Ondatrópica – Self-titled

Ondatrópica just released their self-titled debut album on Soundway Records. This project was conceived by Mario Galeano, the leader of Frente Cumbiero, and Will ‘Quantic’ Holland, the force behind Combo Barbaro & Los Miticos Del Ritmo. Together they assembled some of the finest Latin American musicians at the legendary Discos Fuentes studio in Medellín, Colombia. The plan was “to re-interpret the tropical musical heritage of Colombia with new approaches in composition, arrangement and production in a classic and mythical setting.” The all-star cast merges traditional and contemporary Colombian music into a timeless analog recording. Cumbia, porro, gaita, champeta and merecumbé meet boogaloo, ska, beat-box, hip hop, dub and funk on Ondatrópica. Thanks to a grant from the British Council, Galeano and Holland put together the album and are taking the project on the road.

“a polyrhythmic, rump-rotating blend of brass, keys, percussion, guitars and vocals” – The Guardian

Among the cast of musicians are some Colombian legends including saxophonist Michi Sarmiento, multi-instrumentalist Fruko, flautist Pedro “Ramaya” Beltrán, trumpet master Jorge Gavira and accordion-playing don / singer Anibal Velasquez. To give the session some modern flavor, Chilean MC Ana Tijoux and El Chongo, a young percussionist and beatboxer from the city of Cartagena on the Caribbean coast, joined the ensemble. Ondatrópica is available now on LP and CD. The 3xLP comes with a bonus 7″, MP3 download of the release and a full booklet documenting the creation of the album and the artists who featured on it. Ondatrópica will play Lincoln Center Out of Doors on July 27th at the Damrosch Park Bandshell at 8:30pm. The free show starts at 7:30pm with Wil-Dog El Gavachillo featuring Banda Viento de Oro. Check out a great video of the recording session in Medellín below.