Native Instruments recently released a new original documentary ¡Sabroso!, produced by Mauricio Alvarez, well-known in Colombia and beyond as the production mastermind behind tropical futurists Cero 39, along with Dario Sendoya (Kid Watusi) and dub vocalist Victor Carrascal.
The documentary starts out in Bogotá’s “ethno-techno” scene before making a trip along the country’s coast. Alvarez connects the dots between the picó soundsystem culture of Barranquilla and Cartagena, and brings it full circle to contemporary Caribbean music scene where producers are creating their own language drawing from local sounds with electronic production tools.
The documentary walks through the sound system culture, associated artwork, and generations of musicians inspiring each other, while also showing the new school drawing from techno, dub, and UK bass and mixing it with regional sounds like cumbia, bullurengue, and guarachero.