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Posted |
February 10th, 2010 |
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Ozomatli set
to “Fire
Away” - new
full length
album
release,
April
20th
on Mercer
Street
Records /
Downtown
Records |
| |
- 2010 includes an Ozomatli
performance at the TED
Conference, two shows at SXSW,
a collaboration with the Boston
Pops, three weeks in China as US
Cultural
Ambassadors, and
headlining at the Hollywood Bowl
Celebrated Los Angeles
culture-mashers Ozomatli are set
to release their new album, Fire
Away, April 20th on Mercer
Street Records / Downtown
Records.
Fire Away is the
Grammy Award-winning band’s
fifth studio full length, and
first for the NYC
based
Mercer Street Records / Downtown
Records. Produced by acclaimed
producer Tony
Berg, Fire Away
features eleven new Ozo songs
(full tracklisting below),
including the first
single
“It’s Only Paper”, currently
being serviced to radio.
Ozomatli’s music -- a collision
of hip hop and salsa, dancehall
and cumbia, samba and funk,
merengue and comparsa, East LA
R&B and New Orleans second line,
Jamaican ragga and
Indian
raga -- has long followed a key
mantra: it will take you around
the world by taking you
around the city of Los Angeles.
This certainly resonated
with producer Tony Berg (Aimee
Mann, Pete Yorn), who describes
working with Ozomatli “like
visiting seven continents
simultaneously”. Berg believes
the Fire
Away sessions
“captured the spirit of the
band’s live show without being a
live album,” and
he sensed
Ozomatli stretching themselves
in the studio, adding “each of
the members had
grown as a
writer and as a musician. I
think Fire Away reflects their
true songwriting talents--
everyone's point-of-view was
captured. That is the spirit of
Ozomatli. They're pan-cultural,
and they somehow manage to be
raucous and thoughtful at the
same time."
Fire Away is
arguably Ozomatli’s most diverse
album yet, ranging from the
emotionally
resplendent
ballads “It’s Only Time” and
“Love Comes Down,” the 60’s Stax
influenced vibe
of “45”, to
the Spanglish of “Nadas Por
Free”.
“Malagasy Shock”
recounts singer and guitarist
Raul Pacheco’s harrowing near
death
experience,
electrocuted on stage in front
of thousands of people during
the band’s recent
State
Department trip to Madagascar.
Pacheco offers, “Sometimes you
are shocked into
realizing
life must be lived with a
profoundly energetic fervor.” He
pauses, then adds, “...and
sometimes you are just actually
shocked!”
Fire Away also
includes “Gay Vatos In Love,”
one of the more controversial
songs Ozomatli
has ever
penned. Some may raise eyebrows
that a group with no gay members
would
address same sex
unions, but the subject matter
doesn’t seem so contentious in
the hands
of a band with a
longstanding mission of peace
and tolerance.
Raul poses
a simple question, “Do you
believe that everyone deserves
love? Even gay
vatos? Quickly
adding, “Yes, for sure. It is
always a good time to challenge
our own notions
and
boundaries of what can be.
Especially in the ever present
natural need and quest for
love. We say, let every person
have the right to choose who and
how they love one
another...
“
2009 proved to be a
busy year for Ozomatli, serving
as US cultural ambassadors with
a US
sponsored State
Department trip that included
Ozomatli community outreach and
performances in Myanmar,
Vietnam, and Thailand. The band
was also honored to play for
President Barack Obama and First
Lady Michelle Obama at the
Congressional Hispanic
Caucus
Institute’s 32nd Annual Award
Gala, held in Washington DC in
September.
2010 looks to
continue Ozomatli’s feverish
pace. In addition to taking
their incendiary live
show on
the road in support of Fire
Away, in February Ozomatli will
be performing at the
TED
Conference and two shows in
Hawaii, March brings two shows
at the SXSW Festival in
Austin, collaborating with the
the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra
as well as the Boston Pops
Orchestra for the 125th Pops
Anniversary Celebration in early
May, and once again serving
as US Cultural Ambassadors with
a State Department trip to China
and Mongolia (details
forthcoming).
Ozomatli “Fire Away”
tracklisting
1. Are You
Ready?
2. 45
3. It's Only
Paper
4. Elysian Persuasion
5. Gay Vatos In Love
6. Yeah
Yeah Yeah Yeah
7. It's Only
Time
8. Nadas Por Free
9.
Malagasy Shock
10. Love Comes
Down
11. Caballito
Ozomatli 2010 - more dates
to be announced
Feb 10 -
Long Beach, CA (private show)
TED Conference
Feb 19 -
Honolulu, HI Pipeline Café
Feb 20 - Maui, HI Maui Arts &
Cultural Center
Feb 24 - Los
Angeles, CA (private) Gibson
Showcase
Feb 26 - Anaheim, CA
House of Blues
Feb 27 -
Anaheim, CA House of Blues
March 5 - Tucson, AZ Rialto
Theatre
March 6 - Scottsdale,
AZ Martini Ranch
March 9 -
Colorado Springs, CO Black Sheep
March 10 - Breckenridge, CO
Three20South
March 11 - Vail,
CO Agave
March 12 - Aspen, CO
Belly Up
March 14 - Ft.
Collins, CO The Aggie
March
17 - Austin, TX SXSW
March 18
- Austin, TX SXSW
April 17 -
Houston, TX World Stage
April
26 - Washington, DC 9:30 Club
April 27 - Baltimore, MD
Ramshead Live
April 28 -
Philadelphia, PA World Café Live
April 30 - New York, NY Highline
Ballroom
May 1 - New York, NY
Highline Ballroom
May 2 -
Burlington, VT Higher Ground
May 4 - Chicago, IL House of
Blues
May 5 - Urbana, IL
Tryon Festival
May 7 -
Boston, MA Boston Pops
May 8
- Boston, MA Boston Pops
May
14 - St. Louis MO St. Louis
Symphony |
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