ATERCIOPELADOS ANNOUNCE
EXTENSIVE SPRING TOUR
ACROSS THE U.S.
Thurs April 2 – State Theatre (Washington, DC)
Fri April 3 – Samba Bar (Boston)
Sat April 4 - Highline Ballroom (New York City)
Sun April 5 – House of Blues (Chicago)
Tues April 7 - The Beaumont Club (Kansas City)
Thurs April 9 – CSU Sacramento (Sacramento)
Fri April 10 - The Independent (San Francisco)
Sat April 11 – Soho (Santa Barbara)
Tues April 14 – House of Blues (San Diego)
Wed April 15 – Conga Room (Los Angeles)
Thurs April 16 – House of Blues (Anaheim)
Fri April 17 – North Beach Bandshell (Miami)
PRAISE FOR ATERCIOPELADOS’ LATEST RELEASE ‘RIO’
“On ‘Rio’, Aterciopelados rock hard without losing that velvety touch. I can't remember when a CD offered so many melodies you just want to curl up with and caress.”
-NPR “ALL THINGS CONSIDERED”
“Andrea Echeverri offers prayers for the polluted Bogotá River over the sultry, syncopated funk rock of "Río"… Girl's got flow, like Rio itself.”
– ROLLING STONE
“Polished-yet-punchy rock on their addictive seventh album…
projecting unflappable confidence."
-SPIN
“The miracle of Aterciopelados is that it backs up its message songs with beautiful,
infectious music... ‘Rio' is no exception."
-BILLBOARD
Colombian music icons Aterciopelados have announced an extensive U.S. tour supporting their critically-acclaimed new studio album ‘Rio’. A glowing album review on NPR’s highly-influential program “All Things Considered” helped ‘Rio’ reach the #4 album spot at iTunes Latino and #1 on the Amazon “Latin Pop” chart (as well as #111 overall). While several critics have declared the album as the group’s best work yet, tastemaker public radio stations are currently supporting a recently-released “Rio” remix track by Colombian electronic act Sidestepper.
New album ‘Rio’ finds the band aggressively building upon the creative momentum of ‘Oye’, the highly-praised album that won them a Latin GRAMMY, Premio Lo Nuestro and several other prestigious awards. TIME said, “Aterciopelados’s true skill lies in its ability to take north-of-the-border musical styles… and breathe new life into them, all while giving them a distinctly Colombian sheen.”
‘Rio’ is evidence that, as VIBE put it, “For Aterciopelados, maturity has become a form of liberation.”The album was recorded in the band’s hometown of Bogotá and mixed by Héctor Castillo (Brazilian Girls, David Bowie, Gustavo Cerati) in New York City. It is an impassioned, socially conscious record with the group’s signature organic rock sound.
The album’s opener and first single is the title track, a call to action that finds Aterciopelados at a new level of creativity and musicality. It coincides with a proposed Colombian constitutional referendum that declares a citizen’s right to clean drinking water is a basic human right. “When I was growing up, the Bogotá River was considered a mythic and iconic place, and now it’s a tiny stream,” says singer Andrea Echeverri. “Musically and lyrically, the track ‘Rio’ is unlike any previous Aterciopelados song. I’m even singing in a different way than in the past. With this one, we reached an entirely new place.”
On “Bandera” (“Flag”), Aterciopelados speak out on immigration, another issue close to home. The song’s chorus is “Que quien es usted/Que donde nació/Entonces no puede entrar a esta nación” (simply: “Who are you?/Where were you born?/Therefore you can’t enter this country”). “We have toured across the world many times, yet every time, certain countries give us so much trouble when entering,” Echeverri explains. “My problems with traveling are so small compared to others across the world but I thought I could give all these people a voice.”
The album’s guests range from rapper Gloria “Goyo” Martínez (of Colombian hip hop act Choc Quib Town) on “28,” to the Andean group Kapary Walka on “Madre” and “Aguita.” Echeverri’s daughter, Milagros, makes an appearance on “Ataque de Risa.” The birth of Milagros, now six, was the primary inspiration for her critically lauded self-titled solo album. “This track was originally going to be on a children’s album I’ve been recording with Manolo, my husband, and Milagros in our home studio. With the first couple tracks, Milagros was nervous at the mic but now she approaches it with such confidence and happiness.”
Aterciopelados plan to tour the U.S. in support of ‘Rio’ in early 2009, following the recent birth of Andrea Echeverri’s second child. The band completed a European tour this past summer with her pregnant belly proudly displayed.
The longtime creative relationship between Echeverri and Buitrago proves to be the source for the Aterciopelados’ musical genius. “We have had quite a musical career, which has evolved over the years through our own identity search and experimentation, finding our own sound,” Echeverri says. “I do some things, like writing the songs and he does the other things, such as producing and imagining the musical vision for the song. We really complement each other musically in a way that works. And more important than anything, we have love and respect for each other.”