ädriel

Ädriel Has been playing both the violin and tap shoes since he was seven years young. He has been an active member of various music scenes from Brooklyn/NY to the DMV area as well the Tokyo  underground that span a variety of genres and styles from reggae and west African music to blue grass, jazz and hip hop. His original music draws from many musical traditions from various parts of the planet and defies formal categorization. Dubbed an "up and coming talent" by the Washington Post while still a teenager, Ädriel has been continuously refining his craft for over 20 years.

As a dancer, Ädriel trained at a young age with Yvonne Edwards at Knock on Wood studio and performed with Tappers With Attitude, a professional youth performing dance company based in Silver Spring MD throughout his teens. Through his work with TWA, he was introduced to and studied with many of todays renowned teachers and performers who were brought to the studio as guest faculty or while traveling to many of the Tap festivals around the USA. One such teacher/performer, Heather Cornell, saw the budding potential in Ädriel and went on to become his main mentor in the craft. After a couple years attending her annual summer intensive in NYC, he began collaborating with Heather, providing as well as teaching music in her classes.

After a decade training in the western classical idiom on violin, Ädriel moved from the Washington DC/MD area to New York City to pursue his studies in various other musical landscapes. While studying "jazz and contemporary music" at the New School, where his main mentors included Reggie Workman, Andrew Cyrille, Chico Hamilton, and Samir Chatterjee, Ädriel also delved into the reggae and improvised music scenes. He has performed in a wide variety of settings from cramped Brooklyn basements such as The Freedom Garden and 1012 Willoughby, to packed NYC clubs such as B.B. Kings, Brooklyn Bowl, and the High Line Ballroom. In the summer of 2012 he was honered to perform at the Apollo Theatre, central parks Summer Stage, and at the Catalpa music festival.

Although his focus currently lies in performance, Ädriel is also an active recording artist and producer and appears on many different albums spanning a wide spectrum of genres. 2011 saw the release of his first collaborative album, Downfall of Duality which he co-wrote and produced  with former rise robots rise member/producer Benjamin Nitze. Featured Vocalists included Andrea Diaz, Likwuid (MC) and Jason Samuels Smith.

2015 saw the release of the debut album from one of Ädriel's most recent projects, Making Music Dance. This project features one of his central mentors and partners Tap/Sand dancer Heather Cornell  alongside flamenco dancer Anna De la Paz as the main percussion/drums that move the music. It also incorporates the guitar work of Tony Romano as well as Andy Algire on Balafon and percussion. They have since gone on to record their second (yet to be released) album with Afro-peruvian style Zapateo dancer and percussionist Antonio Vilchez.

Ädriel is currently working on his debut solo album/live show where he draws on all of what he has learned playing with different styles of music to bring a fresh take on the traditions of sound the world has come to develop and love throughout history. You can find him playing stages all around the Tokyo (and greater Japan), where he is currently based.