A little roots reggae to start the week! today we are with a Reggae band with a very meaningful name, La Semilla (the seed). I invite you to learn more about these wonderful musicians.
Who are the members of La Semilla Reggae?
1.JuanMariño “NabiMusas”(Singer)
2.AlejandroEspinoza (Guitar)
3.LeonardoCarmona (Bass)
4.Alejandro Pierantoni (Drums)
5.LiberHermoso “Dr.Lee”(Keyboardist)
6.Emanuel Lopez (Saxophonist)
7.Jose Romero “Cheo”(Trumpet)
8.ArturoCastro (Sound Engineer)
How, when and where was the band born?
WHERE:
At the Universidad Nacional Experimental de las Artes UNEARTE located in Caracas – Venezuela, a project of collective growth in an interdisciplinary community of artists is born “UNEARTE REGGAE ENSAMBLE” which is developed from the curricular unit Proyecto Artístico Comunitario PAC with the teacher Marinera Matos, where putting into practice what was transmitted by the teacher becomes a stable group and bears fruit throughout the experience in each semester and one of these is the group “LA SEMILLA”.
WHEN:
After a little more than 6 months rehearsing to assemble a repertoire with the idea of going out to look for presentations, we thought we had to put a name to the group and among several proposals that arose on May 24, 2022 we decided on one of the proposals which was “LA SEMILLA”.
HOW:
Through the experience in UNEARTE Juan Marino “Singer” who had already been working some ideas he had with Alejandro Espinoza ” Guitarist” through one of the Curricular units of the university that alliance between the two of them and Cheo Romero “Trumpeter” who meets Juan in one of the class and everything begins. In the search for the rest of the musicians to confirm the band arrives Leonardo Carmona “Bassist” and Alejandro Pierantoni “Drums” with whom we began to rehearse and then add Liber Hermoso “Keyboardist” and finally Emanuel Lopez “Saxophonist” all of them make up the current staff without forgetting who is for us one more musician Arturo Castro “Sound Engineer” great friend very experienced and who accompanies us since our first presentation.
What is the focus of your lyrics and melodies?
The approach is to send a message and connect with people…. Sometimes it can be about conscience, other times it can be about a personal experience, a rejection or annoyance that you feel towards something that has happened… But the main idea is that people feel and understand the same as you do, that they identify with the lyrics, the music and manage to touch that inner fiber that we all have and suddenly release a tear …
Our repertoire is built collectively, between emblematic songs of our culture and reggae culture, adding songs of author created by our hands and creatively nurtured by the collective key of the ensemble.
Annually we decided to cover the content of the seed, in twelve themes that amalgamate the repertoire as follows:
the sowing, cultivation and agro-alimentary harvest, as animalistic.
the sowing, cultivation and harvesting of family values, as fraternal.
the sowing, cultivation and harvesting of the affective bond between two.
the sowing, cultivation and harvesting of critical thinking that questions the established order.
the sowing, cultivation and harvesting of the good party, the good vibes.
the sowing, cultivation and emotional harvest that generates nostalgia and overcomes spite.
the sowing, cultivation and harvesting of the Rastafarian movement, of universal Christian roots.
the sowing, cultivation and harvesting of the civil and social bases for the decriminalization of the consumption and commercialization of medical cannabis, as well as the promotion of cannabisculture.
the sowing, cultivation and harvesting of the endogenous and participative.
the sowing, cultivation and harvesting of the self-determination of the peoples.
the sowing, cultivation and harvesting of positive motivation.
the sowing, cultivation and harvesting of love.
Have you done collaborations with other artists?
For now we are working on a surprise with a national artist that we are planning to release this year.
What has been the best experience for the band?
I think that having the opportunity to launch the band in Edition #25 of the Vinyl Fair in which groups with great trajectory have performed in previous editions and the fair has a good community of music lovers who gave us a good response to our music. We had to play three more songs and that was very exciting for us and we keep it in a very special place in the heart of LA SEMILLA.
Have you participated in events, forums? Tell us about it.
Edition #25 of the Veniles Fair on February 5, 2023, on that very special occasion for us was to celebrate what would be the 78th birthday of the father of Reggae Music Bob Marley and what a great honor for us to be the group that was invited for that tribute. Between conversation about the Rastafari culture, his music, a very pleasant day that was lived in the Eje del Buen Vivir in Bellas Artes. Caracas-Venezuela.
UNEARTE SUENA February 24, 2023, first edition of a festival that was organized in UNEARTE for the closing of the semester where more than 10 groups participated both Uneartistas how groups outside the university with a little more experience for a nice meeting and cultural sharing among friends, in which we had the honor of closing the event which after this time of pandemic was nice to meet with people and for the public was noted the same, grateful for these public activities returned was a great day.
Any upcoming project that you would like to share with us?
We are in the process of recording our first album with the idea of betting on internationalization with the idea of being able to present ourselves in other frontiers and that our music can be heard in any corner of the world.
What artistic aesthetic can the band be identified with?
La Semilla is a musical-scenic collective ensemble that performs Latin reggae with an endogenous, environmentalist and spiritual approach. They mix traditional reggae with jazz, Venezuelan, Latin and urban colors; being in its essence the purest necessary and Latin American song.
ITS MANIFESTO READS:
BE THE SEED OF TOMORROW,
THAT THAT GROWS,
THE SAME THAT IS BORN FROM THE MOTHER’S WOMB,
THE SAME OF THE FRUIT THAT FALLS FROM THE TREE,
THE SAME THAT BEARS THE FRUIT OF LOVE,
THAT THOUGHT, THAT EXAMPLE,
THAT SEED THAT BUILDS ZION,
THAT SEED THAT YOU WATER,
THAT CONSCIOUSNESS OF TOMORROW,
THAT WHICH YOU THROW OUT OF THE WINDOW,
THAT WHICH NOURISHES US,
THAT WHICH CLAIMS TO BE LIBERATED,
AND THAT WHICH DESIRES TO BE SOWN,
THAT WHICH BEING SONG….
THE REGGAE SEED,
AS IN THE BEGINNING,
CREATION.
Many thanks to the guys of La Semilla Reggae for sharing with us a little bit about their music and their expression, I invite you to follow them on their social networks and digital platforms.
Instagram: @Lasemillareggae