It’s little ‘ol Arthur here, back with another episode of Off Air. This week I’m highlighting a few artists that you have to catch at BottleRock this weekend – or if you’re not going to BottleRock, I still highly suggest checking out their music. Make sure you listen to the podcast below for previews of the music, a handful of bonus picks that you should check out, and some highlights from my interview with BottleRock artist Mondo Cozmo.

Bomba Estéreo

I first heard about Bomba Estéreo when I was in Panama a few years ago visiting some family. My nephew put on “El Alma y El Cuerpo” and it immediately caught my attention. “Yo, what is this?!” I exclaimed. My nephew replied in a way that said “What, you don’t know about Bomba Estéreo?!” I most certainly did not, but I have been hooked ever since. The sultry, tropical vibes from the Columbian band can probably be best described as psychedelic cumbia, a modern, electronic-acoustic hybrid of traditional Columbian folk music. I swear I can feel the humidity and smell the plantains whenever I am listening to them, and if I close my eyes I can be transported to a tropical beach, or a sweaty, dimly lit underground dance hall. Don’t let their all Spanish lyrics hold you back from catching their set; the music is truly incredible. I was really bummed when I missed their set at Outside Lands this past year, but nothing will stop me from grabbing a spot at the front of the stage this time!

NoMBe

I first stumbled upon NoMBe (pronounced No-M-Be) back in 2015 on Soundcloud when he was still unsigned. I was intrigued by his indie rock-soul hybrid sound, but it was evident that he was still not completely done developing it. But it didn’t take long for him to up his production. By 2017, NoMBe was hitting his stride with the release of debut album They Might’ve Even Loved Me, which included standouts like “Wait”, “Freak Like Me”, and “Can’t Catch Me”. The latter was handpicked by Pharrell as the theme song for his HBO show Outpost. As much as I have been loving the releases NoMBE has put out over the past year I have never seen him live, so I can’t vouch for his stage performance, but I am certainly excited to check it out!

Feature photo by: Chini Diaz – Flickr, CC BY 2.0, Link