MONARETA

By Jim Farber

The snaking melody takes its cues from Colombian cumbia music, while the snapping rhythms mimic the hip-hop break beats of the Bronx. Add to that bits of British synth-pop, Jamaican reggae and Caribbean jazz, and you've got the fierce jumble that is Monareta, Colombia's most progressive deejay duo of the moment.

"I think it's important to play a game with music," says Andres Martinez, who comprises the group with childhood friend Camilo Sanabria. "It's a game in which you have fun."
RELATED: WHAT IS NOW A BLOCKBUSTER?

There's no shortage of that on "Picotero," Monareta's just released CD. (It's their first physical work, following up two Internet-only CDs.) The duo brings the highly animated sound of those CDs to two lower East Side clubs this weekend - tonight at Mehanata (113 Ludlow, near Delancey), and tomorrow at Fontana's Bar (105 Eldridge St., between Broome and Grand).

Monareta's music earns them a place in a competitive vanguard from south of the border. Some of the most progressive, varied and ethnically astute dance-oriented records of late have been coming from places like Santiago, Chile (DJ Bitman), Tijuana, Mexico (Nortec Collective), and Colombia (Sidestepper, Bomba Stereo and Monareta).

Yet only Monareta's music finds a meeting point between '80s electro hip hop (think: Afrika Bambaataa circa the electric boogaloo) and Colombian folk styles from cumbia to champeta. The two members of the group grew up together in Bogotá, drawn together by their equal passions for '80s New York rap (Beastie Boys, Public Enemy) and BMX bikes (they took their name from one such model).

Like many Colombian kids, they also drew on the undulating rhythms of dub reggae. Martinez says the connection comes from the Colombian island of San Andres, which lies in the Caribbean just an hour from Cartagena. "People there were very influenced by calypso, reggae and soca," says Martinez. "Also, it was a British colony, as was Jamaica."

Growing up, Martinez and Sanabria saw a lot of violence in the streets. "There were places you couldn't go," Sanabria says. Now, however, they say the drug-war image of Colombia's cities is far from fair. "We are tired of it," Martinez says. "It's typecasting."

Martinez wound up moving from Bogotá to Brooklyn four years ago, on a Fulbright Scholarship to study film scoring at NYU. He immediately immersed himself in the local electronic underground scene. "There was all this experimental stuff at [clubs] like the Annex and Tonic," he says.

Sanabria traveled to the city periodically, as he did while growing up. But since he was still based in Bogotá, the two put together their early music long distance, via the Internet. Their recordings earned them equal numbers of English- and Spanish-speaking fans, though nearly all their song titles and minimal lyrics honor the latter. Ultimately, though, its the mix of cultures that excites them, which helps explain why they've chosen New York as their second home. "You go into the [subway] and you have to interact with other people and cultures," Martinez says. "You have something very good here - you're open to the world." - http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/music/2008/10/24/2008-10-24_mashed_notes_from_colombia_band

By Steve Dollar

Bogotá comes to Brooklyn on Picotero, the American debut by the Colombian duo named after the Latin American version of a BMX bicycle—a nod to 1980s street culture that also reflects the disc’s crunky fusion of cumbia rhythms and post-Beasties sonic bricolage. Andres Martinez and Camilo Sanabria have wild imaginations to match their penchant for hammering together disparate scraps of sound. Their embrace of lo-fi electronics is, of course, de rigueur these days, but the album’s congenial weirdness can’t be scored off of Craigslist. Nods to forró (“La Batalla de Boyaca”), spectral dub (“Me Voy Pal Mar”) and super-retarded ’80s synth-pop (“Todo el Voltaje”) show off versatility and would most certainly bloom into Day-Glo intensity with a booming system, a sweaty dance floor and plenty of rum and weed.

Yet these guys hit their stride when they go Byrne/Eno on your ass, mixing the robotic blurt of imaginary sci-fi soundtracks with the profound funk of Yoruba percussive ritual. It’s easy to think of a track like “Break Tocaima,” its gonzo keyboards mashing up Sun Ra and Esquivel, as a mere party favor, until you realize how much the rhythmic underpinnings were originally meant to unlock portals to the spirit world. - http://www.timeout.com/newyork/articles/music/67271/monareta

By RUPERT BOTTENBERG

It’s a splendid coincidence that Colombian-bred, Brooklyn-based duo Monareta are rolling into town the week the Mirror inaugurates its Biking supplement. In addition to banging out superior-grade party tunes together, Monareta’s Andres Martinez and Camilo Sanabria have a long history astride BMX bicycles, freestyling and even competing professionally.

“Sounds crazy,” says Martinez, “but the scene in Colombia was as important as for youths in other countries. During the ’80s, we received breakdance music and electric boogaloo, and bike freestylers in Bogotá were really inspired by this. I was part of these street bike improvisers when I was 11 years old. We heard Beastie Boys, Public Enemy and so on, but the brands of our bikes were not Mongoose or GT. We had Monaretas. That’s how we got to name this project—a homage to the ’80s breakdance, hip hop, BMX and fashion scene sounds that came from abroad to influence us in South America.”

That’s not all that can be found in the playful jumble of Monareta’s memorable music, captured on the highly varied but steadfastly humorous albums Electronoche and La Bonanza. “We’ve been developing a kind of medley or clash,” explains Sanabria, “between breakbeats, dub and Colombian porros, or Caribbean brass cumbia. We like to treat that with filters, glitches and upbeats. The approach is to have fun and dance. Sometime we call the genre ‘mercundub’—merengue, cumbia and dub—or just electrocumbia.”

By RUPERT BOTTENBERG

It’s a splendid coincidence that Colombian-bred, Brooklyn-based duo Monareta are rolling into town the week the Mirror inaugurates its Biking supplement. In addition to banging out superior-grade party tunes together, Monareta’s Andres Martinez and Camilo Sanabria have a long history astride BMX bicycles, freestyling and even competing professionally.

“Sounds crazy,” says Martinez, “but the scene in Colombia was as important as for youths in other countries. During the ’80s, we received breakdance music and electric boogaloo, and bike freestylers in Bogotá were really inspired by this. I was part of these street bike improvisers when I was 11 years old. We heard Beastie Boys, Public Enemy and so on, but the brands of our bikes were not Mongoose or GT. We had Monaretas. That’s how we got to name this project—a homage to the ’80s breakdance, hip hop, BMX and fashion scene sounds that came from abroad to influence us in South America.”

That’s not all that can be found in the playful jumble of Monareta’s memorable music, captured on the highly varied but steadfastly humorous albums Electronoche and La Bonanza. “We’ve been developing a kind of medley or clash,” explains Sanabria, “between breakbeats, dub and Colombian porros, or Caribbean brass cumbia. We like to treat that with filters, glitches and upbeats. The approach is to have fun and dance. Sometime we call the genre ‘mercundub’—merengue, cumbia and dub—or just electrocumbia.”

The two are fast friends since childhood, and their fire-and-ice personalities complement each other. Martinez admires Sanabria’s musical talent (he has classical training and a way with techy stuff) and patient manner—“He’s very disciplined and diligent. He likes to make decisions calmly.” Sanabria gets a kick out of Matinez’s spark—“Andres is a little crazy sometimes and likes to go fast. He crafts music forms very fast as well.”

Monareta began in 2000 in Colombia’s capital, playing at art exhibitions and eventually clubs, raves and festivals, but it couldn’t contain them long. “We’ve been playing mainly in New York because of its eclectic scene and cools clubs,” says Martinez. “With our next album, Picotero, to be released this summer by California’s Nacional Records, we’re planning to find venues in England, France and Germany.”

Before that, though, Monareta will be a highlight at the first edition of Cucurama!, Montreal’s new nuevo-Latino jam. Dance club crowds won’t be the only ones soaking in the Monareta sound. With help from their label, the two are taking cracks at soundtrack work. “We just worked with a New York friend of ours,” says Sanabria, “a filmmaker from Alaska named Andrew MacLean. He just won the Jury award for best short film at 2008’s Sundance, for his film Sikumi. We used music a little different than what we do with Monareta, still experimental, but it was a great experience and it’s a great step for our music career. With Monareta, we’ve worked out cues for La Mujer de mi Hermano, and for the upcoming film Pride and Glory, starring Edward Norton and Colin Farrell.” - http://www.montrealmirror.com/2008/042408/music2.html

by James Klein

Monareta is the new sound of Colombia. The Colombian duo throws Picotero, their first disk in the U.S., which yields a homage to some rhythms of the Antilles, such as the reggae, cumbia, porro, cha-cha-chá and merengue, among many other, weaved with the electronic sounds of the keyboards, computers and turntables. The album was released on Oct. 7.

Born in Bogotá, Colombia, Monareta has been around since 2000 when composer and producer Andrés Martínez began working with composer Camilo Sanabria on musical projects with break beats and hip-hop in different bars and music festivals.

Since their schools days, both have been involved in different musical projects. Martínez was a singer and guitarist of the Colombian group Yuri Gagarin (MTM) and Sanabria was keyboardist and programmer of the group Zigma (BMG). Besides being musicians, they were also champions of BMX bicycling; Sanabria a professional cyclist and Martínez a polished improviser with his bicycle out-on-the-street.

The duo has shared their music experiences together at important music festivals like “Rock Al Parque” in Colombia and “Rock desde el Volcán” in Ecuador. Now they are performing together in the sound adventure they call “negroclash and electroniche” that is Monareta. Their music has a wide range of influences from the beats of Colombian porros, electronic break beats and even punk rock.

Martínez and Sanabria explain that they took the name of their group from a brand of bicycles that were very popular in Colombia in the 1980s. It was on those bicycles from their childhood and adolescence that they first learned cycling and freestyle.

Monareta has performed in many cities and music festivals including New York, Cartagena, Los Angeles, New Jersey and Berlin, Germany. In March of 2008, they performed at the prestigious SXSW festival in Austin, Texas. The band first record, Electronoche, came out in 2006.

In addition to their new CD, the band has contributed to numerous film soundtracks like “La Mujer de mi Hermano” and “Pride and Glory.”

The duet is currently preparing for a small tour of U.S., in which they will visit Los Angeles, New York and Philadelphia, among other cities, and in which they will present the “cha-cha-chá electrónico” of Picotero.

For more information, visit www.monareta.com or www.myspace.com/monareta. - http://www.extranews.net/news.php?nid=4197

Download the free mp3 "Llama" from Monareta's album Picoreto Here
Buy Monareta music on itunes



One of the things that I really wanted to do with this blog was to turn it into a platform for an entire community of like minded labels. Lord knows there is no shortage of great companies who are "fighting the good fight" in order to bring interesting and eclectic music out into the world.

Last week, we brought you a track from the Bay Area's Om Records and today we are fortunate enough to have a track from the great Nacional Records label. Quite simply, Nacional is the premier label working out of North America focusing on the many shades and styles of Alternative Latin music. From Manu Chao to Nortec Collective to Aterciopelados to many, many more great artists, Nacional has consistently proven that there is much more to Latin music than salsa, J-Lo, Ricky Martin and Reggaeton.

I'm always happy when I get a package in the mail from Nacional but of late, I am particularly enjoying a recent release of theirs from Bogotá's Monareta. This is smart and funky Latin electronica at it's finest and we're pleased to be sharing a track with you. As with any of releases we feature here at Global Noize, if you like what you hear, be sure to dig deeper into the record and support the labels and artists who are generous enough to offer these songs for you.

Bio:

Picotero is at once intelligent and danceable—a unique fusion of styles refined over several years since composer, producer and vocalist Andres Martinez started mixing break beats and hip hop flows with live keyboard performances by Camilo Sanabria. The duo quickly became popular in clubs and electronic music festivals throughout their hometown of Bogotá.

Taking their name from the brand of BMX bike they rode avidly as kids, Monareta makes music that is influenced by a lot of what was cool to them in those formative years. Martinez explains, “Growing up, even as young as 11, I was really involved in the local freestyle street bike scene. All the street bikers in Colombia were heavily influenced by the break dance and electric boogaloo arriving from the U.S. We heard groups like the Beastie Boys and Public Enemy and they completely changed our lives. And so that’s how we got the name for our group: It’s a homage to the `80s break dance, hip hop, BMX and the fashion scene that came from abroad to influence us in South America.”

Once Monareta had begun to develop their sound, Martinez received a Fulbright scholarship to pursue a Master of Arts in composition and film scoring at New York University. He moved from Bogotá to New York City and immersed himself in the local music scenes. Monareta found an especially receptive crowd in Brooklyn and Martinez integrated what he was learning with his studies into the group’s cinematic sound.

While fellow Colombians Sidestepper combine electronic music with salsa, Monareta mixes electronic music with cumbia and champeta, the Afro-Colombian genre native to the streets of the country’s Caribbean coast. They also incorporate the reggae, dub and calypso sounds popular in the coastal cities. On Picotero, the track “Llama” especially illustrates this fusion, where the cumbia upbeat flows seamlessly with a reggae groove and dub vocals.

Recently, the group has split time living in Colombia and Brooklyn, while performing across the U.S. Earlier this year, Monareta showcased at South by Southwest and North by Northeast in Toronto. - http://globalnoize.blogspot.com/2008_10_01_archive.html

By Carlos Reyes

Picotero is as fun and unexpected as Coconot’s Cosa Astral, but spicier, and as colorful as En Ventura’s EP, but spicier. This is how we love our alternative music; Andres Martinez and Camilo Sanabria make a gold solid third album with pure confidence and control over their fusionist proposal. Fusionism not in political terms but musically, because in Picotero we find a musical freedom where airs of innovation and airs of traditional music manage to coexist. This is the most recent release by Nacional Records, which has proven to be today’s most dynamic alternative label. Monareta joins the target audiences of fellow Nacional artists Mexican Institute of Sound and Nortec Collective. Picotero is infectious dancehall music with Caribbean personality and some very entertaining verses that don’t interrupt the fun a bit. “Matanza Funk” is immediately memorable because of the informational samplings in its introduction and its cool rap verses that serve as ammunition throughout the album. It is great to hear Monareta’s explosive tribal sound floating around a computerized space of encounter. “Raimundo llevate al mundo” is simply adorable; the world can go to hell as long as I get to know Emily & Margarit. The best song in the album also has the breeziest title “Domingo Lovin Style”, a song that doesn’t let anything to get in its way and says it how it is, while songs like “Todo el voltaje” and “Break Tocaima” will get you naturally doped. I’m not sure what the whole biking image is about, but it sure is a fun ride not to be missed.

- http://clubfonograma.blogspot.com/2008/10/picotero-monareta.html

By Hilda Gabriela

Colombian natives Andrés Martínez and Camilo Sanabria have crossed over to the other side. After two digitally available releases through Nacional’s digital label Nacionale, Monareta releases their first tangible album “Picotero” on October 7th. The electro-funk-afro Cuban-almost nortec fusion is a direct reflection of the band members’ lifestyle. Born and raised in the tropical landscapes of Bogotá, Colombia, “Picotero” embodies Caribbean flows and the “danzon” that colors that country’s festive environment. But also with the funk of electro-hip hop flows and urban break beats, “Picotero” is a mirror reflection of the east coasts’ emerging underground funk scene. Constant traveling between Brooklyn, New York and Bogotá has left the band emerged in tropical and street-style sounds. Between the flowing hip hop beats of “Esmeraldeña” and the electro-nortec reminiscent style which is heard in “Llama”, “Picotero” brings us a 14 track, all around hypnotic, finger snapping, foot tapping, hip swaying killer album.

Best if listened to at a poorly lit club as you dance provocatively with a random stranger.

My favorite tracks: “Matanza Funk”, “Almamazonica”, and “Esmeraldeña”.

“Picotero” hits stores October 7th. And for an up-close and personal live performance, don’t miss the duos’ CD listening party and show at L.A.’s the Echo on October 11th.


1.) La batalla de boyaca
2.) El general de Midi
3.) Me voy pal mar
4.) Llama
5.) Domingo loving style
6.) Girlfriend in Providence
7.) Todo el voltaje
8.) Break Tocaima
9.) Matanza Funk
10.) Almamazoniza
11.) Gaitana
12.) Esmeraldeña
13.) Raimundo llevate al mundo
14.) Get the Rec


Composed by: Monareta (in collaboration with guests musicians)
Label: Nacional Records
Produced by: La Bonanza por Arte de Magia - http://www.alborde.com/content/view/4337/30/

By Lissette Corsa

Musica

The alchemists

Inspired by extreme sports, the streets and all sorts of music, the duo known as Monareta makes new music from a medley of sounds.
BY LISSETTE CORSA

Back when they were poppin’ wheelies and doing 360s off the
asphalt of Bogotá, Andrés Martinez and Camilo Sanabria were
subconsciously soaking up the soundtrack to different slices of urban life that would later influence their own sonic excursion
as Monareta. Hip-hop acts like Public Enemy and The Beastie Boys and later New York’s post-punk scene and New Wave were the backdrop to the duo’s extreme sports and counterculture upbringing as much as the native soundscapes of Colombia and the local nuances of the cosmopolitan city they call home most
of the year. Acknowledging their roots, the one-time BMX champions (Sanabria made it to the pros and Martinez was a
nationally recognized street bike improviser) even named their collaboration after the Brazilian-made bicycle they rode
in the 80s.
On their new album Picotero (Nacional Records), the duo draws inspiration from the roving DJ phenomena of Colombia’s coastal regions, demonstrating that their creative impulses are still
nurtured by the propulsive sound/motion dichotomy that lingers in their music- making approach. The picotero DJ is known for indiscriminately blasting and disseminating a cross-section of musical genres from speakerboxes propped up on party pick-up trucks. “The picotero plays everything,” explains Martinez in a
phone call from Bogotá. “From reggae to champeta, which is a genre from Cartagena, and cumbia to rock.”
Following a similar all-inclusive philosophy, the Picotero album runs on a hodgepodge of musical combinations with a built-in compass that points to different directions. It’s a crafty, free-roaming
assortment based on intuition and improvisation— two elements at the core of the band that Martinez and Sanabria carried over from their freestyle biking backgrounds.
“It was something very intuitive,” says Martinez of Monareta’s genesis. “We never set out to mix cumbia with electronica,
or cumbia with funk, or funk with reggae. We arrived at each genre intuitively.” Adds Sanabria: “Our approximation to music was never ‘Let’s fuse this with this.’ Everything we do is an expression
of who we are.” Instinctive but by no means random, Picotero is intelligent dance music with plenty of Latin panache. It belies the leftbrain, right-brain undercurrent that permits Martinez and Sanabria to compliment each other as a functioning unit. Sanabria,
33, is the mild-mannered techy; Martinez, 32, is the freewheeling producer prone to off-kilter experimentation and hyperkinetic
ramblings. They balance each other out and both bring formal, musical know-how to the mix—Sanabria as a classically trained keyboardist and Martinez as a fi lm score graduate.
The two connected more than two decades ago in Bogota’s freestyle street bike scene and were heavily influenced by the break dance and electric boogaloo styles that were seeping
in from the U.S. “We’re t a l k - i n g about f r o m around ’82 to ’87,” Martinez says. “All of it was part of the freestyle bike scene. In the same w a y the breakdancers would invent their own moves, we improvised on the BMX doing freestyling, it was all intertwined
with hip-hop, breakbeat, breakdancing. It was about hanging out at parks and strip malls, playing video games, and riding in the city.”
During their high school years the freestyle biking buddies became
involved in separate musical projects. Martinez fronted a noise
punk band called Yuri Gagarin and Sanabria was the keyboard player and programmer for funk band Zigma. Between 2002 and 2003 the friends decided to join forces combining breakbeat and techno within a live format. By 2004 they began to work formally
as Monareta. When in August of that year Martinez was awarded a Fulbright scholarship to pursue a Master of Arts degree in composition and film score at New York University, it represented either the end of Monareta or the beginning of a new phase for the band. With Sanabria traveling to New York every summer and
winter, Monareta soldiered. It was even jumpstarted with renewed energy when they gained a new layer to their dynamic and a fresh exposure to their sound, especially in the electro haven of Brooklyn where Martinez and Sanabria were fast becoming the latest indie export from South America. “It was very interesting because I had been to New York before [but only] as a tourist,” Martinez says. “I had never lived there, so it was interesting
to actually be a part of that eclectic, cosmopolitan atmosphere. And one way or another, all of that eclecticism also ended up infl
uencing our music.” Shortly after Martinez’s move to the Big
Apple, Nacional Records picked up Monareta on their elabel
under which the duo dropped their debut, Electronoche, followed
by La Bonanza, both as digital releases. On Picotero, the band’s fi rst physical release, Monareta has ventured into new sonic territory by adding a medley of tropical tendencies such as Caribbean electroclash, afroclash, dub, Colombian cumbia, all manner of porros (Colombian Caribbean music), and an Afro-Colombian beat used in carnaval known as champeta into the fold of electronic music. The songs are also imbued with an atmospheric quality directly related to their experience in producing scores for award-winning short films such as Moñona (Best Script Festival El Espejo 2004), Sikumi (Sundance 2008
Jury Prize in Short Filmmaking), and documentaries such as Personal Che and Hartos Evos Aquí Hay (Best Documentary Biarritz
Festival 2007). Songs like Me Voy Pal Mar, about taking the twelve-hour road trip from Bogotá to the coast, and Domingo Loving
Style evoke a feeling that Monareta deftly conjures from concrete experiences. “In the beginning we used to be very abstract,” Martinez offers. “Now we’re more about interpreting within a live setting, but the experimentation has stayed.” - http://www.hispaniconline.com/HispanicMag/2008_11/LatinForum-Music.html

http://www.austinchronicle.com/gyrobase/Issue/review?oid=oid%3A756521

Live Shots
SXSW showcase reviews

BY DAN OKO

Hello, Bogotá!

Speakeasy, Wednesday, March 18

Judging from the span of styles tackled by the Colombian mafia at Speakeasy, a regular salsa hangout, Bogotá is not lacking for musical talent. The range of acts that took the stage for set spots one through four alone could leave listeners feeling like they'd taken a stroll along the global radio dial, though not always in a good way. Tight twosome Verde3 play fuzzed-out pop-rock owing plenty in feel to the VU and its many followers, notably Sonic Youth. Singer Diana Galán hit high, evocative notes and picked out occasional melodies on a Minimoog. Galán's less glamorous but equally talented cohort, guitarist Carlos Champi Benavides, added computer beats to attain a wall of sound. Verde3's English song, "Downstairs," was a sort of lover-next-door fugue, while Galán indicated her pick of the litter was an ode to a lost cow(!), "Margarita." The pair closed with the winning "Mar," a provocative dance number with the English lyric, "It's all garbage Latino trash now." Unfortunately, the metalheads in Ratón Pérez, a young band with plenty of room for improvement, almost made that sentiment come true. Forced to muster through without a bassist, the band deserves kudos for its fun-loving female drummer, Gabriela Jimeno, and energetic guitarist, David Triana, yet the songs all blended into a nightmarish echo of Limp Bizkit fronted by a Henry Rollins wannabe. Popular does not always equal good, and ultimately los Ratóns need to find a tempo aside from full speed ahead. Stepping up to recover the night was post-punk/techno/cumbia outfit Monareta, which banished the cold AC flooding the dance floor and got the head-boppers shaking their tail feathers. Heroes for a night, Monareta enjoyed plenty of high fives after being allowed one of the Conference's rare encores. Then it was back to the pedestrian streets of Rockville with the trio Poper, which had the unenviable job of trying to keep the embers of a burned barn aglow. Suffice it to say, they were professional, not mesmerizing. - Austin Chronicle

http://www.boston.com/ae/music/articles/2009/01/11/nine_to_watch_in_09/

From Brooklyn to Tennessee to Colombia - and set to break

By Sarah Rodman and James Reed

MONARETA: With Argentine electro-tango and Peruvian chicha fading as the hot commodities in Latin music, this could be the year for another resurgence of cumbia, the Afro-Caribbean dance genre. Monareta, the Colombian duo of composer/vocalist Andres Martinez and keyboardist Camilo Sanabria, has worked hard to stay ahead of the curve with its cinematic sounds indebted to '80s breakdance and hip-hop and the street culture of their native Bogota. The band has made inroads in the US market after Martinez relocated to New York on a Fulbright scholarship for a master's degree in composition and film scoring at New York University. The group's debut, "Picotero," came out on US-based Nacional Records this past October, and Monareta will play at South by Southwest in the spring. www.myspace.com/monareta - BOSTON GLOBE