USA; COLOMBIAN GROUP "BLOQUE" PLAY UNIQUE MIX OF ROCK, JAZZ AND FOLK MUSIC

Record ID: 387779

  • Title: USA; COLOMBIAN GROUP "BLOQUE" PLAY UNIQUE MIX OF ROCK, JAZZ AND FOLK MUSIC
  • Date: 8th October 1998
  • Summary: LEAD VOCALIST IVAN BENAVIDES SITS WITH GUITARIST TETO OCAMPO AND THEY SAY: (SOUNDBITE ENGLISH ) "THERE IS BAD AND GOOD MUSIC, IN SPANISH AND IN ENGLISH, ROCK AND NOT ROCK. THERE ARE MANY MUSICIANS WHO PLAY LATIN ROCK IN ENGLISH LIKE SANTANA. SANTANA ARE BIG MUSICIANS AND HE PLAYS LATIN ROCK; IT DOESN'T MATTER THAT HE SINGS IN ENGLISH OR IN SPANISH, OR IN BOTH."
  • Embargoed: 23rd October 1998 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES
  • Country: USA
  • Topics: Communications
  • Reuters ID: LVA954UB0JX3RPVUTNIB6S682S33
  • Story Text: Colombian supergroup Bloque combine the folk and regional rhythms of Latin America with the urgency of hard rock, but prefer not to be called a "rock en espanol" band.
    Their unruly mix of rock, blues, jazz, and R & B serves their ultimate purpose, to unleash the spirit of the music and make people dance.
    Made up of the fomer members of Latin megastar Carlos Vives' band, the Colombian alternative group Bloque marries 'psychotropical' funk with rock and Latin Jazz on its self-titled debut album.The group was signed by former Talking Head David Byrne to his label Luaka Bop (distributed by Warner Brothers) which features artists of varying musical backgrounds united in one goal: exposing the "spirit"
    of the music.
    Prefering not to be classified simply as "rock en espanol", Bloque hopes fans of the newly created genre will find there is more to the music than the language in which it is performed.They believe there is good music and bad music, whether it is in English or Spanish.
    Although the band takes its name from the special Columbian armed forces commando units created to hunt drug lord Pablo Escobar, they are not overtly political.Their lyrics have a social dynamic undoubtedly influenced by the well-known stratification found in Columbian society.The songs feature tales of being broke, resenting the status quo, and of course the loss of a girlfriend.
    The musical influences aren't hard to discern, as reggae, rock, salsa, cumbia, jazz, and the folk inspired vallenato style all find their way into Bloque's musical grab bag.The group is continuing their North American tour and looking forward to European dates towards the end of this year.
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