Bacalao Man Song 10

Bacalao Men was born in Caracas in 1999, when Pablo Estacio asked two musician friends to form a songo band. The group first featured Sebastián Araujo on drums, Aurelio Martínez on sax, and Pablo Estacio on bass and vocal. Within the first jam sessions, the musical structures and atmosphere that would give Bacalao its essence began to emerge, with its intelligent lyrics, afrolatin beats with jolts of funk, hip hop and electronic.
The formation soon was enriched with the integration of DJ Hernia; Vladimir Rivero, Caracas’ legendary salsa percussionist, and Rafael Gómez, guitarist of Lapamariposa. With its new members, and an undeniably original repertoire, Bacalao embarked on its first era of concerts in different Caracas venues and all throughout Venezuela, quickly generating a buzz about its indisputably new yet familiar sound.
The music created during this first phase of Bacalao was developed into the first album, an independent production by Obeso/Pacanins released under the name Bacalao Men (2001). Its musical style came from a wild savor for salsa and Caribbean rhythms, but was also loaded with electronic textures and recycled everyday city sounds. Its tracks began to regularly sound on the radio such as Cucaracha (a psycadelic songo), Vitaminas (hip-hop with bugalu), and Biología Marina (Patanemo rhythm) and El Vigilante.
Soon, more new members integrated, amongst them percussionist Tomás Fajardo, founder of Lapamariposa and seasoned musician, expert and researcher of Afro-Caribbean percussion and Julio Andrade on front saxophone. Shortly after, guitarists Rigel Michelena joined too, staying on as a constant in the formation. With these new additions to the group, the sound of Bacalao naturally evolved, all while staying true to its essence of musical contrasts and freedom to experiment.