BIO
Raul Ramirez was born in Ponce, Puerto Rico. After graduating in Chemistry from the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech), he packed his drums in his truck and moved to Boston to study at Berklee College of Music, where he graduated in Music Production and Engineering with a concentration on Music Technology and a minor on drums. He eventually moved to Miami where he got a Master’s in Music from the University of Miami with a concentration on Music Business and Copyright Law.
While in Boston he was the drummer for the spanish rock band Spanish Flies, replacing Eduardo Paniagua who left the group to join the band Puya. During 1993 and 1994 the Puerto Rican power trio promoted their cd and video by touring extensively the island of Puerto Rico and the northeastern United States. They had extensive tv and press coverage and their music was licensed for the soundtrack of the surf video 'La Bruja' which also included tracks by Robi Rosa.
During that time he also played drums and co-produced a cd for the boston band Chameleon Walks featuring singer-songwriter Deborah Hamm on guitar and vocals, and Rafols Morales (engineer for Paulina Rubio, Ricky Martin, Nestor Torres) on bass.
Meanwhile he was also light designer at the world renowned Berklee Performance Center and designed light shows for artists like Paco de Lucia, Celine Dion, Tony Bennett, Ottmar Liebert, Pat Metheny and Patti Labelle among many others.
In 1995 he co-founded the spanish rock band Sofia in Miami. The band recorded a cd at Ochoa Studios in Puerto Rico under the production of Alvaro Riveros (president of Big Sur records in Chile) and distributed by Sony Music. They filmed a video for the single 'Tres Palabras' which had medium-to-heavy rotation on MTV Latino and The Box in Miami and Puerto Rico. For the next few years the band toured extensively in Mexico and the United States, where they had extensive exposure through TV shows, radio interviews and press.
During that time he also worked for Chris Blackwell at Island Records in Miami Beach in the A&R Administration department. There he worked with artists like U2, Cranberries and Lil Kim among others.
After leaving the label he went to work for MTV Latino as a web designer and site producer, and worked closely and designed web pages for Shakira, Maná and many others.
In 1999 he produced a latin rock band called Signos and recorded a CD at Wally Sound, a high-end mobile recording studio in Miami, FL.
He also played at the Cancun Jazz Festival with the Jazz trio Josh and the Jam Band. The festival featured artists like Irakere and George Benson among many others.
In that same year he also produced his first solo project as a singer/ songwriter. In this 6-song demo he wrote all the songs and played all instruments: vocals, drums, guitars, bass, synth, flute, harmonica, etc. The result is an adult contemporary project reminiscent of artists like Seal and Miguel Bose.
In 2000 he was the drummer for Outdance, an odd-time signature, experimental world fusion band. They were known for their long and powerful improvisations. They recorded several live albums and were featured in the 'Harvest Music Festival' in Gainesville, FL which included artists like Medeski-Martin-and-Wood, The Wailers, and P-funk among others.
During 2000 and 2002, he was the bass player for the Spanish Rock band Moxi. He also designed their website and produced the live sequences for the live shows. They had numerous presentations in Miami and Los Angeles and had extensive press and tv coverage including articles in the Miami Herald, voted best rock band in Miami New Times, a tv appearance in the Telemundo show 'De Mananita' in Miami and in LATV in Los Angeles. The band was also chosen for a TV commercial for the Mexican beer 'Tecate' which was in heavy rotation in the US.
In 2000 he also became the producer, singer and bass player for the hard, progressive rock band Ohms, later known as Cinemo. With them they established a strong local presence playing in numerous venues including the Miami Planetarium and Bayfront Park. Heavily influenced by bands like Tool and Soundgarden, Cinemo has been referred to as the heaviest rock band in the latin market in Miami. They recorded a concept CD available for streaming online.
In 2002 Raul produced an instrumental cd called ‘ecomusica vol.1 - the chillout sessions’, where he wrote all the music and played every instrument. The cd is a mixture of ambient, acid jazz and world music fused together under chillout. The cd is available online and in exclusive stores in Miami Beach, San Juan, and Amsterdam.
For the next couple of years Raul toured extensively in Puerto Rico and the Miami area with his solo electronica show which includes computers, live electronic and acoustic drums, synths, electronic toys and a visual screen. He got extensive TV and radio exposure and one of his tracks was selected for several radio promos for Alfa Rock (105.7 FM), the most legendary rock radio station in Puerto Rico. Another track was also chosen as the title track of a world music show at Radio Universidad in Puerto Rico (89.7 FM)
In that same year he was baritone voice for the Florida Philharmonic Chorus.
In early 2004 Raul was selected resident DJ by The Womb and did live global webcasts from Miami Beach once a month. The Womb was a pioneer and legendary website that streamed live broadcats of the best DJ’s and performers from around the globe.
In 2005 he released ‘live @ the womb’, a non-stop, continuous and improvised musical journey performed and recorded entirely live during one of his sets.
in 2006, Raul released ’ecomusica vol.2: ambient lounge’. the cd has been licensed by record labels in Switzerland and Germany and quickly became a favorite among lounges, clubs and shops in Miami Beach. His song 'Amsterdam' can be heard on several playlists on Spotify where it has more than 70,000 streams.
That same year he performed at events like the Winter Music Festival at the prestigious Delano Hotel in Miami Beach and at the Heineken Transatlantic Music Festival at the Northbeach Bandshell among others.
In 2007, two of his tracks (‘Bamboo Bei’ and ‘Travel’) were licensed for the international compilation ‘Pan Global Electro Lounge Vol.1’. The compilation is distributed from Germany and is gaining widespread popularity among other european countries.
In 2014 he produced and recorded ‘ecomusica vol.3’ adding to his already popular Ecomusica collection and gaining an even wider audience.
His music can be heard on all major streaming portals including Pandora, Spotify, Apple Music, Youtube and others.
In 2015 Raul took a short break from chill music and tapped into his heavy roots once more to write, perform and produce the project Muro Sigma which quickly became a favorite among hard rock fans in the Miami area.
During the pandemic Raul produced a series of “One Man Band” videos of cover songs from the 80’s, which show him playing all the instruments. He gained widespread popularity on Facebook and Instagram where he has thousands of views.
In 2022, Raul finished his second EP “Respira” as a singer/songwriter. It is a collection of 5 songs in Spanish, written, performed, and produced by him. The album is also available on all major streaming platforms, including Spotify and Apple Music.
Currently Raul is producing a reggae project featuring Grammy-Nominated artist Elsten Torres, which features a reggae cover of the Tears for Fears hit single 'Shout'.
He is also producing 'Ecomusica Vol. 4' as well as other artists, and is constantly writing and producing more original material.