Colombiage is delighted to be working in partnership with the renowned Barbican Centre to promote ONDATROPICA, the new wave from Colombia.
Ondatrópica (Photography courtesy of Barbican Centre) © Maria Elisa Duque
Will Holland aka Quantic has joined forces with Mario Galeano of Bogota’s pioneering Frente Cumbiero, who recently performed in London as part of the Colombiage season, to create Ondatrópica a new big band embracing the past, present and future of Colombia’s tropical cumbia sound. Ondatrópica cradles the talents of some greats from the seventies golden age of Medellin’s Discos Fuentes such as Michi Sarmiento on sax, Wilson Viveros on timbales and Pedro ‘Ramaya’ Beltran on flute and Joe Arroyo’s trumpet player Jorge Gaviria alongside a breaking wave of young tropicalistas including Nidia Gongora (Combo Barbaro) on vocals and the mighty Chongo (Sidestepper) on percussion to create a new sound spanning the musical generations.
The project was lovingly assembled in Medellin’s Discos Fuentes studios earlier this year, the Colombian Abbey Road, and has the analogue feel of the seventies cumbia and salsa boom but with a very contemporary pan-Caribbean sound.
Ondatrópica is coming to the UK to perform at sold-out pre-Olympic BT River of Music Festival at the Tower of London in July but there are still tickets available for their London debut at Hackney Empire on July 20 when we are also celebrating Colombia’s independence. For those of you who had the chance to boogie down to Frente Cumbiero’s explosive cumbia sounds at Brixton Jamm in May, you will know that this is a rare opportunity to experience the very best of the new Colombian cumbia movement. Join us for what will be an unmissable night of great talent and much more.
Ondatrópica is assisted by the British Council and their debut album comes out on Soundway on July 16.
Date: 20 July 2012
Time: 20:30 (doors open at 8pm)
Where: Hackney Empire, 291 Mare Street Hackney London E8 1EJ. View location.
For ticket bookings, please click here: £10-20. Subject to availability.
More videos and info:
Ondatropica’s official website: http://ondatropica.com/ondatropica/
Quantic website: http://www.quantic.org/
An interview with Quantic now available at the Barbican website: http://soundcloud.com/barbican-music/quantic-on-ondatropica
Frente Cumbiero’s website: http://www.frentecumbiero.com/hola/DubMeCrazy/
Supported by the British Council
