A celebrated instrumental supergroup featuring three of Bogotá’s most visionary musicians: Eblis Alvarez (Meridian Brothers, Chúpame el dedo), Mario Galeano (Frente Cumbiero, Ondatropica) and Pedro Ojeda (Romperayo, Chúpame el dedo). Fusing the experimental possibilities of South American rhythms and sonics (cumbia, champeta, tropicalia, salsa & more) with avant psych rock, dub minimalism and spiked jazz, Los Pirañas are retro-futurism at its finest.
Shapeshifted. Absurdist. Rooted. Prescient. A transmission from the outerzones.
The three members of Los Pirañas can all remember when they were in high school together in Bogotá, Colombia and just beginning to play music. Back then, the joy of a riff, the heavy beat and a ripple of guitar noise were all they needed to make life worthwhile. Twenty-five years on and they’ve become internationally well-known musicians, spread across different bands, traversing multiple continents. But together as Los Pirañas they’re about to release Historia Natural, their third album, recapturing the spirit that moved them as teenagers. Yet it’s a record that’s anything but basic. That youthful desire has been filtered through the prism of knowledge and time. Now it’s fuelled by a wily sophistication in the sound, and a deep, ingrained understanding of the rhythms that power their homeland. It’s innocence plus experience.
“To me, this album is going back to where we were in high school,” says drummer Pedro Ojeda, also known for his work in Romperayo. “We didn’t have so many goals back then. We wanted to play riffs, to express ourselves, to find that rough spirit.”
“We’re looking back, but with all this experience,” agrees guitarist Eblis Alvarez, who’s been part of the Meridian Brothers for two decades. “We were too much in a comfort zone, we were getting lazy abo....... więcej