LADAMA met on the road in 2014 while touring Los Angeles, Arizona, and New Mexico as part of the prestigious OneBeat Program. Between individual performances, leading youth workshops and public music-making events, Lara, Daniela, Mafer and Sara uncovered a common dream of building communities through sound and empowering women and youth through music. Reimagining South American and Caribbean styles like cumbia, maracatu, onda nueva and joropo and blending them with soul, R&B and pop, LADAMA creates a new sound all their own. Together, the four shred on the Bandola Llanera from Venezuela, the Tambor Alegre from Colombia, and the Pandeiro from Northeastern Brazil.
With powerful vocals and NYC- based Pat Swoboda on bass, LADAMA delivers an utterly unique musical experience. LADAMA flows from the electric to the acoustic, from Spanish to English and Portuguese, and from the high plains of Venezuela to the Colombian coast. Their art proves that borders are meaningless, transporting us to a future where the world communicates across continents and cultures, through sound and story. NPR said, “LADAMA takes on traditional genres with confidence and vigor without being constrained by their conventions. The result is a vivid montage of music of the Americas with irresistible spirit and universal appeal.” Released last year on Six Degrees Records, the debut album is the culmination of three years of production across different countries, and weaves acoustic and electric instruments to produce an infectious, danceable sound rooted in Afro-Latinx styles from their countries of origin, Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela and the United States.
