You can trace the origins of Ozomatli — the Los Angeles-based Latin jazz/ funk band — back almost 20 years.
During that time, over the course of half a dozen or so full-length albums and in the context of their high energy stage show, the group have explored a very diverse range of sounds and styles.
According to guitarist, vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Raul Pacheco, that thirst for creating a wide variety of sounds is a major factor in keeping the band going for such a long time. As well as, of course, the sheer love of making music itself. “You know, I think we just love to play music,” he emphasises. “We’re musicians and we love to play music. It’s always been a vehicle for us, and our group is a group that really allows room for individual taste.
“So if someone wants Mexican bamba music mixed with hip hop beats, it’s like, ‘Sure, let’s try it’. If someone wants to play a pop-reggae song, let’s try it. If someone wants to do a North African rock song, let’s try it. I think, as a musician, we need these opportunities to express ourselves, in this group. And I think this is one of the reasons why we’re still together.”
Ultimately, however, Raul tells us that it really doesn’t seem like such a long time that the band has been doing their thing. “It has been [almost 20 years], but it hasn’t felt like it’s been that long,” he says. “We’ve had such a great run, and we’ve had so many good moments together, and great memories together. Once you stop and realise it, then it’s like, ‘Oh wow, it’s been a really long time!’” he chuckles. “But we’re really excited about it, we’ve been talking about it, and we realise we’ve got something pretty special and it’s been 20 years.”
Two decades into their career and Ozomatli are far from done, as Raul feels the band are still very hungry to explore new sounds and ideas, and he feels there’s plenty of creative juice left in the collective. “We still love to play music, and as long as that is still happening, I really don’t see us not pushing ourselves. Pushing ourselves to do new things, pushing ourselves to be better. We still care enough about it to perform well, to record good songs; we do work hard at it when we’re doing it. It’s a fulfilling feeling to have that capacity and intention to get it done. So it’s still a big motivation for us.”
The band have been no strangers to our shores over the course of their career; Raul believes they’ve been here around 10 times in the last 15 to 20 years. However, it has been a while since their last trip to Australia, so the band decided that early 2014 was a good time to come back; and Raul couldn’t be happier about it. “I feel great, we haven’t been there in a while, and we have this opportunity. We’re very happy to be going back, Australia means a lot to us, we’re going to catch up with some old friends and hopefully make some new ones, and just have a great time. We always have a great time when we go there.”
He has many memories of previous trips to Australia, however one in particular stands out above all others. “We’ve played so many places, but one of my greatest memories was, we played the Falls Festival once. It was happening on… what’s the island off of Australia that’s part of Australia? Tasmania!” he recalls, answering his own question. “It was there, and having never been there, and ending up in the countryside there, that was a beautiful thing. It was really cool and unique.”
Ozomatli Tour Dates
Mon 21 April - Bluesfest (Byron Bay)Wed 23 April – The Zoo (Brisbane)
Fri 25 April - The Factory (Sydney)
Sat 26 April - The Corner (Melbourne)
