Richmond, Virginia is the last place in the world you'd expect to find a world class super star salsa band, but for the folks in Bio Ritmo, they've always gone about things differently. Originally, started by two misplaced Puerto Ricans and a punk rock drummer 20 years ago, Bio Ritmo has slowly evolved into one of the most impressive salsa bands on the planet. Bio Ritmo's sound, dubbed post-salsa, pushes the envelope of the genre by expanding the sound palette that's normally accustom with the genre.
While this ten member band is heavily influenced by classic salsa, their latest album La Verdad fuses modern electronics, rock and roll, jazz, and even punk into the mix. From horns, to timbale's, to drums and guitars it's all here in droves. The results of all this cross pollination will have you cha cha-ing across the floor in a multi-cultural dance of epic proportions. One guesses that's the general idea here and it’s easy to say having spent some time with this record that La Verdad is a stunningly impressive album. I, unfortunately, don't know how to salsa despite living in Miami for 20+ years, but after listening to La Verdad I want to learn now.
The sound of the Caribbean via Richmond, VA is what Bio Ritmo is all about. No other band from the state of Virginia or maybe even the country can bring the sunshine, the Latin flavor and enough Latin percussion to last a lifetime then these guys. This is a diverse, cultural melting pot sort of record that makes me miss Miami and Calle Ocho that much more and next time I head down south, it's a pretty sure bet that La Verdad will be the soundtrack of my journey. Diversity has never sounded so good.
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