Alt-Latin Act Monareta w/New Album

Much-anticipated record drops in October via Nacional.

By Fred Mills

Colombian electronic duo Monareta sees their new album Picotero issued by alternative Latin music specialists Nacioinal on October 7th. The group has previously released two digital albums, 'La Bonanza' and a self-titled release, via Nacional's digital label but this one will get the full physical and digital rollout.

Fusing traditional cumbia and champeta (the Afro-Colombian genre native to the streets of the country's Caribbean coast) with contemporary reggae, dub, calypso and even breakbeat stylings, Monareta's been steadily rising in public stature via its work in the soundtrack field (movies include "La Mujer de Mi Hermano" and TV shows like mun2's "Chicas Project"), and it also has a new song on the soundtrack for the upcoming Warner Pictures film "Pride & Glory".

Origins-wise, composer, producer and vocalist Andres Martinez initially started mixing break beats and hip hop flows several years ago with keyboardist Camilo Sanabria in clubs and electronic music festivals throughout their hometown of Bogota. Talking about his group's roots and the originals of its name, Martinez said in a statement issued by Nacional, "Growing up, even as young as 11, I was really involved in the local freestyle streetbike scene. It was the 80s and all the streetbikers in Colombia were heavily influenced by the break-dance and electric boogaloo music styles arriving from the U.S. We heard groups like the Beastie Boys and Public Enemy and they completely changed our lives. The brands of our bikes were not Mongoose or GT. We had Monaretas. And so that's how we got the name for our group--it's a homage to the '80s break-dance, hip hop, BMX and fashion scene sounds that came from abroad to influence us in South America."

Even as Monareta was coming together, Martinez got the opportunity to study composition and film scoring at New York University as a Fulbright scholar, duly relocating from Bogata to NYC. There Monareta was able to grow an American fanbase in the progressive club atmosphere of Brooklyn. More recently, the group has split time living in Colombia and Brooklyn, while performing across the U.S.

Commenting on how he integrated his schooling with his sound, Martinez said, "It's the whole idea of telling a story without showing images. In our case, we don't use many lyrics either. Instead, we use sound textures to build atmospheres and allegories to certain images and ideas."

The group will be touring heavily behind the new album. Details tba.

In America lately, the new wave of Latin music has been gaining increased acceptance (thanks, in no small part, to the efforts of Nacional) - including among non-Latino, English-speaking audiences. For a good overview of the scene and the free-wheeling, broad-based genre, go to this Harp magazine article. It's a piece we're still pretty proud of, if we do say so ourselves.

Track Listing:

1. La Batalla de Boyaca
2. El General Midi
3. Me Voy Pal Mar
4. Llama
5. Domingo Loving Style
6. Girlfriend in Providence
7. Todo El Voltaje
8. Break Tocaima
9. Matanza Funk
10. Alamamazonica
11. Gaitana
12. Esmeraldena
13. Raimundo Lllevate Al Mundo
14. Get The Rec