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OZOMATLI Celebrate 25th Anniversary with New Label, New Music
Produced by David Garza (Fiona Apple), the album features the six core members.
By: Sarah Jae Leiber Mar. 09, 2021
Blue Élan Records is proud to announce the recent signing of the Grammy Award-winning band, Ozomatli, who join the eclectic roster of the Westwood based label. The band recently released their first new song of 2021, a rousing cover of "La Rama Del Mezquite" and they are currently working on the final recording touches for a forthcoming album, their first for Blue Élan. Produced by David Garza (Fiona Apple), the album features the six core members: Asdru Sierra (lead vocals, trumpet, keyboards), Raul Pacheco (lead vocals, guitar), Willy (Wil-Dog) Abers (bass, vocals), Justin Poree (rap, vocals, percussion), Ulises Bella (saxophone, melodica, clarinet, guitar, requinto, keyboards, vocals) and Jiro Yamaguchi (drums, percussion) as well as some surprise featured artists.
To announce this landmark signing, Blue Élan partnered with FallingInSand, a popular TikTok account with over 3.4M followers, to create mesmerizing sand art.
After signing their new recording contract, founding member and band guitarist Raul Pacheco exclaimed, "Happy to be releasing our next record on Blue Élan! They have an incredible team of experienced music lovers that are going to help Ozomatli reach the masses in our next offering. We look forward to reconnecting with our existing fans and making new ones!"
Of the signing, Blue Élan President Connor Pasich expressed, "We're honored and beyond excited to welcome Ozomatli to the Blue Élan family. To work with a band that has had such influence in the musical world, along with such an impact on so many social causes, is a massive privilege. We look forward to this partnership and the opportunity to be a part of Ozo's ongoing legacy."
Damon Vonn, Ozomatli's manager and co-founder of Culture Management Group, celebrated the band's signing adding, "Timing is everything, in music and in life. When Niels first approached me with the idea of Ozomatli joining Blue Élan, the world was in lock down. Ozomatli however, never stopped making music. We needed a home for that new music; a home with a great team. I'm excited to say, we found it!"
Blue Élan A&R executive, Niels Schroeter echoed the excitement from the label, "Personally, bringing Ozomatli to Blue Élan is very exciting. I vividly remember seeing them for the first time in the late 90's playing in front of a wild crowd of college kids at UC Santa Barbara. Everything about them blew me away, and they're every bit as vital today as they were then. So much left to say and so much more incredible music to make. I'm honored to be part of this team that's kicking off their next 25 years."
Produced by Ozomatli and Sly & Robbie, the track seamlessly fuses cultures and musical styles into an unforgettably catchy rendition of the popular song, it is available now to stream or purchase digitally. Made famous by the legendary Ramon Ayala, whose countless hits have left his indelible mark on the Mexican Regional music scene and beyond, the Ozomatli tribute features the dulcet tones of talented Jamaican actress and dancehall/reggae vocalist Cherine Anderson, who adapts Jamaican Patois and English into the track, bringing together worlds in musical harmony.
Prolific Jamaican rhythm section and production duo Sly & Robbie then blessed the track, using their vast wealth of experience, equipment, and tradition to blend together two worlds and providing a perfect example of how the distance between people doesn't always define us.
A core message of the multicultural artists, Ozomatli believes their version serves to remind us that if we take time and listen to each other and share in our differences the world will be a much better place. The band describe recording "La Rama Del Mezquite" as an incredibly gratifying experience, with the process of seeing it all come together providing further proof that people from different cultures and backgrounds can share and celebrate our differences through music.
The video for "La Rama Del Mezquite" premiered on Friday during Linda Perry's Rock 'N' Relief benefit for CORE Response alongside performances from Foo Fighters, Sheryl Crow, Deadmau5, Sammy Hagar and of course, Linda Perry among many more. CORE Response has been working tirelessly to save lives by providing free COVID-19 testing, and now vaccines, across Los Angeles. For those that missed the world premiere, the band is debuting the video on their YouTube Channel on Wednesday, March 10 at 8PM PST. The band will be hanging out virtually during the premiere and chatting with fans at that time.
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