Colombia is a land rich in musical styles: Cumbia, Vallenato, Champeta, Salsa, and Rock have thrived independently.
Many of these traditional genres have recently seen a revival as fusion music thanks to bands like Bomba Estereo, Systema Solar, and Quantic.
But despite the musical depth in Colombia, it would seem that traditional Rock reigns supreme on the alternative side of things.
[Quick fact: even Colombian heavyweights Juanes and Shakira, who are now part of global pop culture, had their roots in straight ahead Colombian rock]
New bands sound like a post-grunge musical tributes to early ought bands like Creed, 3 Doors Down, and Nickleback. It’s as if somehow in the late 90’s post-grunge infiltrated Colombia and the collective thought was, “this stuff is good. It needs nothing else.”
So when I first heard Diamante Eléctrico, I was pleasantly surprised by the slight deviation from the norm.
Their music has more of a 60’s style blues influence ala the Stones or Led Zeppelin and they integrate fuzz-loaded vocals with the production style akin to their regional rock. But they tweak it slightly so that it feels fresh enough to sound exciting.
Daniel Alvarez, Andee Zeta, & Juan Galeano have all been in their share of bands within the Bogota music scene, and in this project they have found the right equilibrium between powerful guitars with the occasional ostentatious driving solo and mellow, jangly garage rock ballads that resonate with strong B.R.M.C. influences.
“No Rompemos Igual”, off their self-titled 2013 release, was the track that first hooked me and made me want to hear more from this band. At it’s core it’s melodic, loud, and sounds like a mix between Zoé and The Black Keys. Two bands with with massive audiences in Mexico and South America.
On other tracks they come full force with badass heavy riffs, that might make Mötorhead scratch their heads and say, “wait… did we composed that one?”
They recently performed at Vive Latino, and the seasoned trio’s stage experience shone through and captivated audiences. Vamos Colombia… more bands like this. Please.
DOWNLOAD their track “Retroceder” here and stream it below!
– José Galvan