RZN8R Presents the Second of His Two-Part “CLEARING THE SLATE” Album Series WATER UNDER THE BRIDGE

RZN8R (pronounced “resonator”) is the moniker of Oakland-raised, Brooklyn-based producer and singer Derek Buckwalter. RZN8R draws from a wide array of influences, fusing his passions for singing, beats, and new thought spirituality to craft lush, deep, and hypnotic grooves. Set for release September 30, his new album WATER UNDER THE BRIDGE is the second of the two-part RZN8R “CLEARING THE SLATE” series, following the release of his debut album Closing The Golden Gate in July of 2022.

As an analog to the chill energy found on Closing the Golden Gate, with WATER UNDER THE BRIDGE RZN8R presents a fun and upbeat party album featuring Isaiah Mostafa (who recently helped produce the song “Hold the Line” for Pixar’s short film Twenty Something), JAYEM, Idea Unsound, Cozzee, and Zyme (who has toured with Lil Wayne, French Montana, Too Short, Pitbull, E40, and more, and is played on Top 40 radio stations worldwide). The cover art for both albums was designed by Brazilian-American artist Paula Sefer, who was a designer for Katy Perry. SF Weekly says RZN8R’s music “leaves the listener feeling invigorated and inspired,” while DoTheBay says, “the expressive electronic beats and hair-raising synths pulsing from RZN8R strike a spiritual nerve.” 

Closing The Golden Gate is a collection of future soul tracks with influences of Motown, boom bap hip hop, dance pop, and jazz. A heartfelt and personal piece of work, the album series is about RZN8R’s departure from the San Francisco Bay Area after 27 years to move to Brooklyn. His girlfriend said, “if you move here, we’ll get a spot together in Bushwick and you’ll get a studio room.” An opportunity too good to resist, RZN8R constructed an environment where he could create comfortably with stage lights, lasers, galaxy lights, and a fog machine. All the material for the album series was recorded in his San Francisco apartment but mixed in his new studio room in Bushwick. RZN8R had a hard time in California finishing the albums, but once he moved to New York, embodied “energy code” work, and stopped drinking (no alcohol for one year now), he had the vision and clarity of mind to complete the project. 

Closing The Golden Gate was a collaborative effort, featuring Kaeli Earle on the tracks “That’s On You” and “Which Way Is Up,” Idea Unsound (aka Kris Grant) on the track “Aphrodite in Chains,” a freestyle from rapper Dakota on the track “The Window,” and even touring comedian Xander Beltran on the tracks “What’s Good” and “Thought of It.” For the album series, RZN8R worked with mixing engineer Michael Morrell at his studio apartment in Brooklyn where he has tons of outboard gear. Morrell is a longtime collaborator of super producer Sauce Samurai, who has produced for the likes of Travis Scott, Asap Rocky and Trippie Red. RZN8R also worked with mastering engineer Rossylo of the studio OTW in Fremont, CA, that has worked with Bay Area legends including G-Eazy, Mistah Fab and Capolow. 

As an added musical flourish, RZN8R added layers of West African percussion and other influences to the “CLEARING THE SLATE” album series. In the 80s his mother went to the Ivory Coast and Ghana where she studied alternative medicine and health. She brought back boxes of drums that can now be heard throughout the albums. Another percussion sound heard throughout is an alternative shaker made from Puma nails, a gift his father got for him in Peru. 

RZN8R recently DJ’d his first New York set at the annual Zaneapalooza cosmic rodeo with Lolo Mayhew, and has played many venues in the Bay Area including 1015 Folsom, Mezzanine, Neck of the Woods, Brick & Mortar, Bottom of the Hill, The Knockout, PianoFight, Warehouse 416, Madrone Art Bar, 20 Mission, and events including Noise Pop, Sofar Sounds, Oakland Drops Beats, Now Music SF, and GlowCon, as well as SXSW in Austin. He has opened for artists including A-Trak, Chromeo, Duckwrth, Martin Luther, ATTLAS, ARMNHMR, Anamanaguchi, Monster Rally, TV Girl, and Krystyn Pixton.

With a sound that will make you go “oooh,” RZN8R represents the culmination of Derek Buckwalter’s experiences with singing and music production, an outlet for his desire to seek out ways to make electronic music sound more grounded. With his new releases Closing The Golden Gate and Water Under The Bridge, RZN8R is ready now to take on the Big Apple!

For more information about RZN8R please visit: www.rzn8r.com

To order or stream WATER UNDER THE BRIDGE please visit: https://lnk.to/RZN8RWUTB

To order or stream CLOSING THE GOLDEN GATE please visit: https://smarturl.it/Rzn8rGoldenGate

To order or stream the single “Thought of It (ft. Xander Beltran)” please visit: https://smarturl.it/RZN8RThoughtofIt