t’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 a pay 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. 

Cover Photo by Scott Stulberg - www.asa100.com

Veladoras

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 a pay 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. 

Cover Photo by Scott Stulberg - www.asa100.com

BONUS TRACK- Carobomb

Una Vez/For It Was Told

Thirteen Gold Coins

Sin Esperanza

Recently someone said my music sounds like it's stuck in the late 80's and early 90's. They're right. Here you go. 

Album \ə-ˈsās\ coming soon on Exponential Records.

Standard Relay

W.H.Y

Hermano Del Alma No. 2

In The Air And In The Wind

I Met Prince Paul!

Under The Limelight, Squeezing Hi - Toned Prayers Out The Box, North To St. Mary

To Four For Two

Daddy Loves You

Soloing Act

...It Wasn't

Big Guy Brindis

Lunch Money (Brown Paper Box)

Blue Neon

A Long Second

El Corrido de Chico B

Outro- Card on a Loss (All I Did)

Armor All'd Out

Bring It On Home

Damn You

Diego's Donut (RIP Dilla)

Dusty Sanchez

MC Rakim Cool Kane and the Furious Boyz Crew (1986)

Summer's Over (Interlude)

The Way It Was

Velcro Flow

Down an Out

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 started as a civil rights attorney and then turned to politics- first as a city councilman and now a Texas State Representative... oh, and he makes some soulful beats on the side when he’s not fighting for justice and equality. 

All of Diego's projects are love letters 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.

Diego Bernal

Popular tracks