Dani Robles is a musician, professor, and recording engineer rooted in Chicago’s Albany Park. Deeply embedded in the city’s DIY music scene, Dani books and hosts shows, records artists out of Ericka’s House, and serves as studio engineer and artist manager for Ur Mom Records, an independent label dedicated to sustainable physical media and expanding opportunities for marginalized artists across the country. With a master’s in Sound Art from Northwestern and over a decade of teaching experience, Dani currently serves as jazz piano faculty at Harper College while running a private music studio serving students of all ages and levels.
As a performing artist, Dani has toured extensively across the United States and fronts Calico Loco, a queercore band recognized by the Chicago Reader as Chicago’s Best Emerging Band in 2022, with their debut record I Love Myself awarded Best Local Album in 2024. A multi-instrumentalist and bandleader, Dani brings the same energy to the stage as they do to the studio.
Beyond performance and teaching, Dani’s work spans some unexpected corners of music. Their master’s thesis explored algorithmic improvisation in Max/MSP, building systems that respond in real time to live instrument input. They have composed original scores for documentary films, written music for archival podcasts, and cut records on a lathe. If it involves sound, Dani has probably tried it.
When not in the studio or the classroom, you can find Dani in the kitchen cooking Puerto Rican food, at the Music Box Theater, or deep into the latest issue of Superman.