:: Madre Monte to launch new EP in Melbourne

By: Carmine Pascuzzi

Madre Monte have turned it up a notch and will be releasing their second EP Raza:Madre in May 2012. The EP comprises of five original compositions that represent a great development in the sound and unity of the band. Each track is representative of Colombia’s unique culture, a marbled ancestry of African, Indigenous and European descent, a product of a long and dark history of colonization, slave trade and migration. They have cleverly discovered the perfect unison between these Afro-Colombian styles and their cousin and neighbor, reggae. Through their music Madre Monte give a history lesson in travelling sounds, rhythms, instruments and the power of music to stay true to its roots yet adapt accordingly to new environments.

Faced with a new environment themselves, the band’s founders Mauricio Gomez and Henry Peña were adamant they wanted to recreate the authentic sound of traditional Cumbia, interweaved with influences from their new multicultural home Melbourne. They found solace in the previous recordings of Brunswick-based HopeStreet Studios and decided to follow suit. The final product represents the old-school sound of their musically rich homelands with a distinctive contemporary flare.

Madre Monte will be launching their EP on Friday May 18 at the Northcote Social Club, and will be joined on the night by special guests expanding to a 13-piece explosion of Afro-Colombian and reggae grooves. The band will be supported by long-time friends Cosmic-Cumbia outfit Arakataka and Afro-Funk purveyors Papa Chango.

For a free download of the single Subidero, visit here