Photo: Alissa Christine
Elastic Bond deftly captures the definitive sound of Miami, an international city where cultures collide. Call it “Ethnic Electronica” or “Miami Suave Pop” as they prefer, it’s both retro and forward-thinking. A savory collection of folkloric rhythms and synth-pop beats from Venezuelan producer Andres Ponce and glazed with the sultry female vocals of Honduran singer Sofy Encanto.
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Crave is exclusively premiering Elastic Bond’s music video for “Honey Bun”, an urban funk ditty that’s made for dancing and romancing. The single is the title track of Elastic Bond’s upcoming release on Feb. 17th on Nacional Records.
I had a chance to chat with Sofy and Andres over email about the current state of world music, embracing their diversity and the secret recipe for “Honey Bun”.
We’re hearing a lot of world music in everything from electronic pop to hip hop, yet the world seems to be growing more insular (President Trump, Brexit). What are your thoughts on that dichotomy?
Sofy: Fear and greed blind humans into making choices that don’t serve the big picture where everyone wins. I am lucky to live in an environment where diversity is so natural. We do not have a “culture filter.” We listen to different types of music, have friends and family from so many different races and nationalities. We eat all kinds of food. We create music from this perspective automatically and when we see the result. It’s a unified sound of the way we live. It feels right to be able to put that energy out into the world. I think any group of people that comes together to make anything that stands for unity, love, and compassion is necessary in these times we’re living.
Andres: We live in an interconnected world and it’s a bit naive to wish we can go back to more isolated times. Even the people that claim to be super-patriotic or nationalistic likely buys stuff “Made in China” and other countries and benefits from globalization in some way or another, from using the Internet to eating different foods from around the world. There is some cynicism regarding this subject and unfortunately some politicians use this as a way to cause fear in the population. Partly some of this insular views come from lack of education or from misinformation which is sad. It is impossible for us to connect with this concept of isolation when we are immigrants and bicultural. Naturally we embrace diversity both in our music and in our culture and luckily our hometown Miami is a reflection of that.
Miami has always been known as the most international US city. What’s the Miami music scene like and where does Elastic Bond fit into it?
Sofy: There’s definitely a good music scene going on here with lots of great bands. The venue infrastructure seems inconsistent and venues come and go due to the gentrification process in different parts of the city I guess, but there’s always those soulful folks/concert organizers that bring people together and host events and festivals for the community and we are thankful to be part of the music scene and for the love the Miami community has shown us.
Andres: As the name of our band implies, our sound is versatile and we seem to fit in different pockets of the Miami music scene. We are not a traditional Latin band per se but are comfortable playing in a primarily Cuban neighborhood like Little Havana. At the same time, we frequently play in the hipster Wynwood neighborhood and even in the more touristy parts of town like the swanky clubs of South Beach.
Crave is premiering the lyric music video for “Honey Bun”. What’s the backstory to the song?
Sofy: The idea that when you love someone, their presence is important to you, and no matter what could be going on around you, could be the most entertaining and amazing thing going on. And, yet there’s something missing because you wish you could be sharing it with your Honey Bun.
Andres: “Honey Bun” represents sweet playfulness and embracing the good things in life. We all need some sticky Honey Bun in our lives.
Describe the perfect activity to be doing while listening to the new album? What am I doing? Where am I, etc?
Sofy: You’re stuck in traffic, but not frustrated at all because you are blasting “Honey Bun” in your car stereo and singing out loud, jamming while people look at you and think you are crazy because they see you bop your head to the beat, but you continue singing carelessly in your state of bliss.
Andres: This new album is perfect for a Saturday afternoon, getting together with friends with good food and drinks and a little bit of dancing. It’s chill but it grooves hard.
For more on Elastic Bond go (HERE) and pre-order the album on iTunes.
