Ozomatli were great when I first 'discovered' them back in 1999. they had just the right mix of multicultural, high energy world music fused with hiphop and always gave an amazing live performance. This was a band that always seemed to have more fun than the audience. Sadly this energy seems to have left the music, which over the last two albums seems to have become stale and bland, diluted with over-sentimental songs erring dangerously towards easy listening lift music. Ouch. Did I say that? Not that I'm bitter or anything. Like The Egg. They were GREAT and they fscked it up, a combination of the fantastic wahwah guitarist leaving and the keyboard player turning himself up too much.
But don't worry about all that, because Los De Abajo have been around just as long and they haven't forgotten how to have a party. The music is a cross between Ozomatli and Manu Chao/Mano Negra, a sprinkling of reggae and lots of ska with the emphasis on Mexican tunes and song styles. There is a political bent to a lot of the songs, although the only bit we really understand is when someone comes out in a George Bush mask and wearing Zapatista hero* masks, they all shout 'you are the terrorist' and chase him off stage. For some inexplicable reason, this song also features a Kiss mask but I didn't really get THAT message!
Fantastic stuff. Shame on all the peeps who didn't go! And that means YOU. The CD is great too, there's even a bit of Russian Cossack madness on there!