Psychedelic cumbia group Orquestra Pacífico Tropical has built a reputation for electrifyingly infectious live performances and announced today the June 19th release of El Poder, an album meant to unite, empower, and uplift people across the world. Along with the album announcement, OPT shares a sinewy, melancholy new single, “Fantasma”.
Written in a beachside cabin and recorded in Portland, Oregon on vintage gear, El Poder finds OPT continuing its traditional cumbia-centric path, while also delving into salsa, and psychedelic northwest-inspired sounds. The album unites people across the world, inspiring them to dance and be grateful for what they have. Drummer, David “Papi” Fimbres, shares, “We want to show people what dance music is & that it is for everyone.”
El Poder is Orquestra Pacific Tropical at the height of their powers, satisfying the veteran listener as well as offering new sonic explorations and a wholly unique Latin music experience.
“Fantasma” started as a love letter of sorts from OPT bassist Leb Borgerson to his bandmates. The band describes the single as, “A vibey, bittersweet, serious but not too serious, ode to remembering the past and honoring our memories, sad as they sometimes may be, while celebrating them as the ultimate source of our present identities.”
see ORQUESTRA PACÍFICO TROPICAL live:
05/02 Portland OR @ Soundscape NW w/ Y La Bamba
05/30 Portland OR @ The Off Beat w/ Josefina Del Norte + Lucha Luna
06/27 Seattle WA @ Clock-Out Lounge w/ Lucha Luna + Como Que (“EL PODER” Seattle album release)
07/04 Portland OR @ Waterfront Blues Festival
07/09 Chico CA @ Argus Bar and Patio w/ XDS
07/10 San Francisco CA @ Make Out Room
07/11 Los Angeles CA @ Tiki Trash
07/12 Long Beach CA @ Alex’s Bar
07/13 Los Angeles CA @ TBA
07/15 Oakland CA @ TBA
07/31 Happy Valley OR @ Pickathon
08/15 Portland OR @ Homiefest
08/29 Portland OR @ The Den w/ Global Based (“EL PODER” Portland album release)
Orquestra Pacífico Tropical is:
David “Papi” Fimbres: drums, vocals
Edward Bubl: keyboards, euphonium, trumpet
Shana Lindbeck: vocals, percussion
Paul Bubl: clarinet
Andy Manla: accordion, vocals
Ryan Wiggans: guitar, trumpet
Victor Nash: trumpet
Leb Borgerson: bass
Anton Ramirez: guitar, vocals, conga
Ana Rodriguez: percussion, vocals
Jason Elliot: trombone
Orquestra Pacífico Tropical was started in 2012 by Portland, Oregon music scene veterans, David “Papi” Fimbres (drums), and Carlos Segovia (guitar). Both fixtures in the Portland scene since 2000, the duo came together to create the Latinx dance night, Double Latinum Platinum, at Portland bar Tiga, before deciding to start their own band focused on performing classic Cumbias from Peru and Colombia.
Recruiting old friends from other Portland bands to create the first lineup, OPT quickly built a reputation for explosive and exciting sets of electrifying, psychedelic cumbia. Over the past decade they’ve performed at music festivals around the Pacific Northwest, including Treefort Music Fest, PDX Pop Now!, Freakout, Lose Yr Mind, Soul’d Out, Biamp Portland Jazz Festival and more, with live shows that have been described as a “jubilant rhythmic frenzy” and “mind-altering.”
Over the years, OPT has almost become a Portland music collective of sorts with 19 members passing through. Some of the city’s finest musicians have been in the band, while also performing in many other loved Portland groups, such as Máscaras, Sávila, Dreckig, Point Juncture WA, Alan Singley and Pants Machine, O Bruxo, Sun Angle, Quiet Countries, And And And, Roselit Bone, Bitchin’, Team Evil, Fernando and many more.
visit ORQUESTRA PACÍFICO TROPICAL online:
Website: https://orquestrapacificotropical.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/o_p_t_/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OrquestraPacificoTropical
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@OPTPDX
Bandcamp: https://orquestrapacificotropical.bandcamp.com/
Tidal: https://tidal.com/artist/5675608/u
Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/artist/orquestra-pacifico-tropical/882680457
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/4dh4FGfCH6JynLw3W1meuq
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