New York-based band Combo Lulo moves side to side from effortless Jamaican foundation rhythms into the further reaches of Caribbean influence. Incorporating a natural transition between Jamaican classics and the essence of Afro-Latin ritmo and finding a common thread between styles like cumbia, rocksteady, dub, ethiojazz and afrobeat. Their debut album Neotropic Dream is out May 8 on Brooklyn-based label Names You Can Trust. The band’s core consists of current and former members of Antibalas, the Easy Star Allstars, the Skatalites, Charles Bradley & his Extraordinaires and the Far East among others.
Originally conceived as a recording project, Combo Lulo first convened to record a handful of songs for Names You Can Trust (NYCT). A veritable who’s who of the NYC music scene, Combo Lulo’s members are veteran musicians with deep and nuanced understanding of the styles and traditions being referenced, with the results speaking for themselves.
Today Glide is excited to offer an exclusive premiere of the new album. Beginning with the playful ska-inflected “Port Antonio,” the band immediately establishes themselves as a colorful amalgamation of classic and oft-overlooked styles like cumbia, rocksteady, dub, ethiojazz and afrobeat. The genius in their sound is the way they bring all of these styles and others into a sound that allows them to coexist faithfully while also sounding like something entirely fresh and new. This is what happens when hardcore record nerds and world music aficionados also happen to be stellar musicians. We hear jazz, polka and even lounge come together with cumbia sounds in the delightful romp “Cumbia Fabulosa,” and on the sneaky and moody “Escuchen a Mama” the band enlists the talented singer Alba Ponce de Leon to lay down sultry vocals. Cultural melding is fully embraced on this album, and the members of Combo Lulo cheerfully jet set from the Caribbean to South America and all the way to Africa, stopping seemingly everywhere between. Much like the bands they have all played in, this group manages to craft a sound that is retro and faithful to the genres it references while also offering listeners a new perspective and letting them draw their own musical connections across the globe. Ultimately, Neotropic Dream is a hugely fun and impressive debut, and we can only hope that when the world goes back to normal this all-star lineup will bring the party on the road.
Listen to the full album and read our interview with Combo Lulo bandleader Michael Sarason…
One of the coolest things about this group is the way you bring together styles like cumbia, rocksteady, dub, ethiojazz and afrobeat. Where did the spark come from to fuse all of these styles together?
These were all influences that have been permeating in the different groups we play in and styles we listen to. I personally love imagining what it would be like if some of my favorite musicians from different eras and parts of the globe jammed together. Like for instance, what if Hailu Mergia (of Ethiopia) had travelled to Kingston in 1981 and sat in with the Roots Radics for a session? It never happened, but in some ways, this group is a manifestation of those imaginary collaborations that we dream about.
Can you talk a little bit about the musical backgrounds of the band members and how you all connected for this group?
Oh jeez. It’s such a gigantic group full of super accomplished players from different backgrounds and generations. I don’t know how to do this without writing a full dissertation. Many of us met playing in Reggae and Ska groups, that’s how I initially met folks like Anant Pradhan (saxophones, arranger) , Eddie Ocampo (drums), Kevin Batchelor (trumpet), Buford O’Sullivan (trombone) and Steve Capecci (bass). I knew when putting the band together that I wanted to pull from a few different scenes so that the music came out as something distinct from what we’d done before. Through the Afrobeat and Soul scenes I met folks like Nikhil P. Yerawadekar (bass, guitar) Morgan Price (sax/flute) and Billy Aukstik (trumpet). I met Morgan Greenstreet (percussion) through a musician activist group called the Sound Mind Collective. I was introduced to Andres Jimenez (percussion) and Camilo Rodriguez (percussion) through our label, Names You Can Trust. They brought in traditional Colombian instruments and added a texture that really gave the sound a special feel. Matt Kursmark (guitar/production) and I have been making music together for almost 20 years already, working with him helps ground me and because we both started making music in the same basement when we were teenagers and in some ways, the exploration of sounds we’re on now is simply an extension of what we began doing back then.
You have some fantastic singers guesting on the album. How did you connect with them?
Both Alba and Jonny are friends from the music community in Brooklyn. Alba and her group the Mighty Lions just put out a fantastic single, also on Names You Can Trust, so we’re actually labelmates! JonnyGo Figure is one of the most inspiring and ascendant names in Dancehall and Reggae coming out of New York right now. Getting to work with both of them in the studio was a dream and I hope we’re lucky enough to do it again!
Should we ever expect any Combo Lulu live shows or even a larger tour?
Definitely. Logistics are somewhat labyrinthian with a group this big, but playing live will absolutely happen. Right now, we have one live date announced in August at the Green River Festival in MA with folks like Jon Batiste, Antibalas, Ani DiFranco among many others. We’re hoping to add more to this in time 🙂
Is there any meaning behind the name of the album?
The phrase was something I’d landed on a while back, even before I knew there would be a Combo Lulo LP. “Neotropic” is a zoological term referring to the area that encompasses the Carribean, as well as Central and South America but I also think it just sounds dope haha. Neotropic Dream is another way of conveying that sentiment of the influence we’re drawing from different regions, not only musically, but the colors, flora and fauna as well 😉
It’s clear that all of the members of the band are super well-versed in the musical styles that this album covers. For people that love this music but might not know where to start, are there any essential records that helped inspired and shape the Combo Lulo sound they can seek out?
That is a wonderful question! I don’t think most of us in the band grew up listening to every single style presented here, we all have been on journeys discovering more as time goes on. So I’d start by saying that this album represents just one moment in a continued exploration of culture, past, present and future via the lens of music. There is never a bad time to start your own journey of discovery. Personally a few great stepping stones along the way have been:
Ticklah vs. Axelrod
Colombia! The Golden Age of Discos Fuentes
Tommy McCook & the Supersonics – Top Secret
The Roots of Chicha – Psychedelic Cumbias from Peru
How did the recording work for this album – was it done during 2020 or before?
This album luckily was started pre-pandemic and all of the tracking was done before things really got bad. We recorded, produced and mixed this record in our own Shag City Studios in Brooklyn using a combination of modern and old school technology and approaches. Only the mixing/mastering and design/layout stages have had to be done while in quarantine in 2020. It was tough because we went through several release dates that came and went, but ultimately, now feels like the right time for the record to be here …and anyway, a Neotropic record dropping in the dead of winter seems a bit off doesn’t it?
Photo credit: Buscar Photo (www.buscarphoto.com)
