LA based indie artist Roberto’s newest song “UP IN THE SKY” is a stress induced, feverish conglomeration that was recorded in one day is Roberto’s way of finding balance in turbulent times.
Tower Records PULSE! exclusively premiered the song saying “‘Up in the Sky’ seems designed for the escapism we need to stay sane in times like these.”
Roberto spoke about the song saying:
“‘Up in the Sky is me just trying to keep my head high during a hard time. I had moved to a new part of the city, was commuting 3 hours every day via train to my restaurant gig and to top it off I couldn’t get it up one night just because I was so stressed. It’s moments like those where all you want is to escape, to dream, to fly. At the time, this one day in the studio was the closest I got to escape, so I said what I could. Coincidentally it makes as much sense as someone reading Shakespeare while gargling salt water, but It sure is a groovy son’abitch.”
“UP IN THE SKY” follows the Roberto’s debut release of “DORRIGO” which premiered exclusively via Flood. Roberto’s first song has already been getting well deserved international attention from Rolling Stone Colombia, as well as key local support including the tastemaker LA radio station KROQ where “DORRIGO” has charted as high as the #2 spot on the acclaimed “Locals Only” show.
WATCH THE OFFICIAL “DORRIGO” MUSIC VIDEO
Roberto Ortiz is an Indiana kid finding his place in the world. After high school, he hopped on a bike and rode down to Mexico to find his estranged family. After two years and a few thousand miles of cycling, he ended up in the Amazon jungle making a documentary about a community poisoned by the remnants of big oil’s conquest in the rainforest. Afterwards, he landed back in LA where he collaborated with Mark Foster (Foster The People) and Bekon (Kendrick Lamar), traversing his way around town on bike and public bus. This resulted in a bike accident concussion, but that story is for another day.
2020 finds the young man releasing his first recordings of songs he wrote on his bicycle travels across North America. Growing up as a half-black half-Mexican kid in the midwest wasn’t exactly easy, and contributed to a complex individual with his own mind and thoughts about love and spirituality. These first batch of songs reflect his depth and intricacy as an artist and songwriter, and his diverse array of influences from Chance the Rapper to Paul Simon and Céu.
