250. Cycle Breakers with guest Ríomas

Notes: Ríomas gives us a conversation steeped in joy and acceptance of hard things -- in the middle of doing a hard thing, since we lost a recorded hour of our first conversation due to a tech glitch. We talk about what makes it possible to come back -- how to not get stuck -- and how that applies to breaking cycles, connecting with our ancestors of before and those to come after. I found myself inspired by their description of the culture of song circles as a way "to vision in and dream in what we’re actually trying to create that’s more beautiful and more free and more inclusive.” I was surprised and intrigued by their take on severance from rhythm and how regaining embodied, shared pulse is a resistance practice. Catch the whole interview to learn this song that Minnesota folk created a dance to, and hear how Ríomas found their new name and what it means!

Songwriter Info: Ríomas (RiYo or Río for short, they/them), previously known as Shireen Amini, is a queer, trans masculine, Puerto Rican-Iranian artist and immigrant settler based in Portland, Oregon creating at the intersection of music, healing, and cultural change. Drawing upon pop and folk soul textures, gratefully and respectfully from Black and Afro-Latin lineages, they craft artful, participatory songs that invite realness and transformative energy. Bridging contemporary music mediums with ceremonial ways and resistance efforts, Ríomas creates soulful and joyful community singing experiences that reconnect people to their power and place. In spring 2026, they released their first community song album, Gather Your Resilience: Medicine for Liberation.

Sharing Info: Yes -- The song is free to share in oral tradition contexts like song circles, but please contact me for permission and rates if interested in teaching this song as part of greater money-making ventures like multi-week choirs, workshops, classes, or performances or if interested in recording this song.

Links:

Liz Digitale Anderson: https://singingforliberation.com/

Onyx Li: https://www.instagram.com/pointsoflight_mu/

adrienne maree brown: Pleasure Activism: https://adriennemareebrown.net/book/pleasure-activism/

CIIS San Francisco: https://www.ciis.edu/

Plena music of Puerto Rico : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plena

Vernon Bush: https://www.goodlifeproject.com/podcast/vernon-bush/

Bobby McFerrin’s Circle Singing: https://circlesongs.com/

Vision fast: https://schooloflostborders.org/programs/vision-fast/

Doesn’t Mean by Riomas ABS Episode 249: https://www.abreathofsong.com/p/249-doesnt-mean

Mountain Song, Te Martin: https://www.lamafoundation.org/mountain-song/

Tracy Robertson: https://www.instagram.com/tracyljrobertson/?hl=en

Sarina Partridge, “I Am of This Earth”: https://sarinapartridge.bandcamp.com/track/of-this-earth

Dark as Night by Nahko And Medicine For The People: https://www.nahko.com/music 

Persian Aush soup – a Samin Nosrat recipe is behind a NYTimes paywall, so here’s another one!: https://www.101cookbooks.com/new-year-noodle-soup/

Los Pleneros de la Cresta: https://losplenerosdelacresta.com/

Riomas’s recent album, “Gather Your Resilience,” on Bandcamp: https://riomas.bandcamp.com/album/gather-your-resilience-medicine-for-liberation

Patreon: https://patreon.com/riomas

Instagram: @riomasmusic

Linktree: https://linktr.ee/riomas

Artist Website: https://shireenamini.com/

Music as Medicine: https://shireenaminimusicmedicine.com/

Nuts & Bolts: 2:2, minor, harmonizable song form

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