Ozomatli 'Don't Mess With The Dragon' album

Los Angeles band Ozomatli always brings an artful touch to its mix of funk, rock, hip-hop, traditional Latin forms, Asian instrumentation and more. But the group’s latest disc, “Don’t Mess With the Dragon” (due March 27 on Concord Records), was born out of a unique scenario – the art came before the music. With multiple laurels under their belts – including two Grammy awards, a Latin Grammy (and multiple nominations), two Billboard Latin awards and an Alma award, countless film, TV, commercial and game placements, and national tours with the likes of Santana, the Dave Matthews Band, Los Lonely Boys, Lenny Kravitz and many others – the band ventured into new terrain: a community art space in the heart of their hometown.

“We did an art installation at Tropico de Nopal, a gallery near Macarthur Park in L.A.,” recalls bassist-vocalist Wil-Dog Abers. “We stayed there for two weeks, writing; each member had a corner of the room, which we decorated ourselves. Visitors came in and each of us got a chance to show how we create music, individually and collectively. That environment gave birth to these songs. I think we created our most cohesive album yet.”

“It was an unusual experience,” agrees percussionist Jiro Yamaguchi. “There were no rules or definitions. We were in the midst of forming the seeds of these songs. I was pretty confused at first, and other people felt that way as well, but it came out really cool.”

“Dragon” reflects the creative explosion begun in the art installation and carried to fruition in the studio with producer KC Porter. The band rocks the dance floor with pulsing reggaeton jams like “Here We Go” and “Creo,” as well as the funky hip-hop of “Magnolia Soul” (a celebration of New Orleans spirit in the wake of Katrina) and the title track’s Chinatown-meets-the-Dirty-South vibe. But the expansive disc also features the moving Spanish-language ballad “Violeta” (about the mortal thoughts of a soldier in Iraq), the driving, ’80s-inflected rock-ska of “When I Close My Eyes” and much more.

It’s also an energetic tour of L.A.’s richly international character. “Los Angeles is a microcosm of the world,” Jiro proclaims. “You can drive through this city and hear music and experience cultures from all over the world. That’s who we are.”

The process of creating “Dragon” reflected numerous transitions in members’ lives that brought even greater immediacy to the material. “A lot of us were feeling we were becoming adults in a new way, and dealing with past demons, changes, families, relationships breaking up,” Wil notes. “That’s what the song ‘Don’t Mess With the Dragon’ is partly about – not forgetting where your heart is.”

The band’s ability to integrate instruments from around the globe (including requinto, koto and erhu) into dazzling jams is at the core of its extraordinary fusion. “We do a lot of mashing up,” Jiro volunteers. “Everybody in the band comes from a different musical background, and we throw everything into the pot.”

Producer Porter, who’d worked with the band on some prior tracks, including their duet with Santana on “One of These Days” (from the rock icon’s album “Shaman”), played a crucial role in streamlining Ozomatli’s process. “We’re all producers,” says Wil. “We need a coach, a guy that’s gonna get us together.” Adds Jiro: “We’re really good at putting things in – but self-editing is hard. KC helped us boil it down to what was really needed, and he has a great song sensibility. Also, he’s fluent in Spanish, which was ideal, because he understood all the lyrics and styles.”

Ozomatli’s typically relentless touring has been aided, lately, by its highly trafficked MySpace page, supervised by Wil – who tries to stay on top of the voluminous messages from fans. “This kind of contact really lets us know how much what we do means to people,” he insists. “It’s pretty incredible. People say, ‘Your music helped me get through a terrible experience in my life.’ That’s what makes it all worthwhile. For me, it’s a dream come true; it’s serving me as a human being, doing what I love to do, and others as well. Those people out there make it possible.”

What the Critics are Saying
“You generally don’t have to listen too hard to hear what’s on the mind of Los Angeles music collective Ozomatli. The multi-faceted band is rarely subtle in its politics or its incorporation of countless Latin traditions as well as modern rock, jazz, pop and hip-hop... These fearless hip-hop bambinos truly go their own way, saying what they want, playing what they want.” AMAZON.com

“Faithful to their Los Angeles roots, Ozomatli blend seemingly mismatched styles into harmony for a multicultural mash-up on ‘Street Signs’” ASSOCIATED PRESS

“...with the third try, Ozo get it oh-so-right and achieve the suppleness and grace of their
stylistic forebears War and Mandrill... Street Signs shows a band that's shed their puppy-dog
need to impress, and that focus is beneficial throughout... Ozo keep the emphasis on the songs... the real spice comes from Ozomatli themselves on this powerfully realized statement.”
BARNES & NOBLE

“Ozo sounds as solid as ever. Street Signs sees the energetic Angelino eight-piece adding Middle Eastern flavors to its rich blend of Afro-Latin and hip-hop styles.” BASS PLAYER

“Latin-infused multiculturalism may be in vogue now, but the band that jump-started the trend continues to be ahead of the curve....[“Street Signs”] mixes Latin rhythms with Middle Eastern influences, classical music and hip-hop, with lyrics delivered in English and Spanish. It’s fine stuff, the kind that opens minds and ears...There are too many elements to mention here, but it all comes together in a vibrant mix.” BILLBOARD

“ Equal parts music and message, Ozomatli is a band on a roll.” CHICAGO SUN TIMES -

DAILY VARIETY - “Ozomatli does it effortlessly, throwing the kind of party most bands dream about while never undermining its all-encompassing spirit of unity.”

DALLAS MORNING NEWS - “As if fusing Latin styles – namely barrio-born salsa and merengue – with ghetto-gritty hip-hop isn't enough, Los Angeles multiracial posse Ozomatli now pours Middle-Eastern elements into the fiery mix... Remember this is the same Ozomatli that released its last album, Embrace the Chaos , on Sept. 11, 2001, and then refused to cancel tour dates on and around that day. Music serves as a greater healer than grief, seemed to be the band's message. Judging by Street Signs , it sure does. “

DETROIT FREE PRESS - “Los Angeles' Ozomatli has been making party music with a strong political viewpoint for close to a decade, mixing progressive politics and various strains of Latin rhythms, funk and hip-hop. All of these sounds are again evident on "Street Signs," but on this outing the multiracial group has added yet another ingredient -- a strong Middle Eastern influence on some key tracks.”

E! - “The Los Angeles band daringly veers from hip-hop and funk to Latin jazz and Middle Eastern folk, often within seconds--and without a second thought about whether you can keep up. But you should, or else you could miss out on the action-packed Street Signs “

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY - “ there's no denying the sheer energy of this idealist crew. If the U.N. needs a house band, Ozo's the act to call. “

EUGENE WEEKLY - “There's something for everyone to love in Ozomatli's music; low-rider funk, beats, raps and turntablism for the hip-hoppers, and hard-hitting horn punctuations for the jazz fiend. There are Latin dance grooves and a permeating sense of good vibes. “

GHETTOBLASTER - “ {Street Signs ] is rife with an assortment of genres, sometimes all within the same song. Hip Hop, Latin music – i.e. Salsa, Merengue, etc. - are most prevalent within the group’s sound but it’s the pop base of Ozo the group will never relinquish. ... Street Signs never ceases its rhythmic bounce from beginning to end. There’s definitely something here for everyone”

LOS ANGELES DAILY NEWS - “The Los Angeles based band finally comes into its own on its third full-length album. "Street Signs" shows a band finding its groove and blending styles almost effortlessly.”

LOS ANGELES TIMES - “When Rodney King wondered during the 1992 L.A. riots whether we can all just get along, this eclectic, multicultural band didn't exist. Since its founding four years later, Ozomatli has tried to show that, at least musically, L.A.'s cultures can not only co-exist but can also come together to throw the mother of all parties.... an effusive set of 13 songs blending fiesta and revolution, advocating social change through Saturday-night block parties. “

LA CITY BEAT - “Street Signs seems less a collision of the band’s usual rap-infused, L.A. Street styles than a broadening, panoramic overview of Latin, African,a nd even Arabic musical touchstones. (As ever, the group still knows how to whip up a mean salsa/merengue/cumbia fusion.) Back from the brink, Ozomatli clearly plans to to throw its biggest possible hometown party yet.”

LA.com - Oh, Ozomatli , how do we love thee? Let us count the ways: You blend Latin rock, afro-beats, Middle Eastern licks, and old-school hip-hop with ease. You are among the most consistently energetic, enthralling and enthusiastic live bands on the planet.... But the reason we love you most? With your melting-pot style, ear-to-ear smiles, outspoken political raps and multilingual songs, you do more than give props to your (and our) hometown: You define it.

MAXIM ONLINE - “ The L.A.-based nine-piece has been melding hip-hop and rock with Latin, Caribbean, and African grooves for the better part of a decade and, at their best moments, are capable of turning it all into a vibrant dance party... it's hard to root against a group that genuinely believes it can save the planet with a song.

MIAMI NEW TIMES - “Ozomatli kicks off its latest multicultural party with "Believe," an energetic track that takes flight with the soaring sound of the Prague Symphony, a flurry of Arab percussion courtesy of sintir (a bass/lute hybrid) player Hassan Hakmoun, and a sizzling wah-wah guitar line from Raul Pacheco that would fit neatly into any Seventies blaxploitation soundtrack. The song indicates the band's willingness to expand its already eclectic fusion beyond funk, Latin, ska, rock, Afro-Cuban jazz, and hip-hop into new territory.”

MTV.com - File under fusion: Los Angeles' Ozomatli combine salsa, hip-hop, rock, jazz and funk on Street Signs

NEWSWEEK - “It’s funny that the title of Ozomatli’s new album is “Street Signs,” because the music does?n’t lead to any single destination. Play the first two tunes—“Believe,” and “Love and Hope”—back to back, and the tracks could easily be mistaken for being part of a various-artists compiliation. They’re all over the place musically, which is pure Ozomatli.”

NEW YORK POST - “ the LA band continues to grow with each new recording, and, “Street Signs” is no exception.”

THE OREGONIAN - “Is this L.A. ensemble a funk group? A salsa band? A hip-hop crew? Rockers en Espanol? Yes. And seemingly anything else it puts its minds, hands and hearts to. “

ORLANDO SENTINEL - 4 stars out of 5 - **** “ Ozomatli's music remains a melting pot of Latin, salsa, hip-hop and jazz, but Street Signs widens the view to include haunting Middle Eastern melodies and swirling orchestral arrangements... Whatever direction Ozomatli chooses to go, Street Signs is an album that rarely loses its way.

PHILADELPHIA DAILY NEWS - GLOBAL BEAT: Ozomatli juggles Latin jazz, salsa and hip-hop sampling flava on "Street Signs" (Concord). B+ “

PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER - Everything about Ozomatli is expansive. The nine-piece, multiracial, Latin, funk band is a War for the 21st century, including a horn section, a turntablist, several rappers, and lead vocalists who sing in Spanish and English... the grounding in dance-floor anthems and Latin styles makes Street Signs a high-spirited adventure. As they say in "Saturday Night," it's "a worldwide block party."

SAN DIEGO UNION TRIBUNE - “Unyielding grooves, Middle Eastern Influences and an overall sense of maturity mark Ozo's third full-length release... Beautifully flowing vocals and string passages on "Believe" and "Te Estoy Buscando" take Ozomatli's music to a higher level of complexity. And yet the group still can simply put a contemporary spin on traditional Latin styles, as it does so well on "Cuanto Canto."

SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE - It's difficult to label Ozomatli , a band that fits in bins as diverse as conscious hip-hop, Latin, rock and jazz. The easiest tack? Give up trying to pigeonhole this Los Angeles collective and just delve into the groove. Ozomatli's third album, " Street Signs ," continues to blend traditional Latin rhythms with pop genres, but extends its sound further east... If any label suits Ozomatli , it's " street party band" -- with all the political and celebratory meanings that implies.

SANTA MONICA DAILY MIRROR - “ Call it agitprop hip-hop or Rap en Espanol. Ozomatli combines musical styles from East Hollywood to Bollywood and Afro-Latin to Northern Africa. They’re not afraid to be political even in this era when there isn’t a warm greeting to opposing views. But it’ll take a hell of a lot more than mace to stop Ozomatli. The defiant opening groove of “Love and Hope” makes that abundantly clear.

WASHINGTON POST - "Street Signs" is the sound of a dozen different forms of music blasting from car stereos and mingling in the air... It's a microcosm of 21st-century America, a 50-minute travelogue through our back yards and barrios.

Biography
On the surface, nothing’s changed. There’s the same core line-up, the same oppositional politics, the same live shows that erupt into drum-line blessed community parties, and the same devotion to polyglot urban sound clashing. But here’s what’s new: after 12 years of collaborative song-writing, 12 years of constant touring everywhere from Denver to Tokyo to Sydney, 12 years of supporting anti-war mobilizations and global human rights movements, 12 years of pioneering Spanish-English mash-ups of hip hop, salsa, cumbia, dub, and Middle Eastern funk, and most importantly, 12 years of facing up to internal battles and personal struggles, they’ve emerged anew with their fourth full-length studio album, Don’t Mess With The Dragon, the band’s most cohesive, polished, and joyous record to date.

“There is more of a sense of personal responsibility on this one,” says bassist Wil-Dog Abers. “All of us are on this road of being more responsible in our own lives, becoming happier human beings, healthier in our lives outside of the band. In the process of making the record, people were really deep in the process of getting their lives together. It made a big difference. People growing up, people taking care of their own lives. The healthier people get, the better the music gets.”

Don’t Mess With The Dragon was written and recorded with a firm commitment to collective creation. They began writing and experimenting with songs in informal sessions in the fall of 2005 at a local Los Angeles Latino art gallery, Tropico de Nopal. Then came recording sessions in the legendary Fantasy studios in Northern California, followed by sessions at a slew of prime LA recording houses.

“It’s always a struggle to be creative together, as a unit, but this was by far our best time in the studio together,” says percussionist Jiro Yamaguchi. “It takes maturity to work together and we are all getting better at communicating. “In the past, we would be like, this song is a Raul song, this song is an Asdru song, this song is a Justin song. There wasn’t much room for interplay. On this record, we have more interplay, all the characters work together into a whole book instead of just being in a bunch of short stories says Wil Dog.”

Much of the band’s renewed sense of musical collaboration comes from their relationship with their label, venerable jazz and Latin stalwarts Concord Records. Don’t Mess With The Dragon is Ozo’s second full length, studio offering for Concord — their longest stay with a single label.

“We’ve usually been a one record one label band,” says Yamaguchi. “Being on Concord for a second record has given us a sense of stability we’ve never had. They show us a lot of love and don’t breathe over our shoulders in the creative process.”
Yet the biggest change of all on Don’t Mess With The Dragon is that Ozo are not going it alone. They enlisted the guidance of super-producer and Latin music veteran KC Porter, best known for ushering Ricky Martin and Carlos Santana to the top of the charts. Porter has the golden touch when it comes to converting traditional Latin American sounds and styles into infectious songs ripe for commercial success. Porter didn’t just produce Don’t Mess With The Dragon, but helped the band shape their songwriting and arrangements.
As a result, the band sees Don’t Mess With The Dragon as their first true collection of songs, where the emphasis is on melody, structure, and feeling as much as on the genre-crossing stylistic experiments that fans have come to expect. Which isn’t to say that their flair for the unexpected has been lost. “After Party” pays homage to old-school Chicano R&B (with help from keyboard whiz Money Mark), “Don’t Mess With The Dragon” throws Lin Cheng’s erhu playing into a Dirty South merengue chant, “When I Close My Eyes” nods back to Fishbone and Oingo Boingo, and “La Segunda Mano,” which features the vocals of Quetzal’s Martha Gonzales, blends son jarocho with hip hop to create what Bella calls “the sound of Afrika Bambattaa at a fandango.”

There’s also “City of Angels,” the ultimate Los Angeles valentine from the city’s most beloved musical sons. “We wanted to celebrate Los Angeles but on the street level,” says Wil-Dog. “You always hear Randy Newman’s song, which is cool, but we thought it was time for a new one. Ours mentions Figueroa and South L.A.”

The band’s dedication to addressing social justice issues—a hallmark of Ozomatli’s work ever since the band formed in 1995 as part of a local labor protest—continues on Don’t Mess With The Dragon. The blazing “Temperatura” was inspired by the May 2006 pro-immigration marches (“We wanted people to take it to the streets and turn up the heat,” says Wil-Dog) and “Magnolia Soul” rebukes the Bush administration for their lack of Katrina relief.

“The whole album is really a statement of just how much we want to take Ozo to the next level in terms of music and artistry,” says Bella. “We paid our dues. We toured our asses off. After twelve years, we’re really ready to present the world with what we believe in.”

* * * * * * *

Ozomatli are:
Ulises Bella, Tenor Sax, Clarinet, Vocals
Wil-Dog Abers, Bass, Vocals
Raul Pacheco, Guitar, Lead Vocals
Justin Porée, Percussion, MC, vocals
Asdru Sierra, Trumpet, Lead Vocals
Jiro Yamaguchi, Percussion
Jabu Smith-Freeman, MC
Mario Calire, Drums
Shef Bruton, Trombone

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Ozomatli - Don't Mess With The Dragon