If you’ve ever been to a Bomba Estéreo show, you know it involves the always-electrifying Li Saumet and Simon Mejia going nuts onstage and getting the audience to completely lose their minds on the dance floor. On “Internacionales,” a brand new track the duo dropped today, the electrocumbia pioneers celebrate the moment when the dance floor becomes a wildly liberating, sacred, sweaty space that brings the world together.
The song is master class in turning up, following the high-octane, bass-heavy energy of Bomba’s recent bangers, like “Soy Yo” and “Fiesta.” Saumet doubles down on her lightning vocal delivery, alternating rasps and raps over the song’s addictive tangle of horns. It’s not the first time Bomba has professed their love to the dance floor—the track is a little reminiscent of 2013’s techno-inspired “Pure Love,” only “Internacionales” goes harder. It’s an explosive, thumping ode that shows as much as it tells, and gets you moving fast enough to understand the dance democracy Bomba loves so much.
Like the message of empowerment that made “Soy Yo” an insanely viral hit, “Internacionales” also packs in lyrics that inspire international pride and harmony: Saumet shouts out countries from all over Latin America, “(“Yo soy un mexicano, yo soy dominicano, de la misma raza, el mismo color”) before proclaiming, “Baile, que para bailar no necesita lengua.” In a divisive political climate, the song is unifying without feeling too preachy.
Mejia explained that the song “a statement about how music is the biggest and most beautiful language that crosses all barriers. Independent of race and culture, we’re all the same when it comes to sharing the dance floor.”
“Internacionales” is off of Bomba’s brand new album Ayo, which drops next Friday. The duo gave listeners a taste of what to expect last month, when they debuted the video for Ayo’s first single “Duele.” They’re getting ready to launch a tour that starts in Seattle next week, and will join Arcade Fire in the U.S., Europe and Latin America this fall. Stay tuned for more live show announcements and tour dates here..