Welcome to the website of musician and writer PC Muñoz.
About PC Muñoz
After spending much of the last three years immersed in multidisciplinary productions across the US and Hong Kong, San Francisco musician/writer PC Muñoz returns to his songwriting roots with a pair of new singles, starting with the quirky homegrown beat-pop single "Wrong", now available on iTunes. Constructed from hand-crafted beats, toy piano, pocket synths, and world-class disillusionment, "Wrong" is the sound of the slippery slope of doubt, inspired by the former planet Pluto's infamous demotion in status. Check out the video in the box to your right, and watch for the next single, a monster funk-pop gem called "Ain't Love Grand", coming this fall!
PC Muñoz's genre-defying projects are stylistically broad and deep, revealing a sonic explorer equally at home with contemporary classical, funk, hip-hop, spoken-word, world-music fusion, public art installations and modern dance productions. His partnership with composer/cellist/longtime Kronos Quartet member Joan Jeanrenaud has yielded two highly acclaimed projects: the Grammy-nominated Strange Toys and the iTunes-charting cello and beats duo album Pop-Pop. A frequent and enthusiastic collaborator, PC has recorded and/or performed with rock legend Jackson Browne, dream-pop poet/chanteuse Ingrid Chavez, Prince and the Revolution synth wizard Dr. Fink, Kulintang master Danny Kalanduyan, sonic surrealists Broun Fellinis, woodwinds renegade Kyle Bruckmann, metal vocalist AC Way, vocalist Jennifer Kreisberg of the legendary Native American group Ulali, and countless other musicians and recording artists.
PC's notable multidisciplinary collaborations include ongoing iterations of HALF-BREED (which PC created during his 2013 fellowship at The Loft Literary Center in Minneapolis), the award-winning December 2012 production Ir-Rational, 2012's Fall of a Sudden project in Hong Kong, 2008's public art installation Light Haiku with kinetic sculptor Chris Eckert, 2005's award-winning project Twenty Haiku, and ongoing performances with Vadim Puyandaev and Erika Tsimbrovsky of Avy-K Productions.
PC began his career in the early 90s as an R&B/Gospel drummer and indie producer, while teaching elementary school by day. In 1998 he launched a solo artist/label entrepreneur career, releasing his debut solo disc, The Trouble I'd Bring You on his own label, Beevine Records. Beevine also released 2002's CMJ-charting A Good Deed in a Weary World, 2004's Golden State mash-note California (featuring Jackson Browne on the title track), and 2005's Twenty Haiku. In 2005, PC delved further into production and artist development, co-founding the unique record label/private recording studio entity Talking House Productions with Seagate CEO Steve Luczo and 5 close music industry colleagues. Known as the Bay Area's premiere studio with the only SSL-9000K console in Northern California, the former Talking House facility is now called Studio Trilogy, and hosts everyone from local up-and-comers to pop mega-stars like Lady Gaga and will.i.am.
Born and raised in San José, California, amidst innovation and entrepreneurialism, Muñoz now resides in San Francisco.
UPCOMING PROJECTS AND APPEARANCES
PC is currently in writing and studio mode: completing pre-production on his upcoming pop single "Ain't Love Grand", developing two new projects with Oscar-nominated composer/virtuoso Van-Anh Vanessa Vo, tracking new material with longtime collaborator Joan Jeanrenaud, readying R&B/pop artist Chase Martin's spectacular new single "Chosen", and tracking percussion for a wonderful songwriting duo, Owl Country.
NOW LISTEN-HEAR!
Selected tracks from various projects:
WORK WITH PC
PC Muñoz is available for select audio/music projects as percussionist/beatmaker, sound designer, and producer, or as a content creator/project leader for large and small creative initiatives. See contact info below.
LEARN FROM PC
PC is available as a guest lecturer/workshop presenter, and accepts a limited amount of cajon drum students each year; contact PC directly for next availability.
PC is a voting member of The Recording Academy. Academy members can connect at the Grammy Pro site.
Visit PC's LinkedIn page here and contact PC directly at the address below for all inquiries.
DRESHER ENSEMBLE ARTIST RESIDENCY: PC has been awarded a 2014-2015 Dresher Ensemble Artist Residency for the development of his next collaborative multimedia project, Inside Pocket of a Houndstooth Blazer. Stay tuned for news on collaborators!
OWL COUNTRY: PC is playing percussion and drumset on the debut recordings from Owl Country, a new project headed by a pair of wonderful songwriters: Dan Imhoff and Yvette Cornelia. The material will be released later this year.
"WRONG" MAKING THE ROUNDS: Radio stalwart Dennis "The Menace" Scheyer premiered PC's new single "Wrong" on his syndicated shows a few weeks back, and other broadcast risk-takers are joining the fun: LA tastemaker/blogger Dan Digs featured "Wrong" in this hot podcast, and Dr. Rickey Vincent rocked "Wrong" on his legendary "History of Funk" radio show on KPFA. Help spread the word by sharing the video!
CHASE MARTIN SINGLE: PC is wrapping production work on "Chosen", the killer radio-ready first single by Oakland Pop/R&B artist Chase Martin, due this fall. Watch out for the video, coming soon!
NEW COLLAB PROJECTS COMING: PC is joining forces with Emmy-award winning/Oscar nominated virtuoso Van-Anh Vanessa Vo and rapper DEM ONE for a unique music and film project, Blood Moon Orchestra. "One Voice/One Drum" director Christopher PaperSon Woon is helming the film component. Stay tuned for more details on this project and other collaborations with Ms. Vo and others planned for 2015!
TYIA WILSON ALBUM: You can hear PC on the new release by Idaho-based vocalist Tyia Wilson. The epic dance/chant track "Adi Shakti" is featured in the "Now Listen-Hear!" section of this site; check her out!
LUCAS KRECH PHOTO SHOOT: Veteran NYC lighting designer/photographer Lucas Krech recently photographed PC for Krech's Artist Portrait series, which focuses on artists in their work environments. Lucas captured PC while working on music at Studio Trilogy. Check out Krech's work here.
FREE NEW DUO ALBUM: PC and madcap avant-garde pianist Ira Kamin, best known for his seminal work with the legendary guitarist Michael Bloomfield, released a drums + piano free-jazz album The Space Between, on October 15th; it is available for FREE exclusively on PC's bandcamp page, right here!
LATEST DRUM! MAGAZINE ARTICLE: PC's next piece for DRUM! Magazine, due in mid-2014, focuses on Bay Area drummer-songwriter Andrew Griffin and his band Felsen. You can read PC's October 2013 article, "Drums in the Key of Wonder", online right here!
VIDEO GUIDE: 1. "Wrong" music video --new! 2. Sneak-peek video for the HALF-BREED project 3. "One Voice/One Drum" mini-doc featuring DEM ONE and PCM 4. "Counterfeit" lyric video 5. Teaser vid for free-jazz drumkit + piano album with madcap pianist Ira Kamin 6. PC clears up the misconception that Cher is part of the HALF-BREED project 7. "Panama Canal" by Joan Jeanrenaud and PC featured on So You Think You Can Dance 8. Fall of a Sudden promo video, featuring Hong Kong rehearsal footage and audio collage 9. Music video for "Arietta" by Kev Choice, produced by PC
Press
"Dark, sexual, sensual, confessional, and confrontational--all at the same time...a poet." Performing Songwriter
"3.5 Stars (for Pop-Pop). This cello-and-percussion team moves through 10 tracks that are alternately tantalizing, mesmerizing, even somber at times." DownBeat
"(PC Muñoz) is truly a modern musician, equally at home with a live band, playing the most organic of instruments...or hunched over a computer, making beats and working magic with ProTools..." Tom Chandler, East Bay Express
"Muñoz's tasteful electronics, effortlessly balancing hard-hitting syncussion with bouncy basslines and buttery synth washes, are the perfect counterpoint to the thought-provoking words he spits out with an incomparable cool....undeniable talent for crafting songs that stimulate the mind and the body." Amorn Bholsangngam, Urb Magazine
"Somewhere between hip-hop attitude, Minneapolis nasty and latin rock playa chops, PC Muñoz has an instantly compelling sound that defies definition..." Rickey Vincent, author of "Funk: The Music, The People, and The Rhythm of the One" and host of KPFA's "The History of Funk" radio show
"Compelling beats, clever lyrics, and special guests, such as cellist Jean Jeanrenaud, make (Grab Bag) an enjoyable listen." Electronic Musician
"...undeniable stage presence...laid-back, but commanding...the show is a left hook all right---and a knock out at that." Mike Osegueda, Fresno Bee
"Great work. It's all too rare to hear someone breaking new ground in the pop field." John Zorn, Composer
"... PC Muñoz consistently redefine(s) himself, sailing effortlessly across artistic categories..." Marian Liu, San Jose Mercury News
