Echoes of the Land: Ozomatli

Tuesday, August 07, 2007

Ozomatli - Don't Mess With The Dragon

Ian Mann reviews Ozomatli's "Don't Mess With The Dragon".

Formed in 1995 Ozomatli are a ten strong aggregate of musicians from Los Angeles who fuse music from several traditions into one energetic whole. Their sound has the primal urgency of the best rock music but has a substantial Latin influence as well as drawing on funk, hip-hop and world music elements.

The band’s edgy energy and multi racial line up presents a vivid snapshot of cosmopolitan Los Angeles. Their music is an explosive cocktail and their performances have won them a substantial following in the US and further afield, although they remain relatively little known in the UK. However, on the evidence of this album a recent British tour should have done much to raise their profile. This is a hard gigging band who tour extensively.

With twelve tracks crammed into forty minutes there is no flab on this record. From the rousing opener "Can’t Stop" to the closing "La Segunda Mano" the pace rarely flags. The music is highly rhythmic and with two percussionists and a kit drummer it has tremendous drive. Besides conventional rock instrumentation the band also make extensive use of horns, turntables and rap vocals. It’s all in there. This is a band with attitude as encapsulated in the rapping on "City Of Angels".

Saturday, March 10, 2007

Interview with Ozomatli

Two-time Grammy winning U.S. band Ozomatli says its new album, "Don't Mess With The Dragon" which will be released in April, is its most "cohesive, joyous" record to date.

The Los Angeles-based 10 member band, which is known for its political and social lyrics, was formed in 1996 and plays Latin, hip-hop and rock music. Their first eponymous album was released two years later to mixed reviews.

Ozomatli -- a Nahuatl word for the Aztec astrological symbol of the monkey, the god of dance, fire, and music -- won a Grammy in 2002 for their second album "Embrace the Chaos".

Popularly called "Ozo", the multi-ethnic band won its second Grammy in 2005 for "Street Signs". They have shared the stage with music greats like Carlos Santana and Lenny Kravitz.

The band recently toured India and Nepal and is known for songs which deal with social and political issues.

Q: What will "Don't Mess With The Dragon" offer your fans?

A: "In our new album, we basically continue our journey singing about social issues. On this album, for the first time we actually wrote a song in homage to Los Angeles, the city where we come from.

"We also do a song about New Orleans, that's after (Hurricane) Katrina and that one's called 'Magnolia Soul'. There are a few social issues we wanted to sing and this came out as our most cohesive, joyous record to date."

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