BRINGING THE FLAVOR AN INTERVIEW WITH CILANTRO BOOMBOX…

Cilantro Boombox, based out of Austin, TX recently dropped their second studio album, Shine, and it is…
such a funky-soul-shake down project that you’ll be rocking or shaking it all night long. The band blends various flavors in their sound that you will soon be saying to yourself there is more than cilantro in this recipe. I was able to catch up with Cilantro Boombox and get a little more on that secret recipe. Catch CB next week during SXSW…

The album definitely draws from different sounds. Latin, Afro, folk, funk… what would you say is the main ingredient that makes the Cilantro Boombox sound unique?

I’d say a deep commitment to staying open minded and listening to as many musical influences as possible. We are all music junkies, from constantly streaming to building our record collections, consumption never ends. I have always made it a point to not have any preconceived ideas of where a song should go based on representing a particular tradition. We throw as many ideas and ingredients in as a we can until we write something organic. Somehow, the result always has what we consider our sound.

Tell me about the production process for the album? Was everyone present? How long did it take to record?

It took us about 6 months to write the songs while navigating everyday life, side projects, families and gigging schedules. The actual recording took only 4 days! We worked with Jose Luis Pardo (Ex-Los Amigos Invisibles) producing us. He dissected many of the songs and tweaked certain arrangements on the go since we had limited time and 9 musicians to record. His idea for this album was to make it a polaroid picture instead of a well prepared photo shoot.

Are you guys touring for this project?

We are currently working out small regional touring for late spring and summer with plans of expanding into the coasts by the end of the year.

What can you say about this album for new listeners who may be pondering what they can expect from Cilantro Boombox?

A sweaty, funky good time! Our number one goal has always been to make people dance and smile at our shows. I believe this album captures that pretty well. Dance, feel good music has, in my opinion, the ability to layer deeper subjects within the lyrics and social commentary is something we try to sneak in from time to time.

**To get a little taste, check out this live performance by Cilantro Boombox recorded at The Good Music Club…