Meet Alberto López | Musician, Producer, Vinyl Record Manufacturer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Alberto López and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Alberto, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
While music is definitely a calling which I began answering to at a young age, the businesses I’ve started since I moved to LA in 1999 (Belú Music, Trópico Union Studios and now Belú Music Press) have been about providing services that satisfy the needs of independent musicians and artists in the area. We are not opposed to working with “major” artists (we have and continue to work with some, too!), but the focus has always been in finding ways make the resources that are available to me and the people I work with to those who may not have access to them.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I feel blessed to have been able to make a living doing things I love and very thankful for all the lessons learned (and still learning!) along the way. Sometimes I get asked what sets me apart from others, but it’s a difficult question to answer because I have spent most of my life creating bonds and relationships with people and communities to bring us together, not creating differences. It is not an easy path. Society teaches and encourages to become “successful” individuals and to measure our accomplishments against others. We do not exist in a vacuum and need each other, always. Every time I venture into something new and/or exciting to me, the new experience always increases the awareness of how connected and in need of each other we really are. At this point, I just work to amplify connections between people however I can.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
LA is a true metropolitan center and there are so many things to do! No matter who comes to visit and what they want to do when here, there is always something great to experience. Of late, some of my favorite things to do on a rare day off (in no particular order) include hikes/walks in Griffith Park, eating Oaxacan and Korean food in Pico Union/Koreatown, going to Raul Campos’ (of KCRW fame) new LP Vinyl Bar right on the corner of Hollywood and Vine or checking out whatever the local musical brethren are up to, whether it be in the World Stage (Leimert Park), the Miracle Theatre (Inglewood), The Paramount (East LA) or any of the new places that are popping up (it’s hard to keep up!).

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
There are sooooo many people that I’d like to give a shoutout to! The story of what I’ve been able to do is thanks to the support and guidance of many others who have generously facilitated their knowledge and encouraged me so that I may find a meaningful path in life.

First and foremost, my parents Judy Cascales and Gonzalo López, who have made this life journey possible and have always given their unwavering love and support. As a father, I hope to live up to their example.

Next would be all my music mentors, including, but not limited to (there are so many!) Angélica Romero, Felipe García Villamil, Colegio de Música de Medellín, Consuelo Mejía, Ilana Mysior, Tatsuo Sasaki, Arthur Press, Buster Bailey, Nancy Zeltsman, Ian Finkel, Greg Askew, José Luis Quintana “Changuito”, Teresa Polledo, Regino Jiménez, Alejandro Carvajal, Taju Adeleke, Daniel Plante and Jacques Louis Monod.

I owe almost all of my knowledge in all things pertaining to music recording to the late great Joel Soyffer. Not a day passes that I don’t think of and thank him for everything he showed me. Carlos Castro of WaterSound has also been a great friend and mentor in this field.

In the most recent vinyl record manufacturing venture, Rick Enriquez of Viryl Tech and Gil Tamazyan from Capsule Labs/Onyx Record Press have been invaluable.

And there are friends, colleagues and community that are part of an intersectionality of all these things that always make things better, including Quetzal Flores, Rachel Hernandez, Kahlil Cummings, the Jungle Fire, Rumbankete and Extra Ancestral families, Baba Olaifá and the Ifá communities here in Turtle Island, Yoruba Land and the world. I love you all! It really takes a village.

Website: https://www.belumusicpress.com

Instagram: @belumusicpress

Image Credits
Logo by Pablo Tucuprá
Pressing machine photo by Farmer Greif