STREAMING AUDIO INTERVIEW (CLICK PLAY ON THE LEFT)
With over 12 years together as a band, the nine members of Ozomatli are a tight-knit bunch. They’d have to be, too, having made four albums together and traveled tirelessly in a plus-size tour bus. The Los Angeles outfit is as multi-faceted in its sound as it is in members. Covering hip hop, salsa, funk, dub and a cornucopia of other global sounds, their music is custom-made for the live arena. It’s on stage that Ozomatli are most stirring, combining tight musicianship with incisive lyrics.
The band’s most recent album Don’t Mess With The Dragon (their second on Concord Records) is as much a melting pot of influences and ideas as any other their previous output. They’ve been promoting it around the world since mid-2007, with Australia the next stop on the schedule.
FasterLouder’s Jack Tregoning spoke to Ozomatli ahead of the tour.
The beauty of Ozomatli can be witnessed at the following shows…
16 Mar: West Coast Blues & Roots Festival, Fremantle
18 Mar: The Metro, Melbourne
20 Mar: The Enmore Theatre, Sydney
22 Mar: East Coast Blues & Roots Festival, Byron Bay
23 Mar: Tivoli Theatre, Brisbane
And here’s the clip for the band’s upbeat Afterparty single…
