Meet Oscar Rivas | Artist & Producer

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

Hi Oscar, have there been any changes in how you think about work-life balance?
Actually, balance is one of my main focus lately, specially this last year, i used to be very out of balance without knowing why, i was lying to myself thinking that the only thing i needed to be happy was more time to make music until the pandemic happened and suddenly i got the time, i started working on music compulsively more like a machine than an actual artist, sometimes just stopping for sleeping, few weeks later i wasn’t happy with myself and either with my results, the anxiety that i know i had already was even more present, then i stopped everything and i starter to look for answers. It didn’t take too long for me to start a therapy (Which now i recommend to everyone) and learning about psychophysical practices like Yoga, Qigong and meditation, i realized that i was very disconnected of myself and i was holding a lot of emotions inside, after many months of working on that and after A LOT of tears i started to feel more in tune, more balanced and more vitalized, i was amazed with how much stuff i was holding… I still having a lot of work to do but now i’m convinced that working in the balance of our physical, emotional, mental and spiritual bodies bring us balance to our whole life, now, instead of putting all my energy in one thing i try to have a balance between spending time with myself, my professional career, artistic career, the people i care about, being more aware of how i feel and what i need.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I like to express myself in many ways but mainly thru music, my main project is called Zoonido and i started in 2012 playing at a Mezcaleria in Durango, Mexico then, in 2015 i came to Houston and i started from the bottom playing at little house parties, gradually i started to get involved in the local scene and now I’ve been playing in a lot of venues around the city, also i like to support the scene and the community putting events together and inviting other artist and creatives to be together, we been doing this (Me and my friends) user the name of @MaizCollective. The concept of Zoonido its been exploring fusions of electronic music mainly Downtempo, Techno and deep house with latin-American and Afro-Latin rhythms and folklore, Cumbia, Andean and ambient, i love the mix of Electronic Sounds with very organic instruments, Synths and flutes are constantly in my music.
As an artist i think the biggest challenge is express and create from a place of honesty and openness, the more you connect with yourself at the creative moment the more you are going to connect with other people because art it’s a universal language, if you do things from the Ego, things become more plastic and superficial.
I’m grateful with music because sometimes it takes me to places that i wouldn’t imagine and puts me next to a lot of very cool people, i encourage everyone to follow and support your local art communities because they are amazing people and they got a lot to say, im exited for what is happening in the city.

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.
UFF, there are a bunch of cool places to visit in the city! but i would start with Allen Park which is one of my favorite spots for hanging out with friends, taking a walk and even to have a music jam (Why not?), keep your eyes for some random pop up art markets and music shows that happen in the “Underground” art communities sometimes at very unexpected places, i would like to see the shows at Tropidelia, Wonky power, Axelrad and also i would recommend The Flat for dancing!

Houston has pretty cool museums and art galleries too that i would recommend… and finally i would go to the trails that are at north of the city in the forest.

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?
Definitely, we are made of what we have learn from other people around us from learning how to walk and speak to the way we express ourselves, i’m grateful for the people that i got around, who supports me and also helps me growing as a human and also for my teachers, in this particular case i will like to dedicate this little interview to all the people that is opening their eyes to look for answers within, those who are healing and sharing what they got to say to the world, the courage of all of them will make our world a better one, the one that we all want and deserve.

Instagram: @Zoonido_Zoonido

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Zoonido

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqu3HipB1aZJgChaIyrd7Hg

Other: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/2rryqUqzJXpmGATx1VwvhW?si=UmuMARD6SjWC6HD512Rvdw&dl_branch=1 Maiz Collective at Instagram: @Maizcollective

Image Credits
Photographers (Instagram): @The_jmerchan @Thirtydazze