Sergent Garcia
Biography :
A figurehead in the alternative Latino movement, he has sold hundreds of thousands of albums around the world. His latest opus, Una y Otra Vez, explores the diversity of Colombian beats
After a career now spanning 12 years and five studio albums, Sergent Garcia needs no further introduction. The inventor of salsamuffin has succeeded in establishing himself in the world of Latino music, after a few detours.
In 1983, Bruno Garcia began his career as a punk rock guitarist in the group Ludwig Von 88. Beyond a doubt, he retains from this experience a trend to blow up anything resembling convention and an unfailing energy. But feeling tickled by his Spanish origins, he could not help working in the meantime on sounds that blended reggae and Latino beats.
In 1996, he appeared on Tchatche Attack, a ragga compilation that included Salsamania, Sergent’s first official title. The following year, his first album, Viva el Sargento, came out, self-produced. He later linked up with the group Los Locos del Barrio, diving straight into a second career.
In 1999, Un Poquito Quema’oi came out. Sergent Garcia’s success exploded worldwide, as attested by the hundreds of concerts he gave in the months following the CD’s release. Despite this marathon, Sin Fronteras was issued in 2001. In this new opus, Sergent Garcia continued exploring Caribbean musical styles, with more African sounds blended in. This led to a recording with the Malian duo Amadou et Mariam on Seremos. Again, the tour that followed put the group on the road for many months.
Two years later, there emerged his fourth album, La Semilla Escondida. Concocted and recorded in Jamaica and Cuba, digging deeper into his inspirations, it was followed by a Best Of in 2004 and a major tour in 2005. The following year, the album Máscaras came out. It was recorded in Mexico with the support of Toy Hernandez, former mentor of the Mexican rap group Control Machete, and it offers a more urban sound that the previous albums.
In 2011, Sergent Garcia’s latest album was issued on the Cumbancha reference label, this time under Colombian influence. He had discovered the music of this country during his 2005 tour and had dreamed since then of returning. Una y Otra Vez was planned in Valencia, Spain, the demos were recorded in Paris and the album was completed in Bogota, with “the cream of the current Colombian musical scene,” he stated.
Since the spring of 2011, he has been on world tour. This included a September 2011 vist to La Tulipe, in Montréal, thanks to Nuits d’Afrique. His paths will take him across Europe, Asia and America, including Montréal, where he will close the first day of outdoor performances, on Thursday, July 19, free of charge.
Sergent Garcia
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