Bomba Estéreo
| Bomba Estéreo | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Background information | |
| Origin | Bogotá, Colombia |
| Genres | Electro, Cumbia, Alternative dance |
| Years active | 2005–present |
| Labels | Sony Music US Latin |
| Website | www |
| Members | Simón Mejía Liliana Saumet Julián Salazar |
| Past members | Enrique "Kike" Egurrola |
Bomba Estéreo is a Colombian band founded in the capital, Bogotá, in 2005 by Simón Mejía. Their music has been described as "electro vacilón" (a term dismissed by the band), "electro tropical" or "psychedelic cumbia". According to Mejía, the band's name (which translates into English as "stereo bomb") is a Colombian term for "a really cool, awesome, bad ass party".
The origins of the group go back to 2001 when Bogotá native Simón Mejía (previously a member of 1990s Colombian alternative rock band Charconautas) was part of a loose collective of musicians and visual artists under the name A.M. 770. Their music was influenced by Colombian groups such as Sidestepper and Bloque de Busqueda who in the late 1990s had started combining traditional Colombian musical rhythms such as salsa and cumbia with modern electronic beats and dance music. A.M. 770's first musical production was the track "Ritmika" (based on a sample of a song by Venezuelan salsa band Los Blanco) on the album Colombeat, a 2002 compilation showcasing this new musical style which was put together by Colombia's foremost alternative rock band Aterciopelados for their new label Entrecasa.
By 2005 A.M. 770 had effectively become Mejía's solo project and he began to focus more on the musical side of his work, changing the name of the group to Bomba Estéreo. The first results of his new project was the seven-track mini-album Vol. 1 (2006), essentially a solo album but featuring contributions from other artists such as fellow A.M. 770 member Diego Cadavid. Having recorded Vol. 1, Mejía attended the Latin Alternative Music Conference in New York City and was able to secure an international distribution deal with California-based Nacional Records for future releases, with Colombian releases on the Bogotá independent label Polen Records.
One of the vocalists Mejía had used on Vol. 1 was Santa Marta-born singer and rapper Liliana "Li" Saumet, on the track "Huepaje". Saumet had briefly been the singer for the dub reggae band Mister Gomes en Bombay before meeting Mejía at a concert. Impressed with Saumet's contribution, Mejía began to collaborate with her and Cadavid on songs for the next Bomba Estéreo album.
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