Systema Solar is a Colombian artistic collective of musicians, visual artists, and film producers, active as a band since 2006. It is known for its party-oriented sound, which is influenced by the sound system DJ culture of the Caribbean. Their music combines elements of Caribbean Colombian music, champeta, bullerengue, and cumbia, among other genres. The band released three full-length albums: "Systema Solar" (2010), "La Revancha del Burro" (2013), and "Rumbo a Tierra" (2017), and performed in several music festivals around Latin America, Europe, and the United States, such as Glastonbury, Lollapalooza, Estéreo Picnic, Roskilde and Couleur Café.
History.
2006–2010: Formation and debut.
The Systema Solar story began in earlier 2006 when the French visual artist Vanessa Gocksh and the Colombians musicians, Walter Hernández and Juan Carlos Pellegrino started recording the documentary "Frekuensia Kolombiana" (2008), which researched the diverse hip-hop scenes in Colombia. However, the official creation as an artistic collective subsequently arrived during an Art Biennial festival in Medellín, when Goscksh, offered some artists from the documentary to perform together as a musical act. At that time, they met part of Systema's current members, such as John Primera and DJ Corpas. Soon afterward, the hastily assembled musicians and artists made their debut performance in front of an audience of several thousand people as Systema Solar. The band's name was inspired by the sound system concept (Systema) and the meeting point where some traditional communities in the Caribbean Colombian make parties or dance events, often called "solar" (Solar).
In 2009, Systema released their eponymous album in Colombia with Inter Mundos Records, their independent music label. But in late 2010, Chusma Records, a German imprint that specializes in Latin alternative musical acts, released internationally "Systema Solar" and soon received positive reviews from international music critics. Among the reviews, Chris Nickson of AllMusic describes their debut album as an "excellent mixing", with "plenty of cumbia and ample hip-hop". Meanwhile, Mark Hudson from The Telegraph wrote that the band seems "mash a whole gamut of gritty indigenous sounds into an invigoratingly positive neighborhood party vibe". By this year, the band received a nomination for the Premios Nuestra Tierra for Best Rock, Alternative, or Electronic Artist that year.
2010–present: International success.
In 2009, their self-titled album was released, and the following year, it was re-released on Chusma Records. An expanded version of this album was later released by Nacional Records in March 2016, featuring tracks from a previous album they had released in 2013. In 2017, they released the album "Rumbo a Tierra". The album featured their hit song "Rumbera," which gained international recognition due to its appearance on the FIFA 17 soundtrack. The title comes from Colombian slang ‘rumbero’ meaning party animal, but here it is in the feminine, meaning a woman who loves to party. The song is about breaking stereotypes about women, as the music video features women young and old, cisgender and transgender, of all shapes, sizes, and races, reflecting the cultural diversity of the country they are from. They also combined this with a campaign, #DaleLaVueltaMama, also dedicated to challenging stereotypes and traditional expectations of women. As of 2017, the group had six members.
Critical reception.
"Rolling Stone" named the 2016 reissue of "Systema Solar" the third best Latin album of 2016, writing, "Vibrant and demanding, the Colombian psychedelic soundsystem champions the causes of immigrants and POC while commanding bystanders to get rowdy on the dance floor."
NPR's Jessica Diaz-Hurtado wrote that "Rumbo a Tierra" "...takes listeners on a colorful and politically urgent journey", describing it as "a protest album that never lets its innovation stand in the way of its forcefulness." Ryan Patrick gave the album an 8 out of 10 rating in "Exclaim!", writing that "Systema Solar bring a "party with a message" mentality that melds future and folk sounds with innovative flair."
References.
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