OZOMATLI gigs - Tuesday 6th July sold out, tix for Wed 7th still avail

Deaglan

Please note that tickets for the OZOMATLI show at CrawDaddy on Tuesday 6th July are now sold out. Obviously a lot of people taking their tips from Time magazine who described OZOMATLI as the greatest live band in the world.

Tickets are still available for the Wednesday which features New Colour Soul and DJ Ray McDonnell supporting.

“Ozomatli is a 10-man bilingual rainbow coalition that forges salsa, hip-hop, funk, calypso, rock, mariachi, jazz, reggae and Afro-pop into a scintillating fusion…a third-degree felony assault charge is looming over their percussionist Jiro Yamaguchi. He's accused of striking a police officer with the tom-tom drum that provides the beat for their famous conga march through the crowd… The band contest this.” Los Angeles Times review of SXSW festival, March 2004

“Ozomatli belong to a new breed of global music hoodlum alongside the likes of Manu Chao and Los De Abajos. They all play a kind of hi-octane pan-Latino dance music which mixes elements like ska, samba, salsa, punk, hip hop to varying degrees, and, in Ozomatli’s case, funk, Tex Mex, swing and soul as well… The band have conquered the USA and the world by dint of relentless touring, which has honed their live show down to perfection. They're famous for giving their all for the allotted 60 minutes plus and then bouncing off the stage to carry on partying in amongst their audiences.”
BBC World Music

“Going to an Ozomatli concert is like hearing all the music at an urban street fair rolled into a single band… Mexican ranchero exuberance, a lot of hip-hop swagger, a dash of salsa, a smidgen of funk and a fairly healthy dose of rock 'n' roll, with even some African and eastern influences” Pop Matters

OZOMATLI

live at CrawDaddy

Junction of Harcourt St & Hatch St, Dublin 2. 01 478 0225

Tues 6th & Wed 7th July. Doors 8pm

Tickets just €14.50/€16.50 from Claddagh, ROAD, All City, Comet, City Discs, Sound Cellar and Ticketmaster outlets nationwide. Ph: 0818 719 300. book online at www.ticketmaster.ie

One of the greatest live acts in the world today; Los Angeles ten piece Afro-Latin-Jazz-hop style-mashers OZOMATLI have announced an eagerly awaited Irish debut when they play two nights at Dublin’s intimate CrawDaddy venue on Tues 6th and Wed 7th July.

Aptly described by the LA Times recently as ‘a 10-man bilingual rainbow coalition that forges salsa, hip-hop, funk, calypso, rock, mariachi, jazz, reggae and Afro-pop into a scintillating fusion’ , OZOMATLI are named after the Aztec monkey God of dance and are touring in support of their new album ‘Street Signs’ which comes out through Concord/EMI on 22nd June. Just last month they won the Billboard Award for the best Latin/Rock Alternative for 2003’s ‘Coming Up’ mini-album, the latest in a long list of accolades for the band.

OZOMATLI’s music crosses so many boundaries that it is beyond classification. The extent of this is indicated in the list of acts who have recorded with them - from Carlos Santana and Eddie Palmieri to Black Eyed Peas and Jurassic 5 – in fact both Chali 2Na and Cut Chemist of J5 are former members of OZOMATLI. Their famously floor-shaking live show has seen them personally invited by Peter Gabriel to support him at Wembley Stadium next month.

OZOMATLI’s live show truly has to be seen to be believed – it has gained them a cult following all over the world and they have probably played the Glastonbury festival more times than any other act since their formation 8 years ago. Their live shows usually end with the band leading a procession through the crowd with their percussion and brass to create a samba party. They recently hit the headlines in March when their performance at the South By South West festival in Texas led to three members of the band being arrested.

With tickets a measly €14.50-€16.50; the invite is there for all to come see for themselves!

www.ozomatli.com


OZOMATLI

Latin Rock/Alternative Album of the year- Billboard Latin Music Awards April 2004

Grammy Award 2002 for Best Latin/Rock Alternative album

ALMA Awards for breakthrough artist of 2002



BI GRAPHY

OZOMATLI

It is time for a revolution.
It is time for another Ozomatli album.
It is time for Street Signs.
The last time Los Angeles’ beloved Afro-Latin-and-beyond style-mashers released an album, it was September 11, 2001. While most bands in the United States responded to the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon by canceling their concerts, Ozomatlia multi-racial crew who have never been shy about their commitment to social justice, progressive politics, and anti-war convictions decided to keep their dates and keep playing.

“Music is the key to every culture, the beginning of an understanding,” says the band’s trumpet player and co-vocalist Asdru Sierra. “September 11 really pushed us to delve into North African and Arab music. For us, music is a language far more universal than politics.”

Street Signs, the band’s first full-length studio album in three years, bears this new Middle Eastern influence out in typical Ozo style, by mixing it into their trademark blend of hip-hop and Latin styles. When the band’s original MC Chali 2na (now of Jurassic 5) returns to take center stage on “Who’s To Blame,” he drops rhymes about “presidential motorcades” and “Yakuza tattoos” over a reedy Gnawa trance session complete with tablas and hand-claps. “Believe,” the album’s uplifting opener that looks for hope in destruction, features Veteran Moroccan sintir master Hassan Hakmoun, who’s joined by the acclaimed French-Jewish gypsy violinists Les Yeux Noir and The Prague Symphony (yes, The Prague Symphony).

Street Sign’s body-moving urban globe-trots were encouraged by Ozo’s new label, Concord Records, who gave them total creative freedom to follow their songs wherever they went. “With the last record, I loved all of our collaborations, but it wasn’t a complete representation of who Ozomatli is,” says Sierra of the band’s sophomore outing that paired them with the esteemed hip-hop likes of Common and De La Soul. “Concord just seemed happy to let us go off and do our thing. There’s a real sense of acceptance of what we do. Plus, I’m really honored to be on the same label as Eddie Palmieri. He’s my idol.”

The band invited Palmieri, the legendary Latin jazz and salsa pianist, to play on “Nadie Te Tira,” where his gorgeous solo piano lines set off a round of horn-blasted salsa fusion. Along with Palmieri, Hakmoun, Les Yeux Noir, Chali 2na, and the Prague Symphony (who grace three tracks), Ozomatli are also joined by Los Lobos singer-guitarist David Hidalgo (“Santiago”) and the band’s original DJ, Cut Chemist (“Dejame en Paz”). There’s also the band’s new MC (Jabu, formerly of 4th Avenue Jones) and guest drummer, Mario Calire (formerly of The Wallflowers).

Throw in a board mixologist who’s worked with everyone from Justin Timberlake and NERD to Michael Jackson and Prince (Serben Ghenea), and engineers who’ve collaborated with the likes of Beck, Santana, Jack Johnson, and Cypress Hill (Robert Carranza and Anton Pukshansky), and you get what is easily the band’s most vibrant and ambitious project to date.

“After eight years of being together,” explains tenor saxophonist Ulises Bella, “our overall comfort level with ourselves and with our playing has really grown. The songs venture off to a lot of different areas. That’s the beauty of Ozomatli, being able to do things really differently than everyone else.”

Street Signs is both a mature testament to the band’s nearly decade-long evolution and a fresh, dance floor-rocking reminder of their commitment to creating original music in the face of industry conservatism. “Saturday Night” is a “dip-dive-socialize” hip-hop block party. “Love & Hope” is an anthem waiting to happen with its English-language mix of Arabic strings and new-school Chicano funk-rock. “Dejame En Paz” is a papi chulo merengue fest that boils over into the mosh pit. The band even re-mixes itself (with the help of Ghenea and John Hanes) on “Ya Viene El Sol,” turning its soaring concert sing-a-long into a piece of DJ heaven; a broken-beat electro cut-up of dancehall, batucada, and jarocho.

“Since we started, our perspectives have changed as our lives have changed,” says Bella. “We just trust each other more now. Everyone gives everyone the space we all need. This band did not start, at all, to get a record deal. It started out of love for the music we made, and that’s exactly where we still are.”

Ozomatli are:
Jiro Yamaguchi Percussion
Wil-Dog Abers Bass, Vocals
Justin Poree Percussion, MC, Vocals
Asdrubal Sierra Trumpet, Lead Vocals
Raul Pacheco Guitar, Lead Vocals
Ulises Bella Tenor Sax, Clarinet, Vocals
Mario Calire Drums
Rene ‘Spinobi’ Dominguez Turntablist
Jabu MC