MOMOTOMBO SOUNDSYSTEM ANNOUNCES “RIDDIMS + DUBPLATES,” PIONEERING NEW FUSION OF CUMBIA AND DANCEHALL.
Available March 30th on Bandcamp & other digital platforms.
Preorder for $5 on Bandcamp.
In 2015, after more than thirty years away, I returned to Nicaragua and rediscovered a musical landscape alive with sound – music pouring from shop doorways, thumping from passing cars, drifting from front porches. This omnipresent soundtrack became a gateway to exploring the interconnected sonic worlds of Latin America and the Caribbean.
My journey traced the musical migrations connecting cumbia, dancehall, reggae, and electronic production. What began as a personal journey of reconnection evolved into a deep dive into the regional sound system cultures that thread through the global south. From the picós of Colombia’s Caribbean coast to the chinamos of Nicaragua, from Jamaican sound systems to Brazilian aparelhagems, I discovered a rich musical conversation – a dialogue of rhythms, technologies, and cultural expressions that transcend borders.
Each genre revealed hidden connections – shared African roots, colonial histories, and a spirit of musical resistance and creativity that refuses to be confined by national boundaries. I built a miniature Jamaican-style sound system, designed by Miniscooper in Poland and constructed by hand by myself in Oregon.
During this exploration, I found Kenneth Leon “Mr. Lion” through videos from the Bluefields Soundsystem project. I followed his career online, watching him dominate rap battles and release music capturing the urban Caribbean spirit. After returning from my October 2024 trip to Nicaragua, I reached out and sent him a selection of riddims I’d been developing. Mr. Lion carefully chose three tracks that resonated with him, and we began a collaborative process – me refining the production, him crafting lyrics that brought the riddims to life. This organic exchange blossomed into Riddims + Dubplates, a true dialogue of musical spirits. From the 808-driven “Cumbia CentroAmericana” to the dubbed-out explorations of “Detalles,” the music reflects a conversation between past and present, between rhythms, between cultures.
Credits
- Composed and Produced by Gustavo Lanzas
- Lyrics & Vocals: Kenneth Leon “Mr. Lion”
- Bass on “Detalles”: Kevin Miller
- Sound System Design: Miniscooper (Poland)
- Sound System Build: Gustavo Lanzas
Connect
- Email: gustavo.lanzas@gmail.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/momotombosoundsystem
- Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/momotombosound.bsky.social
Momotombo Soundsystem – Small system, mighty spirit.
