After 10 years of globally celebrated but only occasional collaborations, Bosq & Kaleta have their first full length album together. On No Be Today the duo is finally able to stretch out and explore their wide range of influences and musical histories.
The album seamlessly melds styles from West Africa & it’s diaspora, Caribbean & South American sounds most prominently, with Disco, Funk, Soul, Hip Hop & House. Live Horn sections mix with a blend of acoustic and electronic drums, Kaleta’s effortlessly funky guitar, Bosq’s layers of keyboards, bass & synthesizers, and heavily layered percussion sections that tug at your waistline. Kaleta’s virtuosic melody writing ties the pieces together with infectious chants and socially conscious lyrics that span Yoruba, French, Goun, Fon & English.
Kaleta, having played in the bands of both Juju music great King Sunny Ade & Afrobeat pioneer Fela Kuti, brings the first hand experience and authenticity seldom found in todays West African influenced fusions. Bosq, now on his 6th full length album, brings a 20 year run experimenting with updating vintage sounds in the most tasteful way possible, melding Disco & Funk with styles from around the globe. In that time he’s worked on adding his touch to records by Ray Barretto, Orchestre Poly Rhythmo de Cotonou, Toure Kunda, Poolside, Rawayana & more.
The record is an ode to these musical histories, with the title No Be Today coming from a Nigerian saying, which explains that this did not just start and this did not happen by chance, there’s lifetimes of work behind this. It’s also a flag planted for a different way of doing things as technology makes the “perfect” & “clean” sound easier and easier to obtain, with AI art slapped on the front.
This record is handmade, full of love and feeling, from the music to the incredible art by Brazilian muralist Amanda Lobos that graces the gatefold vinyl. The statement made by this record is that we should still take our time and delve deeply into projects with our whole soul.
Heading to LA to share my little bits of knowledge
LA I’ll see you next week! Deck Yes & HoneyFest have started an incredible program / meetup / event series based on making Dj education, gear and connections more accessible to the communities who have been denied these opportunities as Dj culture became more commercialized.
I almost said historically excluded but that betrays the truth that these are the same communities that invented DJing and pushed the culture forward! DJing and dance music as we know it comes from Black communities, Gay & Queer communities, Trans communities, Latine communities.
The phenomenon of all cis white male headliner festivals came from The racist, homophobic and specifically anti Black music industry/pop culture machinery getting ahold of Dj culture and outputting what their white supremacist board rooms would call “marketable”.
It’s incredibly important to me to (when invited) offer what I can to people intentionally trying to upend that system. As white djs, we have to confront the fact that we have been given opportunities by these racist systems specifically because we are white. We’ve been viewed as the “marketable” way to co-opt Black / Queer / Global south cultures by a white supremacist system.
It’s not comfortable, and we’re programmed as artists confident enough to put ourselves out there to believe all these opportunities came from our talent, but it just ain’t true no matter how badly you want it to be. SO what do we do from there?
An IG post when there is pressure on isn’t enough, memes about how our record shelves would be empty without black artists isn’t enough. We need to DO things that will hopefully shift opportunities away from ourselves and people who look like us in order to move towards a more egalitarian culture. This is all part of why I’m looking to 1) Examine my own actions and history in the industry to hold myself accountable and be ever more aware moving forward, and 2) Be of service for projects working towards the social / cultural / economic fairness that is core to my beliefs.
Of course none of this means I’m doing everything right! I’m just trying to do better and leverage some of the experience I do have. Love to you all!
BOSQ X KALETA "IPADE" + NEW ALBUM
Buy Vinyl / Stream or Download here
Super excited to announce today that my brother in music @kaletamusic and I are finally dropping an entire album together, and the first track from the project is out today! Anyone who knows my music on any level knows our collaborations, but finally doing an entire record together will allow us to explore a wider range of inspirations and draw from Kaleta’s lifetime of incredible music history, from playing with Fela in Egypt 80 to King Sunny Ade, to touring with Lauryn Hill. I truly believe Kaleta is one of the best songwriters alive and can’t wait to present a full album of our work together! Just as exciting to me is that we’ll be performing these tracks and others from our catalog together in hybrid live sets, hopefully in a city near you soon!
BOSQ X DORKAS "NO VA MAS"
A tropical funk groove permeates the new single from Medellin based
Bosq & Dorkas, the Afro Indigenous singer songwriter who hails from
Colombias Caribbean coast. The fusion also draws influence from
Soukous, Dancehall, and Salsa among many other styles. We promise it's
much easier to dance to than classify.
After having worked together on "Mi Arizal" off of Bosq's 2020 album "Y Su
Descarga Internacional", Bosq & Dorks knew that more collaborations would have to
follow. With more time to refine how their styles might intersect, "No Va Más" finds an
even more exciting fusion that strips back some of the instrumentation and makes way
for Dorkas' vocal to bounce off of a heavy drum break, percussion and bass groove.
While the song celebrates dancing barefoot in the sand as the sun goes down, the
lyrics do not stick to the usual tropes. Dorkas explains "This song represents, without
pretensions, a woman who is increasingly more free, autonomous and independent when
it comes to expressing herself in the face of the socially expected behaviors around what
the role of women should be in the daily life of a small Caribbean town."
Released along with the track will be a video shot by Dorkas & friends in a
neighboring town on the coast, Dorkas explains "The video represents the simple,
spontaneous & joyful life of communities on the Colombian Caribbean'
BOSQ X PURPLE DISCO MACHINE & KALETA
Purple Disco Machine updates Bosq & Kaleta’s 2020 dancefloor bomb “Wake Up”
BOSQ X KALETA ON CANOPY RECORDS
BOSQ X PAT KALLA "C'EST QUOI, C'EST QUOI"
DJ and multi-instrumentalist Bosq and singer Pat Kalla team up once again for the vibrant and funky “C’est Quoi, C’est Quoi”. Drawing heavily on influences from Pat’s lineage of Cameroonian musicians, the track fuses West African rhythms with Disco guitar licks and funky horn blasts that sit somewhere between a classic James Brown arrangement and Fela Kuti’s massive syncopated wind section. Pat’s vocals, alternating between his trademark falsetto & hypnotic chants, perfectly tie together the varied influences into a cohesive whole.
Since his debut in 2013 on Ubiquity Records with Bosq Y Orquesta de Madera, few producers have been able to keep up a level of consistent quality rivaling that of Massachusetts born, Medellin, Colombia based, Bosq. His collaborations with vocalists from across The Americas & Africa have been dance floor staples at clubs & festivals around the world, played by the worlds most influential DJ’s like Folamour, Purple Disco Machine, Gilles Peterson, Palms Trax & more. Across the Atlantic, Pat Kalla has been steadily building a serious discography of his own through his collaborations with Voilaaa, Guts, and his own solo material on the well respected Heavenly Sweetness label. Despite the amount of existing material between them both, C’est Quoi, C’est Quoi relies on no redundancy, pushing them both to a meeting point between their sounds which is at the same time familiar & completely fresh.
The title track is accompanied by a dubbed out, rhythm focused version made especially for DJ’s or living room dance parties. This version focuses entirely on the percussion breakdown, with brief horn laden respites that quickly give way to the drums once again. The two tracks will be released both on high quality 7” vinyl, as well as all digital platforms, on Bosq’s Bacalao records. Release date is set for March 24th.
BOSQ X RAWAYANA
New remix out now for the legendary Rawayana from Venezuala! Artwork by the amazing Primario from Medellin.
Bosq & Pat Kalla "Mouna Power" 12"
New singles featuring the wonderful Pat Kalla is out now! Buy or Stream here!
Bosq Y Su Descarga Internacional Full Album
Bosq, the producer, multi-instrumentalist, and DJ is set to drop his fifth full length album titled Bosq Y Su Descarga Internacional(Bosq and his International Jam Session) on October 23rd on Bacalao Records. The album, which is Bosq’s most fully realized project to date, picks up where 2018’s Love & Resistance left off, filled with Disco and Funk steeped in Afro Latin rhythms and influences. The results reflect his unique vision and finds more genre defying dance floor amalgamations and less of the clearly traceable homages from some of his earlier work. Bosq pairs again with longtime collaborator, the Benin born, Fela Kuti & Egypt 80 alumni Kaleta, as well as new ones like Nidia Góngora, K.O.G, and Justo Valdez of Son Palenque.
The album is Bosq’s first full project since relocating from Boston to Medellín, Colombia, a little over 3 years ago. The move stemmed from a reevaluation of what it means to contribute and be a part of a musical community vs. merely borrowing the sounds that inspired him from afar. Part of this meant not rushing to release music influenced by his new surroundings, but studying with local music teachers, developing relationships with artists and studios throughout the country, and getting his bearings in the day to day life of a new country and a new language.
Bosq elaborates, “This album contains the experiences, inspiration, frustration and magic of my first few years living in Medellín, Colombia after moving here from Boston, all wrapped into album form. After years of working with musicians and styles from around the world from my old homebase, I started to honestly reevaluate what I was doing. Appropriation tends to be an easy catch all, but more deeply I was wondering, am I contributing something or am I only borrowing? Can I really understand the music that’s inspiring me just by listening to it? I wanted my work to be more authentic artistically, but more important to me is getting to a point where my music is giving something back and creating value for the musicians who are keeping the traditions of this music alive. If I’m making music inspired by Afro Latin rhythms and sounds, then any success I have, needs to create success for people in those communities as well.”
The transition, while awe inspiring and exciting, was not always easy. Everything from government bureaucracy to an on-the-fly electrician lesson in order to avoid constant equipment shocks from grounding issues at his new studio, made for a few extra months of frustrating delays.
Once he finally settled into his new home studio in the lush mountains surrounding Medellín, Bosq began to sketch out what would eventually become this album. The skeletons of the songs all took form there, recorded piece by piece and layer by layer, playing & writing as much as he could himself until the songs seemed ready to become something more. From there, trips to Bogotá to record horn sections in Mambo Negro Records, Cartagena to collaborate with Colombian Folkloric music legend Justo Valdez, and New York City to reunite with Kaleta provided the material to flesh out this growing collection of tracks.
The results are a varied but cohesive collection of songs most definitely geared towards the dance floor or festival grounds without giving up anything in terms of musical complexity. The sound is organic and could easily be mistaken for a live band at first listen, but years of touring the world as a DJ have given Bosq the sensitivity to give just enough of an electronic edge to make the tracks shake a modern sound system like a proper house track. The vibrancy this combination brings to any party has been noted by DJ’s around the world, with the first two singles, “Rumbero” & “Wake Up” topping both vinyl and digital sales charts and racking up plays from everyone from Detroit Swindle to Yuksek to Crazy P.
The rest of the album expertly weaves threads of Cumbia, Afrobeat, Salsa, Calypso, Antillean styles & Tropical Soul into Disco & Funk anchored tapestries that in most cases defy easy genre classifications. The record is not only a love letter to the musical melting pot of Colombia that Bosq now calls home, but his attempt to truly add something new and unique to the current musical landscape in a way that respects the originators, in part by not following their blueprints too precisely.
Wake Up Ep ft. Kaleta, Justo Valdez & Evan Laflamme
Wake Up Ep
New music that I hope sheds a little warmth and love in times of distancing. This is booty shaking Afro Disco, Afro-Colombian Jazz-Funk and whatever else you want to call it. The EP features my long-time friends and collaborators Kaleta & Evan Laflamme, as well as a first time link-up with the Legend Justo Valdez of Son Palenque fame. La BOA also brought the horn section heat on 3 of the tracks. I think it's my best work, I hope you agree!
Rumbero 45 ft. Nidia Góngora out now!
I'm so excited and proud to share this new record! To me "Rumbero" represents the most complete version of what I've been trying to do since I started making music. Combining Disco & Funk with influences from all over the world in a way that respects all the various pieces while still being more than a faithful reproduction of some particular retro style. Of course working with the legendary Nidia Gongora on the track was an absolute honor as well. I can't tell you how floored I was when I got these vocals back from her...
I'm equally excited about the flip which feels like a return to some of my roots in djing when I was more focused on hiphop and dancehall. Me and Camilo Rafael Sierra had been talking about doing an original track together ever since I had the pleasure to remix his vocals on a Mr. Pauer track and his style fit perfect over this rootsy percussion heavy digital Cumbia / Dancehall track.
You can get the vinyl, listen on Spotify or get the files on Bandcamp here!
Official remix for Nickodemus on Wonderwheel out now!
New remix alert! This time for long time friend, occasional dj partner and great producer Nickodemus. Anyone who knows my taste in music well knows I've been heavily into dancehall since I was a pre-teen playing Super Cat tapes in my dads truck. That being said I rarely get the chance to integrate it into my own productions these days, so it was a super pleasure to get to add a discolypso spin to this track off of Nickodemus' last album (my favorite from the record as well) that features the legendary Jahdan Blakkamoore (who first graced my eardrums on Smiff n Wessuns "Sound Bwoy Bureill" in 1995).
Bosq Fatback Band Covers
Fresh out the presses! New 12” featuring Kaleta, here’s what Noisey had to say:
Bosq Enlists Kaleta for Two Irresistibly Danceable Fatback Band Covers
The Colombia via Boston DJ and producer's renditions of “Goin’ To See My Baby" and "Backstrokin'" mark the launch of his label, Bacalao.
For the past decade, Medellin, Colombia-based DJ and producer Benjamin Woods has excelled making reverent disco-funk jams inspired by Afrobeat and Latin grooves. While he got his start flipping samples and helming dance parties in his native Boston as a member of Whiskey Barons, his solo work as Bosq is more expansive and danceable, relying on live-instrumentation and a revolving door of collaborators from around the world. His 2018 LP Love & Resistance is a perfect encapsulation of his genre-and-border defying approach, enlisting artists like soul veteran and Curtis Mayfield collaborator Nicole Willis and Beninese singer and former Fela Kuti affiliate Kaleta, along with many others throughout the album.
But since the release of Love & Resistance, Bosq’s upcoming releases have been in limbo since his previous label Fania was bought out last summer. Because of this, he's decided to launch his own label Bacalao with a pair of excellent and endlessly funky covers of the Fatback Band, the iconic New York City soul-funk band that has been extensively sampled by everyone from A Tribe Called Quest to Kendrick Lamar and Bjork. He reunites with Kaleta on both his renditions the band’s 1973 single “Goin’ To See My Baby” as well as their 1980 ripper “Backstrokin’” and the results couldn’t be more infectious.
Recorded between Bogotá, Colombia and New York City, Bosq recruited La Bogotá Orquesta Afrobeat to provide horn arrangements over his skeletal synth and percussion. He explains to Noisey over the phone, “The horn line in "Goin' to See My Baby" is based around the scatting that the Fatback Band had done in the original track. Those vocals really stuck out me because it was clear he was trying to replicate a James Brown trumpet riff with his voice.” In New York, Kaleta, who also performs in Super Yamba, provided vocals on both covers, reinterpreting the lyrics in English, French, and Yoruba.
For Bosq, who plans to self-release more music on his label in the coming months, says reuniiting with a music veteran like Kaleta was a no-brainer. “It's really important also to not just be the white dude making afrobeat-influenced music without sharing any of the possible benefits I'm going to get with the originators,” he says. “I think everyone who does music like that owes it to the people who came before.” You can pre-order the 12-inch here and track Bosq as he announces tour dates throughout Europe and the U.S. this summer. Listen below.
-Josh Terry
New Album "Love & Resistance" out now!
My 4th full length album is out now! You can get it on Bandcamp, Spotify, iTunes and almost anywhere else you get your music fix! Here's the official press writeup:
Bosq’s aptly titled third full-length effort “Love & Resistance” is a collection of songs that reflect a producer’s continuing emergence by diving deeper into his influences. The strains of Afro and Latin flavors are interwoven and still heavily permeate but the underlying groove and rhythms have taken on a more modern, jazz-funk and disco-soul vibe with nods to Bobby Caldwell, Roy Ayers, the Mizell brothers and Nile Rodgers’ Chic.
Originally based out of Boston, MA but now calling Medellin, Colombia home, Bosq's new surroundings have inspired him to create his most diverse and creative album to date. Already featuring the top tune “Can’t Seem To Hide” with Megan Doherty that made a splash off the gates as the first single from the album (10/10 rating from Mixmag), the whole album is soldered together with each track being a single-worthy release in it’s own right. Featuring guest vocalists on all but one of the tunes including frequent collaborators Kaleta, and Nicole Willis, along with Ray Lugo who’s known for his work in Kokolo and Boogaloo Destroyers. LA based singer Induce and new duo Lucid Paradise (E da Boss & Ishtar) along with vocalist Bruno Morais whose classic Brazilian voice is reminiscent of Jorge Ben round out the cast of Bosq’s most vocally varied album work to date, reflecting both his growth as an artist and his willingness to push his own sonic boundaries.
A relentless work ethic fused with a broad and varied music palette all attuned to the groove and a focus on making folks move has led to numerous remix projects, most recently with legendary Benin-based Orchestre Poly-Rythmo De Cotonou. With a steadily growing fan base and reputation amongst fellow artists and musicians, Bosq’s immediate future is already laden with releases lined up for Fania and his collaborative effort Body Music alongside The Rapture’s Vito Roccoforte.
Afro Colombian Disco House remix
Bosq X Orchestre Poly Rythmo official remixes
It was an incredible honor for me to be asked to do a group of official remixes for the Legendary Orchestre Poly Rythmo. I tried to add to the tracks without ruining what originally made them so special by adding lots of extra live percussion, (subtle) drum machines and dancefloor friendly arrangements! You can preview them all on soundcloud and buy the vinyl at fine retailers like Juno.
Digital is now available on Bandcamp, Traxsource, and from many other fine digital music vendors. You can stream it on Spotify as well.
There's an excellent writeup here by banbantonton, as a preface for an interview with the founder of OPR
Bosq remix for Jeffrey Paradise (Poolside)
A new vibey midtempo tropical disco remix for my friend Jeffrey Paradise of Poolside! You can see the video here, which intersperses clips from my day to day life in Colombia with vintage found footage. The soundcloud link has 1000 free downloads.
New Disco single "Can't Seem to Hide" ft. Megan Doherty b/w "Take Me There" ft. Nicole Willis
New disco dance floor destroying release featuring Megan Doherty from Social Lovers on the A-Side and the legend Nicole Willis on the AA! Available now worldwide on vinly & digital! List of retailers below;
Juno (Vinyl)
Bandcamp (Vinly & Digital)
Kudos UK (Vinyl)
hhv.de (vinyl)
Underground Hiphop (vinyl)
Traxsource (digital)
Bosq x Vito Roccoforte (The Rapture) = Body Music
My new disco project infused with jazz, funk, gospel and house influences was just released this past week on Razor-n-Tape records out of Brooklyn, NY. Body Music is myself along with Vito Roccoforte, drummer / co-founder of The Rapture and 1/2 of Vito&Druzzi. If you want more info on how we linked up head to our facebook page, or just check out the lead video titled "Just One".