Live music collective DARUMAS are ready to share their talents with the world.
Releasing their debut album DARUMAS today via Sony Music Latin, the fiery trio – Aldana Aguirre, Ceci Leon and Vedala Vilmond – serve up a myriad of irresistible flavors across the project’s seven tracks. Teasing the project with the charming lead single “Daruma”, the track serves as a groovy affair infusing Latin funk with a touch of old-school charm. Meanwhile, second single “Mago” brings the heat with its intoxicating blend of big brass moments and DARUMAS’ fierce girl-power energy.
With DARUMAS taking shape as a promising debut which encapsulates their undeniable charms as a band, it’s clear that the hotly tipped DARUMAS are onto something special. To celebrate the release, we caught up with DARUMAS to talk about preparing their album, how their fashion styles complement each other, as well as their recent support tour with Emilia.
SheBOPS: Hi DARUMAS and congrats on your debut album! How are you feeling now that the album is out in the world?
DARUMAS: We feel very happy to be releasing this first album. Throughout our careers we have always worked for other artists, but this time we are releasing our own music, so we feel very excited about how these songs will be received.
Your single “Daruma” talks about wishing for health, wealth, love, and adventure. Why did you feel this was a good message to lead with for your debut single?
We think it is a great entry for them into getting to know our world. It is a representation of what DARUMAS is and the lyrics talk a little about Daruma, which is an amulet from Japan. The lyrics talk about the Daruma doll and the desires or goals that we set for ourselves.
As your debut single, what role does “Daruma” play within the overall narrative and themes of your upcoming releases?
Well, it plays a very important role since this first single shows the sound and concept of the band. Starting with a drum fill, which makes it sound very organic and real (something that in these times we live in is not very common), then a very funky guitar and a bass line with a lot of groove like the funky disco bands of the old times.
You recorded the project at the iconic 5020 Studios in Miami. Did being in this environment enhance your creativity in any way?
Without a doubt it has contributed a lot, since the comfort and level of the 5020 Studios inspires and brings out the best in us. 5020 has been one of the best studios we have recorded in so far and please don’t forget the variety of snacks there, we especially love the spicy ones haha.
We are loving your fashion choices! What can you share with us about DARUMAS’ fashion style and how you developed this?
We believe that on an aesthetic level, the magic that DARUMAS has is thanks to the fact that each member is very different from the other. We take care to nurture that, so that later together something very unique happens. Although each member in DARUMAS maintains her own style, we always seem to be a match too, which is something very organic that we want to maintain.
As a band, you have diverse musical roots from Latin funk, pop, and a touch of old-school charm. How were these roots formed and how do they influence your current creative choices as a band?
Listening to a lot of music, especially funk from the 70s and 80s. Aldana is also a bassist and loves bands and artists where the bass is in charge of maintaining the Groove and making you move – such as Michael Jackson, The Parliament, Commodores, Tower of Power, among many others.
The DARUMAS band name draws inspiration from the Japanese luck charm. What can you share with us about the journey of choosing this as the name of the band?
As musicians, we really identified with the idea of the Daruma doll since it speaks of perseverance, constant effort until reaching a set goal and remaining firm in the face of adversity. In this career as musicians, we have had to discipline ourselves, persevere and give our best to achieve big dreams, as well as stay firm when things get complicated. When we are willing to do something both in our personal lives and our artistic lives, we do it no matter what and we make a lot of effort to achieve the things we want. The Daruma doll brings together all those concepts that we discovered throughout our careers and lives.
You also recently opened for pop diva Emilia’s .mp3 Tour, which is so cool! How do you feel this experience has helped DARUMAS to grow as a band?
We think that opening those shows has given us a wonderful experience, since it allowed us to connect with the public in a very unique way. Watching Emilia’s fans sing our songs and dance to them has been a great gift for us and for which we are infinitely grateful to Emilia. The truth is that it has been a very nice experience and we learned a lot from it and we feel very grateful for that great opportunity.
As accomplished women in music in your own rights, how would you describe your experiences in the music industry so far from a woman’s perspective?
In general we have had good experiences but we don’t think our case can be extrapolated to all women. There are still many things to move forward.
As a new band who are just getting started, what role would you like DARUMAS to play in improving the representation of women in music?
We hope that DARUMAS inspires and generates many bands where women are encouraged to be not only in front of the project but also in the back – that is, leading on stage but also in production, in mixing, in song composition, sound engineering, musical directors, etc. Being in those roles that you commonly see men in charge of.
How do you feel that the music industry can evolve to become a safer and fairer place for women in music?
In principle, giving us the place and the space. It is not that there are no women, or that there are fewer of them, but that we are simply there and are not given the opportunity to show ourselves beyond the limits imposed on us.
Lastly, what can audiences expect from DARUMAS for this year?
Something refreshing and renewing. There is a lot of live music coming up alongside our album, where you can widely enjoy the color palette we have as DARUMAS.
DARUMAS by DARUMAS is out now on Sony Music Latin.