Meet Javier Rivera | Music Producer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Javier Rivera and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Javier, what do you attribute your success to?
Being authentic. 100 percent. People will recognize and gravitate towards something that feels real and honest. I just stick to what makes sense to me and put all my focus on making that the best that it could be.

Also, making the time into putting in the work as well. A lot of people think that this comes easy. It’s really not. Being successful in my medium takes lots of time and patience. If you can’t handle that then get out of the way.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Music. What sets me apart from others is my sound for sure. I am not producing or mixing the same records as any other producer out here in the local music scene.

I should have dropped my next project SIERRA BLANCO by that time this comes out, which is some good guitar driven instrumentation with some bass that almost can sound like subs. After this project, I am going to focus on pushing myself to create some electronic sounds that hasn’t been done in Houston. The dj/producer scene here deserves to be more recognized and cultivated unlike all this drowned out rap stuff and regular djs spinning all the top music. Djing is about digging for music and playing that to audiences who haven’t heard it before. Showcasing new sounds to people. The culture needs to honestly move on from this top 40 stuff or what’s popular.

The journeys been all over the place though. Not easy for sure. You pursue one thing and put your heart all into it and then it doesn’t work. So you move on to the next thing. Just have to keep working and pushing yourself.

Only lesson I’ve learned is that if you’re not having fun, why waste your time doing it?

This is only the beginning for me and it’s looking real good.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Favorite spot to hang is the Montrose area. Tons of food spots such as pistoleros or uchis. You have thrift store options in case you need a fit and if thrifting isn’t your thing, Galleria mall isn’t too far area.

Cactus is a good spot for records and anything music related.

If you want to catch some local bands/performers, you have BFE, White Swan or Super Happy.

The art district as well and especially on sundays.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
As far as recognition goes, my music peers. The real underground artists in the Houston local scene. I’d honestly wouldn’t be deep in this game without them.

Close friends and family that are into the creative arts as well that I won’t name but they know who they are. Without their support and encouragement, I wouldn’t be as far as I am now.

For sure South America because of the love and respect I get as a producer out there. All the radio blogs and plugs out there tend to trust me in regards to sending them music for them to work with and play on their stations.

And to mention a book, Mastery by Robert Greene. S/O the Flex Coach.

Website: malasurfcartel.com

Instagram: Instagram.com/malasurfcartel

Twitter: Twitter.com/malasurfcartel

Youtube: https://youtube.com/channel/UCQGXgeZYGkS5KmrtRAa4yqQ

Image Credits
ARTSCAR