bio

Juan Riera Gomez (aka LUMINECHO) is an acclaimed audio technologist, music producer and artist, dedicated to the craft of creating sound and innovative software. With a deep passion for composition and sound design, Juan thrives on making a positive impact through his music and the audio tools of the future.

Resume

He is currently one of the founding engineers and Chief Interactive Audio Officer at Starchild Music. A San Francisco based startup that harnesses the power of AI and other new technologies to create a revolutionary music player, that allows the everyday user to interact with the music at it plays in deeply transformative ways.

Juan graduated with a double Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science and Mathematics from the Autonomous University of Madrid, while he built his music career as a Gospel and Rock instrumentalist, music producer, and artist. He then graduated from Berklee College of Music in Boston, where he focused on sound technology, audio recording, and production. He eventually became Mix Engineer, Sound Designer and Scorer for Berklee's YouTube and social media content, and leader of the technical team for the Career Jam Award Concert for two consecutive years, arguably the biggest and most technically challenging show that happens at the Berklee Performance Center every year. He is currently available to work in the US and keeps the above-mentioned roles.

He fully developed a granular synth engine for Virtual Reality, which became the first app of its kind in the Meta Quest Store. This app, Granu, empowers users to play sound files as if they were instruments. This, in combination with the VR interface, allows for interactions that would be unnatural in computer software. He presented this project as a Teacher Assistant at MIT for Creating Virtual Worlds course, where he managed student projects, gave a couple lectures and helped organize the course content.

Lecture at MIT

Granu Logo

Juan also uses LUMINECHO as his artistic identity. He writes songs that talk about our relationships with ourselves, with others, and with the world and how those are nothing but one and the same. His deep messages are paired with his expertise in music production, and he explores genres that range from electronic indie pop to drum and bass.

Under this pseudonym, Juan is also a renowned music producer, mix engineer, and sound designer, who has worked with a wide range of artists like Mia Zeta, Bianca Cabili, Celia Rigo, Chaiah, Amani Naseem, Ricos y Famosos, and Kiraz.

He has also explored in depth the path of sound designing and scoring for various media including Javier Riera's light art pieces (presented at places like Nuit Blanche 2023 in Paris, by the Louvre, or Vivid Sydney 2024, Lumiere Festival in Lyon 2024, TAC in Valladolid, a permanent exhibition in Salamanca, Ryad, Zagreb, Madrid), innumerable short films and documentaries (like Pure Clear Water, a documentary that won Best Documentary Audience Award at Cambridge Film Festival, and Forlorn, a short film that won Best Sound and Music at THIMUN film festival), and even a couple of videogames.

Born in Madrid in 1997, Juan’s journey in music began at a young age, shaped by his passion for music, art, and technology. As a teenager, he explored music production, developing a unique approach that blends creative expression with technical expertise. By 18, Juan had released his first EP, marking the start of his career in music production.

Juan expanded his horizons into film audio, studying film scoring and sound design at Cinema Kids Film School, where he would eventually teach film scoring. During this time Juan would start to cultivate his passion for music production, writing and recording his songs in his bedroom in Madrid.

As mentioned above, he then performed as a keyboard player across Spain, including Gospel choirs and Rock Tributes, showcasing his range in R&B, Jazz, and other genres. During these years, he performed in front of hundreds of audiences with dozens of various music bands, while he kept recording and producing independently, before moving to the US.