Bliss Festival Artist Bios

Oakland resident Sarah Gagnon named her music project after her paternal French Canadian grandmother, got a band together and self-released the eponymous debut folk pop album Hectorine in 2019. The sophomore record, Tears, was born on the banks of the Yuba River and was released in 2021 on Paisley Shirt Records, which is run by the inimitable Kevin Linn, who says, "a low dark voice carries this ethereal, atmospheric, and art pop-inspired record." Hectorine is currently working on finishing their sax-heavy third album Arrow of Love, which is slated for release in late 2024. These days the rest of Hectorine consists of Laura Adkins on drums, Betsy Gran on keyboards, Geoff Saba on bass, Max Shanley on lead guitar, Tika Hall on auxiliary percussion, and Jeanne Oss on saxophone.

Behind Oakland CA-based ensemble Orchestra GOLD’s original sound is a decade-long story of knowledge, respect, and collaboration between Mariam Diakite of Mali and Erich Huffaker of Oakland. Blending the traditions of Mali and American Rock/Funk with a retro feel, OG represents a world of powerful cross-cultural experience. The group transcends borders and boundaries to be a force of healing within the community. OG offers a kaleidoscope of magical sound deeply rooted in the past while boldly blazing towards the genre-bending future: African Psychedelic Rock.

¿Qiensave? has existed as a musical entity since 2009, but within the last few years the band has picked up steam by releasing their sophomore album “Mujer” via ONErpm Music, which includes singles produced by world-renowned and Latin Grammy-nominated musician Eric Canales and Platinum Producer Sam Pura, and touring which has given ¿Qiensave? the opportunity to share the stage with acts like Celso Piña, Grupo Kual, La Santa Cecilia, Fuerza de Tijuana, and La Septima Banda among others. Currently, the band is promoting the release of their new single “512-1433” which is the story of being given the same number by two different women.

Ritmos Tropicosmos is a seven piece psychedelic cumbia group from Oakland, creating heavy tropical rhythms with an emphasis on live percussion, synthesizers, and familial stories put into song. Together in a time-warped crossroads of electric and acoustic instrumentation, Ritmos Tropicosmos stands somewhere within the traditional rhythms of the past and the futuristic soundscapes of The Now.

Salami Rose Joe Louis is a multi-instrumentalist female producer from California and a signee to Flying Lotus’s independent label Brainfeeder. Drawing influences from jazz, soul, hip-hop, pop, Shuggie Otis, Captain Beefheart, Stereolab, and R. Stevie Moore, she creates a blend of experimental dreamy sounds with jazz influenced vocals and keys. She released her debut album on Brainfeeder “Zdenka 2080”, a conceptual sci-fi album that has been described as a “stunning interdimensional travel themed new album” by Gigwise. “Zdenka 2080” was nominated for Gilles Peterson’s Worldwide Awards for best album of 2020. She had the honor of joining Flying Lotus’ Flamagra Tour, the Cinematic Orchestra’s European tour, Toro y Moi’s “Outer Peace Tour”, TuneYards US. tour August, and supported acts Clairo, MNDSGN, Homeshake, and Still Woozy in 2022. She was recently featured on Toro y Moi’s new album, Mahal, and she did a remix for Hiatus Kaiyote’s new record on Ninja Tune/Brainfeeder and was featured on Free the Robots most recent album. Her production journey began with the acquisition of a roland MV8800 in 2014, catalyzing a deep dive into the production world, self recording and mixing her albums on the MV, "Son of a Sauce", "Zlaty Sauce Nephew", “Zdenka 2080”, and “Chapters of Zdenka”. Drawing from her studies in planetary sciences, she creates a unique experience filled with space inspired sounds and galaxy chords.

With "I Can't Have It All," front-woman Yea-Ming Chen has masterfully curated her self-proclaimed “pop record.” Weaving melancholy narratives with catchy hooks in a sound that is more surfy, more punk, and more indie than anything the Rumours have done before. Fuller sounding production heavily influenced by groups like Yo La Tengo, Camera Obscura, and other early 90’s underground college radio favorites, “I Can’t Have It All” marks the band’s continued evolution.