Combo La Revelacion

Mon 9th Nov, 2009 in Features

This December, sprawling Latin collective Combo La Revelacion will play its fourteenth Meredith Music Festival. As the Meredith website puts it so well: “This band is about the biggest hit of the festival year after year and we are very thankful They Still Call Meredith Home.”

Jorge Aguilar, one of Combo’s ten prodigious players, chats to FasterLouder ahead of their favourite weekend of the year.

Combo has been part of the Australian music scene for 23 years now, are you just as passionate as when you started?
I am more passionate than ever before, because with time I have learnt how to show the audience my feelings. When I first started, I was tense and worried that I would make mistakes and this would distract me from connecting with the audience. Now I am able to enjoy performing and entertaining the audience at the same time – therefore the party intensifies. That is the magic of music – in seconds it can transport you an evocative memory where you remember people, places and feelings as if they happened yesterday.

Many three-piece bands struggle to stay together for a few years – what is the secret to keeping a ten-piece together for so long?
I think that the main thing is the human element. If you find musicians that share your passion and concept about music, the band moves in the same direction and is easier to work as one. In Combo, there are 10 stars that shine individually. There no star, there is no ego and we all stick together in the good and in the bad.

You have a strong live following and your performances have quite a reputation – is playing to audiences an essential part of music for you?
Yes it is. Every time we play when we are about to go on stage we think: – œOK guys, I’m going to play my best for you so enjoy it.’ There could be 50 or 15,000 in the crowd, but we approach the gig the same way. Of course the bigger the crowd, the more the excitement and the more fun you get. And if you are having fun playing, the audience feels it and joins you.

You have played every Meredith Music Festival since 1995 – what do you think has changed the most about the festival as time has gone by?
There are more international acts, and the off-stage happenings, like campsites, showers, food and other services. It just gets better each year!

What has been your favourite Meredith year?
Without a doubt, it has to be our first Meredith back in 1995. We didn’t know what kind of festival Meredith was – we thought it was going to be just one more gig. It was a rainy afternoon and while we were getting ready backstage there was a heavy metal band playing; the amphitheatre was nearly empty and it began raining heavily.

Then we started playing: the rain stopped and people ran from their tents to the stage. By the third song there were conga lines and the crowd was going crazy. It was like magic. I’ve read a few articles from people that were there that day and it is the kind of thing that you never forget.

What do you think it is that makes Meredith Music Festival so unique?
That the organisers have kept the original concept. The festival was created to get some friends together on a farm and enjoy good music – not like a commercial event. And that friendly, close feeling is what you feel when you are there. The organisers are more interested in the fun that the festival-goers have than of how much money they make. That is why one of the main policies of the festival is – œno dickheads allowed’.

Can you see Latin music changing and developing in the future and if so, do you think this will influence the way you create music?
Of course, everything changes with time but the roots stay the same. Each new generation demands something different, and as musicians we have to adapt to the changes, to learn to speak their language so they can listen to us.

What does the future hold for Combo – do you have another 23 years in you?
We are happy with what we have done and with the triumphs we’ve had. We will certainly keep doing what we enjoy – playing our music – and I hope there will be another 50 more years!

Combo La Revelacion play Meredith Music Festival on the weekend of 11 to 13 December.