Meridian Brothers – Desesperanza

Meridian Brothers is a contemporary neo-tropicalista group from Bogotá, Colombia. Formed in 1998, the “group” is essentially a musical laboratory for multi-instrumentalist composer Eblis Álvarez, who plays all the instruments and performs all the spaced-out “voices” of the band. A fusion of various tropical genres of Colombia including cumbia, salsa, vallenato, and other traditional folk music, Meridian Brothers’ music is deeply hypnotic and often feature a sort of haunted Hammond organ sound. Álvarez: “Organists from Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Panamá and Brazil developed a remarkable style performing with backing bands that played traditional instruments, with the organ as the central instrument – in some cases achieving really beautiful results. A sub-genre of organ cumbia was created also. This music is still played at some of the ‘sonideros’ parties in Mexico and is very popular in Ecuador.” Released on the iconic Soundway Records in 2012,  Desesperanza (meaning hopelessness in English) features the classic track “Guaracha U.F.O (No Estamos Solos…),” which was named best song of 2012 by legendary Worldwide FM and BCC radio broadcaster Gilles Peterson.

Recommended – Full Listen