Disruptive Passion, a new Video Podcast Series by ASOBI NY.
By RICO
April 17, 2024
The arrival of spring signals rebirth. To me, it means feeling like crap for weeks until my allergies are gone. This year, my symptoms lasted four entire weeks. In fact, only last Sunday when we finally saw some sunshine in New York City and temperatures reached 70 degrees, I started to feel more optimistic.
Feeling healthy is the basis of a content life. Knowing your loved ones are in good health brings peace of mind.
My sudden surge of cheerfulness began when I got a text message from my sixteen-year-old niece in Lima. For the past month, LucÃa had been suffering from a yet unidentified viral infection that caused her to develop symptoms similar to dengue fever even though her tests turned out negative. And while my niece and I communicate regularly, during her illness I was only getting updates from my sister. Who wants to talk when you’re feeling like sh*t? So, when a direct message from LucÃa suddenly appeared on my phone, I knew spring had finally sprung.
The connection I maintain with my loved ones keeps me sane, healthy and happy. Nurturing my passions keeps my spirit young. It is through that spirit that I relate to my nieces. And a passion for music is one we share. It bounds us together.
Colombia's alt-rock legends "Aterciopelados" performing live at Irving Plaza. NYC 12/08/2023
Music is in our DNA. So, it was only a natural progression of my creative needs to explore that connection. Disruptive Passion, the video podcast series born under the ASOBI VINILO CAFE project I started at the onset of the pandemic, is the result of that search.
Trailer for Disruptive Passion
As an independent creative and entrepreneur, I’ve always found ways to support the efforts of other independent creatives. In the ten years ASOBI NY has been operating, we have acquired works by artists close to home, collaborated and hired musicians to create soundtracks for our visual projects and worked with performers and technicians for our events. We have purchased a good number of vinyl records of independent labels and artists we love and I’ve attended a great deal of live shows in the New York area, in other parts of the U.S., Peru and Europe to support acts and music festivals. I have also purchased merchandise directly from artists and used our social media outreach to promote them.
We founded the Facebook public group El CÃrculo del Dr. Morrison with the intention of uniting content relevant to the music and arts scene in Peru, the U.S. and Japan, and while the merit of having spent these resources is debatable, my heart has always been in it. Being actively involved in the growth and nourishment of independent creative output is a foundational need for the company I lead.
To learn more about why I’ve been invested in this video series, you can check out this 6 min. podcast I uploaded a few days ago on SoundCloud. Suffice to say the four episodes I’ve completed so far have given new meaning to my life.
My goal is to complete ten episodes and see what doors open up in the process. My travels last year and the content I’ve been gathering there after should provide me with material for at least two or three more episodes.
Ideally, by the end of 2025, I will have completed this video podcast series and be on my way to greater heights.
I invite you then to take a look at the progression of my work. If there’s anything you should know about me is that I tire easily of the same. Episodes 3 and 4 are quite different from the first two, and part of what keeps me motivated is the idea of shifting things as I move forward. For starters, I have already ditched Adobe Premiere Pro (which I used to edit all four episodes available now) for Final Cut Pro, and I’m thrilled with the change. I have also been lucky enough to be the recipient of generous gifts including a wonderful Canon EOS R5 camera I’ll be using for very specific occasions. On top of that, I have been implementing a rigorous plan of austerity that should place ASOBI NY in a much healthier financial situation by year’s end.
So yes, I am optimistic. Not just because it’s spring but because I’m excited to share with you what I’ve done already and thrilled about the work ahead.
So please subscribe to our newly renovated website https://www.asobinyproductions.com/ to access Disruptive Passion. The first two episodes are password-free. Episodes 3 and 4 (each around 30 min + long) come in two versions, either subtitled in English or Spanish and they are password-protected. You’ll find the passwords on our site once you sign in. The whole process is pretty straight-forward and simple to use. But should you have any issues, please feel free to reach out.
If you dig what I’m doing, and would like to support my work as I move along in the series, at the bottom of Disruptive Passion’s page, you will find QR codes to ASOBI NY’s Venmo and PayPal links, including a PayPal Tip Jar, where you can ‘tip’ me a symbolic amount as a gesture of your support. I’m adding those images in this blog entry as well.
My intention is to return whatever amount we receive with a gift that I hope will show you my appreciation and gratitude for helping me continue nurturing my talents and creating enterprise as I move along.
Sincerely Yours,
RICO
