OZOMATLI's new album- ~DON'T MESS WITH THE DRAGON~

2 ratings since posting on Thursday, July 5, 2007
OZOMATLI's new album- ~DON'T MESS WITH THE DRAGON~
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(submitted by FaernWorks™ )

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Misha
Misha
offline 28
*****
yes indeed!
DANCE! - Misha , posted 07/07/07
Faer...
FaernWorks™
offline 529
*****
buy the new OZOMATLI album DON'T MESS WITH THE DRAGON!!!
this is great great stuff you guys!

please buy the album instead of downloading or whatever, support the musicians!

these guys deserve it!
they do a lot for the world- appreciate them!

hear some samples on their myspace page
www.myspace.com/ozomatli

(from the website)
OZO Traveling to Middle East to Serve as Cultural Ambassadors!!!!!!!
posted on 06.26.2007

Through this wildly successful trip, Ozomatli became the first western artist to perform in Nepal in recent memory, and their shows were acknowledged as the first peaceful non-political mass gathering ever organized in modern Kathmandu.

The India-Nepal trip was so effective that it prompted the Councilor for Press and Cultural Affairs at the US Embassy in Jordan to extend an invitation to Ozomatli for similar program in four Middle Eastern countries - Jordan, Egypt, Lebanon and Tunisia. (Unfortunately the Beitteddine Festival in Lebanon was subsequently cancelled due to unrest in Beirut).

Ozomatli will be performing July 22 at the International Carthage Festival in Tunis, the largest and longest running arts festival in the region. Carthage was the capital of the Phoenician empire, reaching its zenith in the 3rd-4th centuries AD. The band will have the unique opportunity to perform in a preserved Roman Ampitheatre from that period.

July 26th, Ozomatli will be guests of the Jerash Festival of Culture and Arts in northern Jordan, established in 1980 by Her Majesty Queen Nour Al-Hussein. The festival now under the patronage of King Abdullahe II takes place in the ancient Greek-Roman city of Jerash. The city opens all of its amphitheatres, temples, plazas and forums each summer for artists and audiences during this festival. In addition, the Jerash Festival will program Ozomatli in the Red Sea port city of Aqaba on July 27th.

Ozomatli will also be performing a free, open-air show on July 29 in the ancient Mediterranean city of Alexandria, Egypt, and the following day at the Opera House in the center of Cairo.

Ozomatli are an LA based, multiethnic, multiracial group who are a living example that music can transcend any cultural or social boundary. Ozomatli has long been devoted to social justice and community involvement. This trip will include an array of outreach activities in all of the Middle Eastern posts; visits to orphanages, schools and community centers. They will also be hosting master classes and music workshops, as well as interactions with local master musicians.

Ozomatli recently released their fourth full length studio album, "Don't Mess With The Dragon" to widespread critical acclaim on Concord Records. GLOBAL RHYTHM said that "Ozomatli's heart, spirit and musical adventurousness make it one the country's best - if least classifiable - bands" while the VILLAGE VOICE deemed their new release "a celebration of their native L.A. in all its multicultural vibrancy and socioeconomic volatility... Ozo's 10-man crew salute the aural mosaic of ethnic signifiers that makes our country great."

OZOMATLI TOUR, MIDDLE EAST

Sunday July 22 - Carthage Festival, Tunisia
Tuesday July 24th - Outreach, Jordan
Wednesday July 25th - Outreach, Jordan
Thursday July 26th - Jerash Festival, Jordan
Friday July 27th - Concert, Aquaba Jordan
Sunday July 29th - Concert, Cairo Egypt
Monday July 30th - Concert, Alexandria Opera House


(from the 'about' section of their myspace page)

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, and 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.




www.ozomatli.com - FaernWorks™ , posted 07/05/07

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