The rebirth of Afro-Caribbean music.
The pandemic brought unexpected changes for many artists, and Tonga Conga was no exception. The global crisis transformed the career of Raul Sotomayor taking him from being a solitary creator to a collaborative producer.
In an interview for Indie Rocks!shares with us how this process gave life to his new musical project that has captured in his most recent album, the essence of Afro-Caribbean music with electronic touches.
The pandemic was a depressing blow for many, including Sotomayorwho shared how this period was crucial to his artistic evolution.
For me, the pandemic was a depressing blow, but also a time of change. I started producing for other artists, which took a lot of pressure off me. That's how the idea of Tonga Conga came about, a collaborative project where each song has its own artist and texture,” he says.
The first album of Tonga Conga, JEVIreleased in 2022, laid the groundwork for this collaborative concept. Now, with his second album, he continues to explore the blend of Afro-Caribbean and electronic music, with collaborations from various artists who bring their unique styles.
The inspiration for this project comes from a variety of influences. “I really like BadBadNotGood, Hiatus Kaiyote, Thundercat, Louis Cole“It's this new jazz that feels like house. I wanted to make music like that, fusing jazz and house to create something unique,” he explains. Sotomayor. He track “Like ice” frame an important guideline for this album with the collaboration of Daymé Arocenademonstrating how jazz and house can be fused in innovative ways.
In this album, Tonga Conga He wanted to make it more musical and more organic. “This album has more interpretation, more solos, more recordings of things. I wanted it to have more guitars, trumpets, routes… It's a more jazzymore organic,” he explains.
Each song on this album has its own story, but there is one in particular that resonates deeply with the artist.
'This is the time' is a powerful song, it talks about getting up and doing something, inspired by the idea of 'Free Palestine'“I wanted to use my voice to inspire others to raise theirs and not feel insignificant. It's a song that seeks to inspire and has a special meaning for me,” she shares.
The evolution of Tonga Conga It has also been a personal and professional evolution for me. Sotomayor. “Now I have my own studio, something I didn't have before. I went from being just an artist to being a producer. My relationship with Eduardo Cabra has been crucial in this change, since working with him made me realize my potential to help other artists,” he explains.
This change has accelerated his creative process, allowing him to produce more music and break barriers that previously seemed impossible.
Sotomayor has big plans for the future of Tonga Conga“I would like this project to reach a third phase, a third album with collaborations. I want to play at festivals and do live shows with all the collaborators. It is a challenge, but it is the goal,” he says.
The new album, Enter The Tonga, is not just a collection of songs, but a musical journey, which explores identity and the Latin connection. “This album talks about identity and what it means to be Latino. I want the audience to understand that every track “It tells a story and draws a map of what is happening in the alternative Latin American music scene,” he concludes. Sotomayor.
With this new release, Tonga Conga continues to break barriers and fuse genres to create a unique and authentic musical experience.
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