Music
The best kept secret in music
Press
"Collapsing Culture is an excellent compilation of jazzy, relaxed, urban soundscapes with a playful veneer and a sinister edge. The perfect compliment to a solitary afternoon spent smoking cigarettes, drinking bourbon, and pondering where it all went wrong…" - ReGen Magazine
“You should be surprised what these guys can do with sounds, how they compose extraordinary melodic lines, twisted and melancholic beats, wise rhythms and most of all, intelligent music.” - Beatfactor
Collapsing Culture “is a good showcase for new electronic artists who don’t hail from the supposed cultural hubs of the States. Ernest Gonzales is an artist to definitely keep an eye on, as is Æther216. The CD, with its stunning artwork, is a sample of what is out there, away from the bright lights and masses; it shows the potential of small labels from unknown areas.”
- Igloo Magazine
“Their new label compilation, Collapsing Culture, showcases the work of five San Antonio electronic/trip-hop artists and proves the city surprisingly apt… Exponential's aural paintings are impressionistic little abstracts, solid colors and shapes and random boxes that subtly reveal their hidden layers.” - Pop Matters
Discography
2007 - While on Saturn's Rings LP
2006 - Collapsing Culture LP (named one of the best albums of the year by ReGen Magazine and also most played RPM CD of the year at KAOS FM in Olympia.)
2004 - Lullaby EP
2004 - Remixes EP
2002 - Algorhythm CD LP
Photos
Feeling a bit camera shy
Bio
Ernest Gonzales is a "Hyphenated American" aka Hispanic, Chicano, Latino, or Mexican whatever you want to call it. He grew up next door to the Alamo, but his Spanish is muy pequito. Gonzales is the only child of an electrician father and a Home Depot customer service rep mom. Latch-key only child = video games, drawing trees, making bow and arrows from fallen tree branches, too much MTV, and pizza pockets. Somehow in between summer engineering camps Gonzales decided to go to art school, but he has no plans of painting the Virgen de Guadalupe. During college, Gonzales began experimenting with music production using old school computer programs called trackers he also used scholarship money to buy his first drum machine and upgraded software. (See kids...it does pay off to make good grades.) Upon graduation, Gonzales started Exponential, an indie hip hop/electronic record label. The labels first release is a mix called River Walk Riots by DJ Jester the Filipino Fist. (A fellow Texan and member of Kid Koalas turntable live act)
In the last several years, Gonzales has recorded a handful of underground releases under the alias, Theory of Everything. With each release, Gonzales sound has grown and evolved from experimental hip hop to electronic lullabies inspired by the birth of his first daughter. In 2006, Gonzales released a label compilation called Collapsing Culture that received praise from both press and radio. ReGen magazine named Collapsing Culture as one of the best CD's of the year.
With his latest and first official release, While on Saturn's Rings, Gonzales takes his sound in a different direction by incorporating live guitar and allowing more of his diverse musical influences to coexist. While on Saturns Rings is a collage of stuttering drums & down south beats layered with 8 bit electronic bleeps, dreamy guitars, and dirty bass. File under Down-South-Nintendo-Rock-Tronica
or whatever you want to call it.
Links
