the national band Zuraka just released his self-titled debut album, a self-managed production of eight songs that shows the particular style of the group with an interesting proposal marked by rock and reggae.
The vocalist Max Cruchaga He explained that although the music industry is moving around singles, They still wanted to leave their mark with this album that took them more than a year to complete..
“This album has been completely self-managed, we recorded it in our studio, by hand, by ourselves. In fact, we all made the keyboards, we help each other record each other's parts. Zuraka has a band identity that he wants to maintain and wants to take care of, here everyone has a voice, everyone has a vote, Decisions are group based and there is no authoritarian leadership., everyone talks, Everything is discussed and based on what everyone believes is best for the band, we move forward.”, raised to Reggae Chalice Cruchaga, former vocalist of the band I take as king.
About the album in particular - which was mixed and mastered by Kutral Dub- the vocalist maintained that “It took us about a year and a half to finish it and it was really done by hand., but We are very happy and proud to have been able to finish it and make it concrete.”.
“Our drummer’ You have to know how to play Led Zeppelin”
The band's influences are several and diverse.. For example, Steel Pulse, Peter Tosh, Jacob Miller y Bob Marley, among the reggae classics, as well as Gondwana and Los Kaffirs reggae in Spanish. While the new generations, the band mentions Chronixx y Mo'Kalamity.
But rock is very important in the band, That's why Zuraka also has Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin and Los Jaivas as inspiration, which generates a fusion with which they seek to make their listeners travel.
“The influences are very varied and you can feel it on the album.. Although we all listen to and like reggae a lot, We all have a very strong rock streak somewhere.. Even, when I was a kid, played in metal bands. Other members come with other styles, but deep downThe idea is that Zuraka is a musical experience that not only plays reggae, If not, the idea is to be able to play various styles and take whoever is listening on a musical journey through different styles, different experiences, different sounds and being able to play each of them well”, he raised Max Cruchaga.
The singer highlighted that “yes we are going to play rock, we want to play well, yes we are going to play metal, let's play well, and if we are going to play reggae, o un rub-a-dub, o a rockers, or a stepper, o un one drop, let it be well touched. We always joke that the drummer’ of reggae who wants to play with us we will always ask him first if he knows how to play Led Zeppelin because the rock component that Zuraka has is important and that it is felt from the drums onwards”.
“Leave a mark” and internationalize the band
Regarding expectations, Zuraka seeks to make himself known on the national scene and leave a mark on reggae, in addition to aspiring to internationalize his career.
“The expectations with this album are, on the one hand, make ourselves known professionally, show our work, leave a little mark on the history of reggae here in Chile plus be able to internationalize the career, participate in different festivals and maybe go play at Mexico, United States or Argentina What are the destinations that we have in mind and that we would like to fulfill?”, Cruchaga added.
Zuraka is made up of Andres Torrico (guitar); Max Cruchaga (voice and guitar); Jorge “Gato” Ramos, also a member of Gondwana (saxo); Nicolas Torrico (bass and backing vocals); With Nicolás Hormazá (percussions and choirs); Y Benjamín Zúñiga (drums).
Zuraka's album is already published on all its digital platforms and you can also listen to it here:
