Locarno

Local fixture Locarno is one of Vancouver’s favourite party bands. Locarno’s special alchemy comes from a heady combination of musical influences from Columbia, African Sukous, Mexican marimba, Venezuelan joropo, Brazilian forro music, and North American popular music. Bandleader and Paperboys founder Tom Landa brings all the musicians together to create music delivered with an infectious, exuberant energy.

Locarno brings together great songwriting, a respect for tradition, a searching musical curiosity, and virtuosic performance chops. In 2010, the band released their debut album Una Mas Y Ya Nos Vamos, a mix of son jarocho tunes with Afro-Cuban rhythms. The album garnered rave reviews and was nominated for a West Coast Music Award. Their second album, Luz Y Sombra, featured 10 original songs and two traditional Mexican folk songs, and was nominated for a Western Canada Music Award.

Locarno’s new album Colibri Caliope shares its name with the butterfly that migrates between Canada and Mexico. It creates a perfect allusion to band leader Tom Landa’s personal history, and his cross-continental pilgrimage to study traditional Mexican music in his home country that led to the founding of this terrific Latin fusion band.

– AM