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Los Angeles-based Latin band Ozomatli will perform at Envy at Route 66 Casino. The band is recording its next album, slated for a summer release.
Asdru Sierra sits in front of a grand piano at the famed EastWest Recording Studios in Hollywood. Taking a break from recording, the 40-year-old vocalist has time to reflect on his career.
What Sierra has been able to accomplish in 18 years is rather staggering. He’s gone from being a normal kid growing up in Glasgow Park in Los Angeles to seeing the world as part of the Latin-infused band Ozomatli.
“Sometimes I get a chance to step outside my head and take it all in,” he says during a recent interview from Los Angeles. “I feel like I ‘Forrest Gumped’ my way to my career. I’m a 40-year-old man with a wife and two children and my career has enabled me to provide for them through thick and thin. Sitting in this legendary place in front of this piano is so surreal to me.”
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Ozomatli WHEN: 8 p.m. Sunday, March 10 WHERE: Envy at Route 66 Casino, 14500 W. Central HOW MUCH: $10-$20 at www.holdmyticket.com or 886-1251 |
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Sierra and Ozomatli are well on their way creating the band’s next album. The band takes its name from the Nahuatl word for the Aztec astrological symbol of the monkey, which is also a god of dance, fire, the new harvest and music. Ozomatli is known for fusing salsa, jazz, funk, reggae and rap.
Sierra says the majority of the writing has been completed and the band has just started the recording process for the new album.
“We’ve been trying out some of these songs out live,” he says. “The response has been great from the fans, but I’m more scared of my kids’ critiques. If they don’t move to a song then we definitely have to revisit it. We’re hoping to have all the recording done by the end of the month and hopefully a new album will be out by the summer.”
Sierra says being able to record at EastWest is providing a spark for the band.
“We’ve heard so much about this place,” he says. “The studio itself makes our creativity much more vibrant. There are very few places that has incredible reverb when it comes to recording. This is one of the best.”
This will be the first Ozomatli album since 2010′s “Fire Away,” though the band did release “Ozomatli Presents: OzoKidz” in 2012. The latter was a children’s album and the band performed shows for children.
Sierra says making the album was a nice break for the band, which is known to be political with its music.
Reprint story -- Email the reporter at agomez@abqjournal.com. Call the reporter at 505-823-3921
