Bosq’s most fully realized project to date, picks up where 2018’s Love & Resistance left off, filled with Disco and Funk steeped in Afro Latin rhythms and influences. The results reflect his unique vision and finds more genre defying dance floor amalgamations and less of the clearly traceable homages from some of his earlier work. Bosq pairs again with longtime collaborator, the Benin born, Fela Kuti & Egypt 80 alumni Kaleta, as well as new ones like Nidia Góngora, K.O.G, and Justo Valdez of Son Palenque.
The album is Bosq’s first full project since relocating from Boston to Medellín, Colombia, a little over 3 years ago. The move stemmed from a reevaluation of what it means to contribute and be a part of a musical community vs. merely borrowing the sounds that inspired him from afar. Part of this meant not rushing to release music influenced by his new surroundings, but studying with local music teachers, developing relationships with artists and studios throughout the country, and getting his bearings in the day to day life of a new country and a new language.
Bosq elaborates, “This album contains the experiences, inspiration, frustration and magic of my first few years living in Medellín, Colombia after moving here from Boston, all wrapped into album form. After years of working with musicians and styles from around the world from my old homebase, I started to honestly reevaluate what I was doing. Appropriation tends to be an easy catch all, but more deeply I was wondering, am I contributing something or am I only borrowing? Can I really understand the music that’s inspiring me just by listening to it? I wanted my work to be more authentic artistically, but more important to me is getting to a point where my music is giving something back and creating value for the musicians who are keeping the traditions of this music alive. If I’m making music inspired by Afro Latin rhythms and sounds, then any success I have, needs to create success for people in those communities as well.”
The transition, while awe inspiring and exciting, was not always easy. Everything from government bureaucracy to an on-the-fly electrician lesson in order to avoid constant equipment shocks from grounding issues at his new studio, made for a few extra months of frustrating delays.
Once he finally settled into his new home studio in the lush mountains surrounding Medellín, Bosq began to sketch out what would eventually become this album. The skeletons of the songs all took form there, recorded piece by piece and layer by layer, playing & writing as much as he could himself until the songs seemed ready to become something more. From there, trips to Bogotá to record horn sections in Mambo Negro Records, Cartagena to collaborate with Colombian Folkloric music legend Justo Valdez, and New York City to reunite with Kaleta provided the material to flesh out this growing collection of tracks.
The results are a varied but cohesive collection of songs most definitely geared towards the dance floor or festival grounds without giving up anything in terms of musical complexity. The sound is organic and could easily be mistaken for a live band at first listen, but years of touring the world as a DJ have given Bosq the sensitivity to give just enough of an electronic edge to make the tracks shake a modern sound system like a proper house track. The vibrancy this combination brings to any party has been noted by DJ’s around the world, with the first two singles, “Rumbero” & “Wake Up” topping both vinyl and digital sales charts and racking up plays from everyone from Detroit Swindle to Yuksek to Crazy P.
The rest of the album expertly weaves threads of Cumbia, Afrobeat, Salsa, Calypso, Antillean styles & Tropical Soul into Disco & Funk anchored tapestries that in most cases defy easy genre classifications. The record is not only a love letter to the musical melting pot of Colombia that Bosq now calls home, but his attempt to truly add something new and unique to the current musical landscape in a way that respects the originators, in part by not following their blueprints too precisely.
Bosq’s music has seen consistent play from the likes of Gilles Peterson & Craig Charles on the BBC, KCRW, RinseFM & other legendary radio stations, while DJ’s like Kerri Chandler, Poolside, Yuksek, Palms Trax, Soul Clap, & GUTS give his tunes constant rotation in clubs and at festivals. Tours have taken Bosq across North & South America, Europe, and Asia, to clubs and festivals like Rakastella (Miami), OYA (Oslo), Boomtown Fair (UK) and many more. He has shared stages with the likes of Joe Claussel, Bobbito, J Rocc & Tony Touch to name a few. His music has been featured in films and television such as The Catch, You’re The Worst, Broad City, and more.
credits
released October 23, 2020
Rumbero
Writers - Ben Woods & Nidia Góngora
Vocals - Nidia Góngora Guitar - Max Pérez Coymat Djembe - Feliciano “Beto" Blandon Salas
Horn Arrangement, Tenor Sax - Marco Fajardo Trumpet - Carlos Tabares Trombone - Luis Armando Monroy Horns Recorded at Black Mambo Records, Bogotá with Engineer Daniel Michel
Vocals Recorded at Bombo Records Estudios, Cali with Engineer Cristhian Salgado
Mixed & Mastered by Caserta
Mi Arizal
Writers - Ben Woods, Dorkas J. Bautista
Vocals - Dorkas
Backing Vox - Dilma Mosquera, Luisa Ochoa
Horn Arrangement, Tenor Sax - Marco Fajardo
Djembe - Feliciano “Beto” Blandon Salas
Trombone - José Miguel Vega
Trumpet - Roland Nieto
Guitar - Erlyn Correa
Horns Recorded at Black Mambo Records, Bogotá with Engineer Daniel Michel
Mixed & Mastered by Caserta
Suumo
Writers - Ben Woods, Kweku Sackey
Vocals - Kweku Sackey
Horn Arrangement, Tenor Sax - Marco Fajardo
Djembe - Feliciano “Beto” Blandon Salas
Trombone - José Miguel Vega
Trumpet - Roland Nieto
Marimba - Luis Miguel “Papinm” Guerrero
Guitar - Erlyn Correa
Horns Recorded at Black Mambo Records, Bogotá with Engineer Daniel Michel
Mixed & Mastered by Caserta
Wake Up
Writers - Ben Woods & Leon Ligan-Majekodunmi
Vocals, Addtl. Guitar - Kaleta
Horn Arrangement, Tenor Sax - Marco Fajardo
Trumpet - Roland Nieto
Trombone - José Miguel Vega
Djembe - Feliciano “Beto” Blandon Salas
Horns Recorded at Black Mambo Records, Bogotá with Engineer Daniel Michel
Mixed & Mastered by Caserta
El Carriquí
Horn Arrangement, Tenor Sax - Marco Fajardo
Djembe - Feliciano “Beto” Blandon Salas
Trombone - José Miguel Vega
Trumpet - Roland Nieto
Marimba - Luis Miguel “Papinm” Guerrero
Horns Recorded at Black Mambo Records, Bogotá with Engineer Daniel Michel
Mixed & Mastered by Caserta
Descarga Mundial
Writers - Ben Woods & Mauricio Gómez Mesa
Vocals - Mauro Abogánster Piano - Andrés Moore Velásquez Horn Section - La Boa
Horn Arrangement, Tenor Sax - Marco Fajardo Trumpet - Carlos Tabares Trombone - Luis Armando Monroy Horns Recorded at Black Mambo Records, Bogotá with Engineer Daniel Michel
Mixed & Mastered by Caserta
Omo Iya
Writers - Ben Woods & Leon Ligan-Majekodunmi
Vocals - Kaleta Backup Vocals - Mauro Abogánster
Guitar - Max Pérez Coymat Horn Arrangement, Tenor Sax - Marco Fajardo Trumpet - Carlos Tabares Trombone - Luis Armando Monroy Horns Recorded at Black Mambo Records, Bogotá with Engineer Daniel Michel
Mixed & Mastered by Caserta
Cumbia del Monte
Writers - Ben Woods & Mauricio Gómez Mesa Vocals - Mauro Abogánster Guitar - Max Pérez Coymat Tambores & Addtl Percussion - Feliciano Blandon “Beto” Salas
Horn Arrangement, Tenor Sax - Marco Fajardo Trumpet - Carlos Tabares Trombone - Luis Armando Monroy Horns Recorded at Black Mambo Studios, Bogotá with Engineer Daniel Michel
Mixed & Mastered by Caserta
Mambue
Writers - Ben Woods & Justo Valdez Vocals - Justo Valdez Backup Vocals - Betilsa Barrios Pérez Horn Arrangement, All Saxaphones, Flute & Clarinet - Evan Laflamme
Guitar - Max Pérez Coymat
Tambores & Djembe - Feliciano Blandon Salas (Beto)
Vocals recorded in Barrio Fino Studio, Cartagena
Mixed & Mastered by Caserta
Mi tierra
Writers - Ben Woods & Victor Hugo Rodríguez
Vocals - Victor Hugo Rodríguez Guitar - Max Pérez Coymat Tambores & Djembe - Feliciano Blandon Salas (Beto)
Horn Arrangement, Tenor Sax - Marco Fajardo Trumpet - Carlos Tabares Trombone - Luis Armando Monroy Horns Recorded at Black Mambo Studios, Bogotá with Engineer Daniel Michel
Vocals Recorded at Laika 03, Bogotá with Engineer Tomás Garcia
Mixed & Mastered by Caserta
Onombitamba
Writers - Ben Woods & Justo Valdez Vocals - Justo Valdez Backup Vocals - Betilsa Barrios Pérez Horn Arrangement, Tenor Sax - Marco Fajardo
Trombone - José Miguel Vega
Euphonium - Juan Sebastián Rozo Vocals Recorded at Barrio Fino Studio, Cartagena Horns Recorded at Panorámica, Bogotá with Engineer Federico Arbelaez
Mixed & Mastered by Caserta
Corazon
Writers - Ben Woods & Camilo Rafael Sierra Vocals - Camilo Tumbao Mixed & Mastered by Caserta Vocals Recorded with Engineer Jose “Sapo” Gonzalez
Cape Cod, Massachusetts born & Medellín, Colombia based, Bosq has been tirelessly exploring the intersections of Afro-Latin music with Disco, Funk, Reggae, House and Hip Hop for years.
supported by 36 fans who also own “Y Su Descarga Internacional”
This album has been one of the sounds of my summer - the positive vibes are plentiful throughout. Addictive hooks, strong beats, rolling percussion, silky synths, great stuff! champtracks
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