
Afterwards, my MT4X would turn on but would no longer work as before.
Our landlord sent their son to come fix the outlet and it turned out that the outlet was the main reason why everything fried.
behind the outlet, some cables were loose and exposed which caused a spike of electricity to all my devices.
The house was old and didn't have great wiring.
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Makes sense, because in the past I remember getting shocked like crazy by simply touching my computer. That computer wasn't even mine and was actually borrowed from a friend named Danny.
That computer was basically like an office computer so it didn't really run that well. I truly thank God that I have come this far to own better gear.
I was never a gear head, so having only the necessities has always been enough for me.