Instructor Bio
“DJing is a spiritual practice, exploring alchemy through the DJ art form as well as West African spiritualism, healing, mental health, and self care.”
Defying effortless categorization, Maria “Ri Ri'' Garcia aka Rimarkable is a child of funk, jazz, gospel, rock, and soul, and her selections as a DJ and broadcaster fuse all of these sounds “wrapped into a house and techno box”. Growing up heavily influenced by Black gospel music, her mother a classically trained pianist and music minister in a Pentecostal church, Rimarkable’s childhood summers in Chicago also gave her an introduction to house music, during the genre’s explosive infancy. An Afro-Latina from Detroit, she’s a first-generation Puerto Rican, and the Afro-Latin sound continues to have a huge impact on her sonic leanings, alongside the unmistakable ear training of the city’s techno legacy.
Rimarkable started professionally DJing in 1997, first doing private events and then clubs in the early 2000s. She’s since played around the world alongside the likes of Louie Vega, Roger Sanchez, Francois K, Pete Tong, Todd Edwards, and Honey Dijon. She started producing in 2006, after she grew tired of male producers either not understanding how she wanted to sound, or luring her into the studio to hang out, then asking her to freestyle on the mic, while hitting ‘record’ and releasing music without her consent.
A multi-hyphenate musician who has found various creative outlets over the years, Rimarkable believes in DJing and producing as a spiritual practice, exploring alchemy through the DJ art form as well as West African spiritualism, healing, mental health, and self-care. It’s a philosophy that eventually manifested as a lecture and classroom series called ‘The Alchemy of DJing’, a means for her to creatively engage in social justice, and empower women and youth. It’s taken her to various cities such as Nairobi and Berlin, and US institutions such as Yale and Queens Museum, and now has landed her as an Adjunct Professor at NYU-Tisch in the Clive Davis Institute, where she teaches the younger minds this sacred art of alchemy of the DJ.
With her heart divided between the beats of Detroit and the rhythm of NYC, Rimarkable is the embodiment of musical magic. A true party instigator, Rimarkable has orchestrated countless successful events in New York, Detroit, and the Bay Area over the past two decades. In early 2021, she inked a deal with the revered UK house music institution Defected, joining forces with their music publishing arm. Brace yourself as Rimarkable takes center stage as the dynamic presenter for the weekly Defected Radio show, bringing her signature sound to a global audience. Rimarkable has been signed to the UK house music institution Defected since 2021 including the Defected Music publishing arm, and stepped up as a presenter for the weekly Defected Radio show. Rimarkable currently spends her time between Detroit and NYC.
“Music brought us together… Let's dance."
