La Descarga

La Descarga’s Debut Album

Infusing tropicality to our musical landscape

Story

How about watering our musical foliage with tropical mist? La Descarga’s Album will be a collection of nine original songs that bring a Latin-Aussie-tropical infused outburst to the Australian musical landscape. While blending the traditions of Colombian music with electric and electronic sounds, it will bring tunes inspired by the golden tropical days of Colombian music.

Picture it: From ballroom fiestas in Bogota and Medellin to the arty bars of Melbourne and Sydney passing through the sun-drenched beaches of Brisbane, Cartagena and Santa Marta, where the infectious sounds of tropical music fill the lush coastal air.

This album will make sure audiences get a much-needed homemade dose of tropicality, colour, rhythm and fun, administered by the iconic vibrant Latin-Australian band La Descarga who is also the forerunner of Latin-Aussie-tropical music.

The album is a result of a collaboration of 25+ artists from Colombia and Australia who bring an array of creativity, expertise, and diversity. Some parts of the album have been advanced thanks to artist-funds and a grant from Regional Arts Victoria. So far, we have written and arranged the nine original songs and have recorded most of the instrumentation, including drums, horns, gaitas (traditional flutes), percussion, guitar, and bass.

https://youtube.com/shorts/NTdL6wWgs2s?feature=share

https://youtube.com/shorts/GbhIWSyfvXk?feature=share

And now we need a final push. With your support we will be able to raise funds to complete the album, which includes recording vocals, instrumental overdubs, mixing, mastering, designing the cover art and printing the album.

Working together, we’re sure we can raise the funds to bring La Descarga’s debut album to life and expand the reach of our tropical colourful breeze to minds and hearts of all ages aboard.

Every dollar counts. Check out the rewards and thanks, muchas gracias for your pledge!

Project outline

Primary objective: To raise funds for the completion of La Descarga's debut album.

Impact of the project:

• Expand the reach of La Descarga’s tropical colourful breeze to the minds and hearts of more people
• Sustain the band's artistic practice and career
• Advance towards a more competitive level, locally and internationally
• Enhance competitiveness in festival applications
• Expand the band's reach, fan base, and income opportunities
• Promote cultural diversity through collaboration and dialogue through art
• Shine a light to new Australian music infused with Latin American tropical sounds

Steps:

1. November-December 2023

Record instrumental overdubs

2. January-March 2024

Record Vocals

3. March-June 2024

Mix and Master

4.June-August 2024

Design cover art

5. August-December

Album Launch (November 2024)

Print Vinyl/Digital streaming

Reward Distribution

The team

La Descarga brings together three diverse groups of instrumentalists. One is made up of experienced Colombian-born musicians who have studied and performed traditional Colombian music for two decades, such as recognised musician Jorge Leiva, award-winner producer Oscar Vargas, contemporary dancer and choreographer Kathleen Gonzalez, Melbourne’s leading gaita (traditional flute) players Andres Carreño and Dairana Moreno, as well as maraquera Maria Paula Espinoza and Camila Gonzalez on bass.

Over this cultural foundation lies the talent of one of Melbourne’s highly demanded freelance guitarists Mat Robb (Mo’Ju, Joelistics, L-Fresh the Lion) with a unique capability to underline the traditional sounds with contemporary psychedelic electric guitar riffs. The last group brings on a harmonizing beat to the sound, led by musician Lauren Mullarvey (The Cactus Channel) in sax and clarinet, and featuring trumpet player Anthony Tropea who has performed with Melbourne and Beijing’s top jazz musicians, Dandelion Jackson (Sugar Fed Leopards, Blunderbuss) on saxophone, Natahniel Sametz (The Teskey Brothers, WVRBVBY & Sinj Clarke) on trombone, Ed Farrar (Melbourne Ska Orchestra) on trumpet and Adam Arnold (Funk Buddies) and Tom Panckeridge (The Seven Ups) on trombone and sousaphone.

The album features icon of Australian Sudanese music Ajak Kwai and guest Colombian artists William Martinez (Bejuco), Henry Pena (Madre Monte) among others.

The album has been supported by recognised Colombian producer Diego Gomez (Cerrero, Llorona Records, Discos Pacifico), and by Australian based music producers Benjamin Beracasa (Clandestino), Daniel Juaregui's (Harmonic Whale) and Oscar Poncell. Furthermore, the recordings have been progressing in various recognised Melbourne studios including The Aviary, Soundpark and Harmonic Whale.

It is produced by EL TARRO and peopleartpeople, who have released Miss Colombia’s album Open your eyes (2018) and EL TARRO 10-year compilation of new Latin-Australian sounds (2020) and published the industry report Who is going to look this way? A glimpse of Latin-Australian contemporary artists in Melbourne towards the 2020s.

About La Descarga

Described as “a fearless outburst of tropicality that tickles your brain on the dance spot!”, La Descarga band is an iconic vibrant Latin-Australian music band where Colombian tropical roots music mixes with contemporary Aussie stamps.

Born in 2010 in Melbourne, Australia, as a tribute to the folkloric rhythms of the coasts of Colombia and as a preserver of its cultural heritage, it has evolved for over a decade through diverse musical and cultural collaborations, into a forerunner of Latin-Aussie-tropical music. While blending the traditions with electric and electronic sounds, it brings original tunes as well as old time retakes of the golden tropical days of Colombian music.

La Descarga has been influenced deeply by the street carnival cultures of Latin America with their upbeat music, colours and dance, mixing the old and the new grooves and moves of Colombian and world Tropical culture. It brings a post-pandemic splash of tropical colourful breeze to minds and hearts that guarantee good times for all ages aboard.

Alongside advancing the album project La Descarga is ceaseless! Its’ heightened non-stop force has seen the band playing over 20 gigs in the last 3 months, featured in media, television and radio including channel 7, channel 9, PBS Radio, 3ZZ and SBS Radio.

La Descarga has released several singles including 'Eliminala', 'Alla en el rio', 'Ten mucho cuidado', and 'Corre' and has been working very hard for the last four years on their debut album which is planned to be released in 2024.

La Descarga has played in many of Australia’s most beloved festivals including Firelight Festival, MOOMBA, Darwin Festival, Brunswick Music Festival, Australian Multicultural Festival, White Night Melbourne, Reservoir Stomp, Frankston Ventana Fiesta and Darebin Music Feast. It toured Queensland in 2022 and has also featured in news segments and radio airwaves, always vibrant, always fun!

Quotes

"La Descarga makes exciting contemporary music inspired by the traditional music of Colombia blended with a modern Australian sound."

Fiona Winning

Director Programming Sydney Opera House

“Melbourne-based La Descarga skilfully blend traditional Colombian coastal sounds with psychedelia and dub to create something completely fresh that is both danceable and delightful. I dare you to sit still while listening to their music. It won't happen! You can’t resist to dance to the grooves of their exotic pacific and Caribbean grooves”

Emma Peel, PBS FM, Reservoir Stomp

Key achievements

• Cultural engagement: While La Descarga pays tribute to Colombian cultural heritage, it is interested in the merging of stories through music. Across its history, it has engaged in ongoing collaboration with other musicians and artists including from Australian, Anglo, African, Polynesian, and other Latin American cultures. These collaborations have enriched the sounds and community engagement of the band, as well as opened its access to multiple scenarios including Latin, World, Experimental and Contemporary music festivals and events.

• Adaptability: La Descarga is flexible to multiple music scenes and different types of audiences engage with its sound (families, young people, adults, senior). Its interaction is also malleable (traditional ensemble, orchestral ensemble, roving, stage).

• Uniqueness: It has expanded the rhythmical repertoire in the Australian musical landscape (cumbia, porro) bringing to the local scene Latinx music that is loved around the world and goes beyond salsa.

• Growing community and fan-base: La Descarga has built a strong fan base that expands through ongoing performances (on average 4-5 per month).
• Survival and growth: Over a decade of history in the music scene, in a challenging environment where we see multiple Latin-Australian bands (except the salsa ones) dissolving in their first 7 years of existence (EL TARRO, 2020).

Instrumental Overdubs: 

• 1 Day Studio Hire: $400
• Sound Engineer: $ 300
• Musician fees: $850

Vocal Recordings:

• 1 Day Studio Hire: $400
• Sound Engineer: $ 300
• Musician fees: $850

Mixing 9 songs

• $2000

Mastering for Digital and Vinyl 9 songs

• $1200

Album Cover Design

• $700

Vinyl Printing 100 copies

• $2700

Project and Platform Admin

• $1300