Gabriel Garzón-Montano

A Brooklyn-born and raised child of immigrant parents, Gabriel’s aesthetic is an extension of his French-Colombian heritage. His influence is a pastiche of Bach sonatas, Cumbia records, and the machine gun funk that echoes up and down Nostrand Ave. His mother, a member of the Philip Glass ensemble in the 1990s, instilled within him a painstaking attention to detail that remains a hallmark of his process. “She is the reason that I love music,” he says. Her rigorous classical instruction formed the foundation on which he honed his skills over the years in the lab, copping Stevie’s changes, studying Prince’s lyrics, and absorbing the beat theses of Timbaland, Dilla, and Pete Rock.

His debut album Jardín comes on the heels of three intense years of touring, writing and recording. Soon after the 2014 release of his debut EP, Bishouné: Alma del Huila, Gabriel was invited out on the road by rock legend Lenny Kravitz, as direct support concerts across Europe. The day after playing Wembley Arena, he received a call notifying him that his song "6 8" would be sampled by Drake on his full-length If You're Reading This, It's Too Late. The months following these cosigns Garzón-Montano was featured on back-to-back tours with English indie-rockers Glass Animals and Stones Throw label mate Mayer Hawthorne.