Diego Bernal & Ernest Gonzales - Atonement | Album

It’s been a few years since civil rights attorney / beatmaker Diego Bernal released any music but it’s hard to find time for music production when you are a councilman for one of the biggest cities in The United States. (District 1, San Antonio, Texas) Feeling the time constraints of his political endeavors, Diego reached out to producer and friend, Ernest Gonzales to help him put an album together.

Gonzales said no.

But...persistence paid off in the end and the two amigos set out to create an album. From the first track, a theme began to emerge and what started as a dusty, western sounding song, turned into a 9 song concept album that was written to be the soundtrack of an unmade Mexican Western film. The album, Atonement, is a tale of love and loss. It is a story in which the hero finds himself in despair and makes things right again in the end.

But that’s not really the ending.

The album will be sold on pay a what you want model and 100% of the proceeds will go towards the creation of a non-profit program called SAMPL (San Antonio Music Production Lab) aimed at teaching at-risk youth to produce music.

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released 17 September 2013

You may download the album for free, just click BUY NOW and "Name Your Price" € 0
Download Album: bandcamp.com

Diego Bernal - 'For Corners' | Album

There’s a whole other territory nestled deep within the heart of Texas…a city within the city of San Antonio. You can try tracking it on your iPhone but chances are that there is no listing for “San Anto.” The street corners are lined with palateras, taquerias, and every variety of mom and pop shop imaginable. This is the setting of Diego Bernal’s story and the source material for his music.

Although Bernal claims San Antonio as his home town, he spent much of his childhood traversing from home to Texas’ Rio Grande Valley to California’s Bay Area. Along the way Bernal soaked up the sounds- from the Latin harmonies of Trio Los Panchos and the R&B of Bill Withers and Joe Bataan to the jazz of Charlie Mingus and McCoy Tyner. It was also the golden era of hip-hop and Bernal soon found himself infatuated with beats and production.

Bernal was born to parents who were educators, activists, and intellectuals-a former migrant farm worker and an education reformer- so it only makes sense that he is now an attorney for a national civil rights organization… oh, and makes some soulful beats on the side when he’s not fighting for justice and equality.

“For Corners” is Diego Bernal’s love letter to the music, cultures, era and people that nurtured him. The music is dusty and layered with Latin soul, from the triumphant blasts of horns to the laid back groove of lowrider melodies. It is a call to return to the simplicity and integrity of hip-hop’s best moment and an invitation to enjoy a slightly different kind of southern comfort. Not so much dirty south as directly south.

For his second outing Bernal returns with “Besides…” On the album, Diego sifts through untapped and long forgotten South Texas crates to create a musical ode to the classic era of hip hop. With “Besides…” we see a more straightforward take on hip hop, but the production has matured and the beats have grown more into full songs.

This release is available as a very limited edition blue 7” 45 vinyl with “A Long Second” and “Blue Neon.” The vinyl also includes a download card for all songs in any format including high MP3 or lossless FLAC.
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released 24 February 2009
You may download the album for free, just click BUY NOW and "Name Your Price" € 0
Download Album: bandcamp.com