The past two years have been good to Bomba Estéreo, the electro-tropical Colombian band born from a collaboration between multi-instrumentalist Simón Mejía and singer Liliana “Li” Saumet.
In mid-2015, they dropped their major label debut, Amanecer, which earned a Grammy nomination and was certified Latin Gold in the US. Last fall, they released a music video for their magnetic self-love anthem “Soy Yo,” which went viral, with over 23 million views on YouTube. Despite the success that’s paved the way for their new album, Ayo, Mejía insists that accolades were never the goal.
Some of his earliest memories were shaped by his parents’ record collection, but the first time he remembers feeling emotionally struck by music was when he heard “Plástico,” the opening track of Rubén Blades and Willie Colón’s 1978 album Siembra.