Elkin Lopez

Antioquia

Antioquia's sound is peculiar and pungent. And hard not to dance to. With roots in their namesake, Antioquia, Colombia, and strong interests in traditional West African music and the likes of Primus, Mahavishnu Orchestra and Phish, their music inspires raucous dancing and deep listening. Antioquia's debut album Gringolandia, released in 2008, was called "a wild ride to the center of the earth and the depths of the soul." (Brian Echon, West Coast Performer Magazine). Another wild ride is scheduled for April 2010, when the group will release their 2nd album, "My piano ate the front page of the San Francisco Chronicle." My Piano..., the group's second independent recording reveals a more mature and focused Antioquia and a voice that is unmistakably their own. Recorded in less than a week with good friend and talented engineer Dion Decibels, the album exhibits Antioquia at its rawest and most confident, playing and singing with conviction. Thematically, the album explores the alienating effects of today's mass media machine presented with poetic lyrics accompanied by sometimes aggressive, sometimes pensive, always expressive instrumentation. They plan to release the music as a donation based download on their website (antioquia-band.com) on the date of their Berkeley, CA album release festival on April 3rd, and are offering letter-pressed, hand assembled hard copies featuring art by second time collaborator Tobias Greene (drawinginthedark.com) for purchase from their website (www.antioquia-band.com). In September 2008, the band launched their Post Peak Oil Rock Project, which aims to "wean their music off fossil fuels," from using waste veggie oil and bicycle touring technologies to tracking and reducing their use of plastic. See their website www.antioquia-band.com for tour dates, streaming and downloadable audio, and updates.