Astropical, Group With Bomba Estereo, Rawayana Members, Announces LP

An accidental supergroup emerged last week when the band Astropical released its debut single, the lush, Afrobeats-based “Me Pasa (Piscis.)” The voices harmonizing together here are easy to recognize: Li Saumet, vocalist with Colombia’s veteran tropical outfit Bomba Estéreo (and also featured on Bad Bunny’s 2022 classic “Ojitos Lindos”), joins Beto Montenegro, the velvety voiced frontman with Venezuela’s recent Grammy winners Rawayana.

The collaboration began spontaneously when Montenegro sent Saumet a demo of “Me Pasa.” Six hours later, she had added vocals and completed the track. A short session at a Miami studio resulted in two additional songs, leading to a full album.

“Li’s voice is sharp, nasal and high-pitched,” says Montenegro during an afternoon drive to a Los Angeles recording studio. “I’ve always envied that kind of voice, because usually people tell me that mine sounds sweet. There’s a contrast there, and that’s why we sound so cool together.”

Astropical is now dropping “Una Noche en Caracas (Tauro),” a slick, dancefloor summer anthem, and the soulful “Corazón Adentro (Escorpio),” with airy harmonies and a memorable rap segment by Saumet.

They’re also announcing their self-titled full LP, which will include 12 songs, each corresponding with a different Zodiac sign. The band and album name derives from its members’ shared fascination with astrology and tropical grooves, and the project will be out on March 7.

“Beto came to my house in Santa Marta for songwriting sessions,” adds Saumet via Zoom from Colombia. “We were walking on the beach and started analyzing the traits of our respective astrological signs. I was looking for a fresh project because I’m in a new stage of my life, and creating new music is always so inspiring.”

A quartet, Astropical is completed by Bomba Estéreo’s José Castillo on keyboards and guitars, and Rawayana’s drummer and multi-instrumentalist Andrés ‘Fofo’ Story. The band will perform its inaugural concert in March at the Vive Latino festival in Mexico City.