Briana Marela Lizárraga
Composer | Performer | Vocalist
b. 1989 Seattle, WA ▪ Currently based in Oakland, CA
briana.marela@gmail.com ▪ www.brianamarela.com
Education
2020 MFA in Electronic Music & Recording Media, Mills College, Oakland, CA
Studied with Laetitia Sonami, Zeena Parkins, John Bischoff, and James Fei
2011 BA in Audio Production & Music Technology, The Evergreen State College, Olympia, WA
Awards, Grants, Residencies
2024-2025 Audium Spatial Sound Residency, San Francisco, CA (October 2024 - April 2025)
2021 ACRE Residency, Steuben, WI (July 2021)
2021 Qubit Innovator Lab Residency with Sally Decker, remote/New York, NY (May 2021)
2020 Margaret Lyon Music Student Prize by Mills College, Oakland, CA (May 2020)
2019 Career Development Grant by AAUW, The American Association of University Women (April 2019)
2018 Listen UP! Music by Women Grant by Allied Arts Foundation, Seattle, WA (June 2018)
2018 Sou’wester Artist Residency Program, Seaview, WA (March 2018)
Selected Performances
2024 San Francisco Electronic Music Festival at The Lab, San Francisco, CA with Dustin Wong and Eddie Ruscha
2023 Indexical, Santa Cruz, CA with JJJJJerome Ellis
2023 The Lab, San Francisco, CA with Loscil and Lawrence English
2022 Feels Like Floating at Debs Park, Los Angeles, CA duo performance with Sally Decker
2022 Basilica Hudson, Hudson, NY duo performance with Sally Decker
2019 Verge Center for the Arts, Sacramento, CA with Spellling and Wizard Apprentice
2019 CalArts, California Electronic Music Exchange, Santa Clarita, CA
2018 The Lodge Room, Los Angeles, CA with Jenny Hval
2018 The Observatory, Santa Ana, CA with Mitski
2017 The Neptune Theatre, Seattle, WA with Perfume Genius
2016 Hollywood Forever Cemetery, Los Angeles, CA with Waxahatchee
2015 KEXP Live In-Studio Session, Seattle, WA
2015 Swedish American Hall at Noise Pop Music Festival, San Francisco, CA with Grouper and Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith
2012 The Chapel, Wayward Music Series, Seattle, WA with Christi Denton and Heather Perkins
Selected Group Exhibitions
2021 June 30th, (this is not a) music video, collaboration with Sally Decker, 208 Bowery, NY
Solo Discography
2024 Teardrop Star, Self-Released, LP, Cassette/Digital
2022 You Are a Wave, Self-Released, LP, Cassette/Digital
2020 Eclipse, PIAPTK Records, single, 7” Lenticular Lathe Cut Record/Digital
2017 Call It Love, Jagjaguwar Records, LP, Vinyl/CD/Cassette/Digital
2015 All Around Us, Jagjaguwar Records, LP, Vinyl/CD/Digital
2014 Remain, PIAPTK Records, single, CD/Lathe Cut record
2013 I Don’t Belong To You, PIAPTK Records, single, 7” Lathe Cut Record
2012 Speak From Your Heart, Bicycle Records, LP, Vinyl/CD/Digital
2010 Water Ocean Lake, Self-Released, LP, Cassette/Digital
2007 Stuck In A Rhythm, Self-Released, EP, CD/Digital
Collaborative Discography
2022 Small Tremble In Slow Motion, Sally Decker & Briana Marela, Surface World, LP, Digital
2016 Swooning, Swooning, Self-Released, LP, Cassette/Digital
Selected Recordings as a Soloist/Instrumentalist
2022 “Echo Amulet” on Hypermyth, Signal Quest, Orange Milk Records, LP, Vinyl/Digital
2017 “Baseboards” and “Skiptracer” on Super Genuine, Hoop, Decency Den Records, LP, Vinyl/Digital
Selected Commissions
2022 “Wingspan” For The Birds: The Birdsong Project Vol. IV, curated by Randall Poster
2018 “4th Amendment” 27: The Most Perfect Album, Radiolab x More Perfect Podcast, for their episode 2 of season 3 of the podcast
Selected Press
2023 KQED, Sunday Music Drop, Briana Marela ‘Uncertainty and the Unknown’
2022 Under the Radar, Video Premiere: Briana Marela shares new video for “You Are a Wave”
2022 Fifteen Questions, Interview with Briana Marela, The String that Vibrates Others
2017 Billboard, New Face, Fresh Style: Jagjaguwar Signee Briana Marela shares New “Farthest Shore’ Clip
2015 Vogue, Why Briana Marela Went To Iceland to Record Her New Album
2015 SPIN, Five Artists to Watch in June
2015 NPR, All Songs Considered
2015 The Fader, Briana Marela announces ‘All Around Us’, premieres “Surrender”
Selected Print Publication Press
2017 “What is Everlasting?” July/August 2017, Malibu Magazine
2015 “Pleased To Meet You” July-October, Under The Radar Magazine
2012 “Take Care of Me” July/August 2012 Music Edition, The Believer
Selected Work as a Mixing Engineer/Producer
2024 Late Morning, Michelle Moeller, AKP Recordings
2024 Intercommunications, Paige Emery, Leaving Records
Festival Curation
2023 Mills After Mills: 3 Days of Crazy Love at The Lab in SF, CA - Curated by composer collective made up of: Briana Marela Lizárraga, Sally Decker, Brendan Glasson, Matt Robidoux, Mitch Stahlmann, and Michelle Moeller
Selected Work History
2024 Buchla, Associate (Soldering and Assembly), Emeryville, CA (March 2024 - present)
2022 Crooked Media, Transcriber, Los Angeles, CA (July 2022 - present)
2022 Mills College, Production Coordinator, Oakland, CA (March 2022 - September 2022)