Puerto Rican reggae star Pachyman comes for a special set at Jazz Cafe to promote his new record 'Another Place'
Born in Puerto Rico, Pachy García first picked up the guitar as a child, but his growing obsession with vintage Jamaican sounds led him to pivot to piano and bass. His musical journey took a decisive turn after relocating to Los Angeles, where he taught himself drums and co-founded the raucous band Prettiest Eyes. Simultaneously, he began amassing an arsenal of budget recording gear—scouring thrift stores and secondhand shops for forgotten audio treasures.
Once his basement was stocked with enough equipment, García transformed the space into "333 House"—a DIY studio dedicated to honoring the reggae and dub pioneers who shaped his musical consciousness. There, he meticulously studied the groundbreaking techniques of legendary engineers like Scientist and King Tubby, whose innovative use of reverb, delay, and tape loops defined the genre.
At 333 House, García crafts raw, analog-heavy recordings that bridge the gap between rocksteady’s golden era and L.A.’s punk underground. His work channels the spirit of Studio One and Black Ark while injecting a distinctly modern, DIY ethos—proving that revolutionary sounds can emerge from humble spaces.
From Puerto Rico’s beaches to Los Angeles’ back-alley studios, García’s story is one of musical obsession, self-taught innovation, and unwavering reverence for reggae’s radical legacy.
His style, instrumental, polyrhythmic, and melodic, sounds unmistakably reggae, complete with dub reverb and nostalgic instrumentation, while having a Hispanic character, combining the sounds of his native Puerto Rico with the rest of the Caribbean, synthesising the attitudes of the subcontinent.