COASTCITY Paves New Path with Addicting Bicultural Sound

Get ready for some seriously cool vibes.

Comprising industry vets Danny Flores and Jean Rodriguez, COASTCITY is pumping out a captivating, deliciously tropical smile-inducing sound for a new America, a sound that they like to call “Caribbean soul.”

The pair’s working relationship began in 2006, with Flores playing the role of Music Director to Rodriguez during his time as a solo artist. Despite collaborating on various projects for more than a decade, it was only within the past year that the two decided to finally join forces in a new capacity and become an official duo. "Last year [2016] we began working on what was going to be my upcoming album," Rodriguez told Musical Notes Global, "and because of our dynamic and vibe, we decided to become an artist-production duo we named COASTCITY."

Inspired by their roots and bicultural upbringings experiencing American and Latin cultures (Flores and Rodriguez were both born in Puerto Rico and ended up in Orlando), COASTCITY naturally blends classic flavors of pop and R&B with infectious Latin sounds and bilingual lyrics. "We are bi-cultural and it is natural for us to write in both languages," Flores said. "We really don't do it on purpose."

In summer 2017, the pair finally shared this unique Caribbean fusion with the world through "Noches y Mañanas," their Spanglish debut single. "This was such an important song because it was COASTCITY's introduction to the world," Flores continued. "We were VERY careful in choosing the right sounds and really wanted to piece this sort-of Frankenstein of genres perfectly together so it would reflect our story and direction in its most honest form."

A dreamily smooth, compelling track that blends elements of pop, funk, and alternative sounds with Caribbean rhythms, "Noches y Mañanas" was penned with the help of Grammy-winning composer Claudia Brant, who has written songs for Jennifer Lopez, John Legend, Ricky Martin, and more. "Claudia and Jean have been writing together since 2000," Flores said. "Since we wrote this one particular song in LA, we reached out to her and she came by the studio and was the inspiration behind the hook. She is truly amazing!"

Four months after making their official debut, COASTCITY shared their latest single "Desconocidos," an urban-flavored jam with a sensual beat. Starting out as only a melody, the track evolved into something much bigger with a cool, unexpected message. "This song revolved around the moving dance-like melody which to us felt amazing despite what the lyrics would be," they said. "We started working on the 1st verse and by the end of it we still didn't know exactly where it was leading or what the ultimate storyline was going to be. It was just one of those situations where it kinda wrote itself. The hook made it all make sense. We usually write the hook 1st but with this one we started from the 1st line of the song."

Translating to "Strangers" in English, the song's theme is completely relatable and relevant in today's world. "We also found a great significance to the song," they revealed, "the idea to interact and talk with strangers, the idea of engaging and getting to know someone and striking a pleasant conversation rather than be glued to your Smartphone."

Although COASTCITY is a newly formed duo, each of its members have worked in the music industry for ages, both together and separately, and have lived incredible journeys that have seen them collaborate with a slew of big name artists including Prince Royce, Marc Anthony, and Rodriguez's big brother Luis Fonsi.

In 2017 alone, the longtime producers and songwriters received Latin Grammy nominations as part of the teams that created two nominated albums: Shakira's El Dorado, which was awarded Best Contemporary Pop Vocal album, and Prince Royce's Five. While Rodriguez worked on both albums as a producer and engineer, together with Flores as COASTCITY, the duo wrote and produced the song "X" featuring Zendaya and co-wrote and produced "Just As I Am" featuring Chris Brown and Spiff TV, both for Royce's Five. It's "An absolute amazing feeling!" they said about their nominations. "We both have families, homes, and kids; needless to say, time is so incredibly valuable to us and we sacrifice so much for the love of music and our careers. Having this recognition makes it all worth it and lets us know we are on the right path in following our passion. It's all these things that will help us leave our legacy which is our ultimate goal."

Having spent time writing for others, COASTCITY acknowledges that writing for themselves is a much different experience, and much harder too. "We are so versatile and love so many genres because of our upbringing so the hardest thing is to stay in that lane so it all makes sense. We thrive on wanting to be different. When writing for others you get to play pretend and create another world or situation with another character so it becomes a bit easier."

With such a busy schedule, Rodriguez even had the time last year to work on the remix of J Balvin's worldwide hit "Mi Gente" featuring Beyoncé, a track that soared to the top of the charts and that helped raise money for hurricane and earthquake relief in Mexico, Puerto Rico, and the Caribbean islands. Hired as Beyoncé's Latin vocal co-producer on the project, he was entrusted with the job of training the global superstar to sing in Spanish. "What an experience that was for real!" he exclaimed. "Definitely, one of my career highlights to date! She was incredibly nice, the true definition of what a successful artist should be like. She made me feel welcomed, which made the process way easier and smoother. She really let me do my thing and respected my contribution to the song. I spent 2 days with her at her studio with her team and it was nothing but a productive and great time...I've always been a fan of hers and now an even bigger one."

Flores has also been busy holding the position of Musical Director for one of the hottest Latin boy bands of the moment, CNCO. "I first need to thank David Cabrera for allowing me to work with CNCO. It has been pretty inspiring to work with those guys," he noted. "I have always loved working with vocal groups, working on their harmonies and be part of their artistic development on stage. They are on top of the world right now. I really enjoy performing songs like 'Reggaeton Lento,' 'Mamita,' and 'Hey DJ' all over the world with them, it's dope."

Together, COASTCITY is leading the way into an exciting new musical territory with a sound that listeners can't help but fall in love with and that represents the best of two worlds: the rich Latin culture and the influence of American entertainment. "We want to make COASTCITY a household name like COLDPLAY, WU-TANG, and the BEATLES to name a few," they said. "This is a new America and we want our generation to really identify with us and our movement. We want to create amazing music and play it all over the world. We want our fans to follow our journey and build incredible memories with."

For all of COASTCITY's latest news and updates, follow them on social media:

Facebook: facebook.com/coastcityvibes

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Twitter: @coastcityvibes

Website: coastcityvibes.com

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