It is hilariously and wonderfully clear that ASTROPICAL, the musical collaboration between members of Bomba Estéreo and Rawayana, was meant to be.
The moment I hop on to our scheduled video call by Zoom, Li Saumet and Alberto “Beto” Montenegro are already joking around on camera. They are in separate hotel rooms and Saumet is telling him how he should have answered a question in a previous interview.
“You’re supposed to say, music is politics!” Saumet says, humorously emphasizing and exaggerating the last three words. Beto laughs and provides his own exaggerated version of the phrase until their publicist politely gets us on track and they shift into serious-mode.
This dynamic between the two plays out in the same manner throughout the interview: serious moments punctuated by lots of jokes and lots of laughter as we discussed the group’s current tour, the album’s connection to astrology, how karaoke influenced the creation of the album, why this project may only last for a year, how they could tell I’m a Virgo, and more.
The interview below is lightly edited for clarity.
Beto: Sorry, I just woke up.