| Locomondo | |
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Locomondo live on World Environment Day 2008 at Gazi, Athens |
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| Background information | |
| Origin | Athens, Greece |
| Genres | Ska, Reggae |
| Years active | 2004 – Present |
| Labels | Music Box international |
| Members | |
| Markos Koumaris Yiannis Varnavas Stamatis Goulas Spyros Mpesdekis Stratos Sountris Mike Mourtzis Thanasis "Spogos" Tampakis |
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Locomondo is a seven member band based in Athens, Greece. Their name loosely means "Crazy World," from the Spanish word "loco" (crazy) and the Italian word "mondo" (world). Their music can be tagged as reggae or ska. It is the first band in Greece that fused the Caribbean sound together with Greek musical elements. Locomondo often incorporates traditional Greek instruments in their sound such as the violin, the gaida (the Greek version of the bagpipes) and the baglama, producing a fresh sound and a new approach to the already known forms of the Caribbean as well as the Greek music. In their live shows, Locomondo captures the energy and the feel of a party, where the crowd and the band share the common experience of a great “fiesta.”
Contents |
Since 2004, Locomondo has released five albums and has toured extensively in Greece, Germany, and the Netherlands with great success. They have shared the stage with bands such as Manu Chao, the Skatalites, Chumbawamba, Alpha Blondy, Ojos de Brujo, the Wailers, Aswad, and Ska Cubano, among others. They have collaborated with Amparo Sanchez from Amparanoia and Natty Bo from Ska Cubano, the German group Beat n’ Blow, and Vin Gordon of The Skatalites.
Their first album entitled Enas Trelos Kosmos (Crazy World) was released in March 2004 by Music Box International. Their songs, "Trendy Litsa" and "100 Afro" had solid air-play on almost all Greek radio stations. Their song "Stin Athina" was on the play list of Radio France Internationale for two months.
Locomondo traveled to Jamaica after an invitation from the Skatalites' trombone player, Vin Gordon, to record their second album. A former member of the Skatalites and Studio One veteran--Deadly Headley Bennett--is among the other Jamaican musicians who participated in the Locomondo recording. The outcome of this collaboration can be found on their CD entitled 12 Meres stin Jamaica (12 Days in Jamaica) released in July 2005 by Music Box International. The songs, sung both in Greek and English, are heavily influenced by the sound, "energy," and "feeling" of Jamaica. Locomondo had huge success in the summer of 2005 with their cover of the traditional rembetiko song "Frangosyriani."
The Greek element continues to play an important role in the formation of Locomondo's sound. Locomondo released their third album, Me Wanna Dance on May 14, 2007, and scored a big hit in the summer of 2007 with their parody of student life "Πίνω μπάφους και παίζω προ" ("Pino bafous kai pezo pro") (="I smoke joints and play Pro"). Locomondo was included in the CD of the German reggae magazine Riddim in the August 2008 issue and has been part of the “Radio Chango” family since 2007.
Their popularity continued to rise with their song "Γαμήλιο πάρτυ" ("Gamilio party") (="Wedding party"), which was also the soundtrack of the movie with the same title. The song won the prize for best alternative video clip from Mad Video Music Awards on June 17, 2008. In addition, Locomondo participated with the German group Beat n’ Blow on the single "Hey Girl (Greek version)," which received ample airplay on Funkhaus Europa and Radio Multikulti.
In November 2009, Locomondo released a double live CD--Locomondo Live!--recorded during their summer 2009 tours in Greece and abroad. During this time period, they released a video for their song "Magiko Hali" ("Magic Carpet"). The video was filmed at Germany's Chiemsee Reggae Summer Festival, Fusion Festival, and Stemweder Open Air Festival. They also had the honor of having their cover of the traditional rembetiko song "Frangosyriani" included in a movie from Fatih Akin, titled Soul Kitchen (film). The film won the Special Jury Prize award at the Venice Film Festival in 2009. In 2010, Locomondo recorded the song, "Goal!" in anticipation of the 2010 FIFA World Cup games in South Africa. The video clip of "Goal!" featured Dimitris Salpigidis from the Greek national team.