THE WORLD is a gloomy place (albeit there has been a glimmer of hope with the recent US elections and some sound news of the vaccine as of writing this), along with the autumn weather truly kicking in, but either way, one of the finest bands on the planet, Los Bitchos, are here to brighten the day up come rain and shine; good news or bad news regardless.
The international outfit based in London came together from various quarters of the world – Australia, Uruguay, Sweden and the UK – and have created an exotic cocktail of their brand of balmy psychedelic-cumbia for the spirit-fuelled summer nights.
Despite 2020 taking away Los Bitchos’ many festival appearances, including at Austin’s SXSW, the quartet are still bringing the feel good times at Linecheck Festival on November 19th, which can be streamed online.
Ahead of the show, which you can watch from the comfort of your homes, we asked Los Bitchos a few questions.
For those that don’t know, can you talk us through the origins of the name?
Serra Petale: It was just a joke name that just popped into my head that I thought would fit the style of what we wanted to do. A lot of the cumbia/chicha bands have a Los in their name, so that was the inspiration.
What have you been up to during these times of lockdown and in between?
Agustina Ruiz: I’ve been studying online, doing yoga and got back to ballet classes.
Serra: I’ve been writing and cooking and playing lots of Mario Odyssey.
Have you developed any new skills during these strange times?
Agustina: I’m cooking again; I stopped for six years so it’s good to be back.
Serra: I’ve really been trying to nail the guitar part for “This Charming Man”. I’m about 40% there.
Three acts you’re each listening to right now?
Agustina: Joe Tossini, Mattiel, Money Mark.
Serra: Steve Lacy, Mariah, Blur
Josefine Jonsson: Art Feynman, Domenique Dumont, Mariah
Nic Crawshaw: Damsel Elysium, Smerz, Chai
The pandemic ends and everything is back to normal – only the music gods give you each one wish to play your dream show from any point in history to anything in the future. Where and when is it? Who is it with? And what does the rider look like?
Royal Albert Hall, ABBA, ASAP! The rider will have our usual mix of vegetarian antipasti platter, maybe with a little fancy salami on the side, crisps, hummus, fresh-backed pizza on hand, tequila, sparkling water, gluten-free beers, whiskey and I’ve always fancied milling around backstage in some personalised Los Bitchos robes. One day….
You’ve recently started the Planet Bitchos show on Worldwide FM delving into sounds from across the world. How’s that been and where else can we expect to visit on the Los Bitchos world tour?
It’s been amazing, it’s really interesting cause we find new music in every country. Our next stop, on November 26th, is Japan. We had such a blast going through people’s recommendations and looking into the background of the artists we came across. You can expect more tunes and lots more sassiness.
You’re stuck on a desert island for a couple of months, so it’s sort of like a lockdown, but less cold, you can each only take one album, one book, one film, one TV show and you can only have one foodstuff – what do you take?
Agustina:
Album: End Of The Century by the Ramones.
Book: The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea by Yukio Mishima, or Chico Carlo, by Juana Ibarbourou.
Movie: Goodfellas
TV show: Game Of Thrones
Food: pizza
Serra:
Album: Van Halen – Van Halen
Book: I’m more of a comic book gal, so I would go with some Archie Comics.
Movie: Happy Gilmore
Food: Pasta
What does the future hold for Los Bitchos leaving 2020 for hopefully a much brighter 2021?
Absolutely. We can not wait to hit the ground running with touring and you will be seeing an album from us in the new year. We promise!
You can catch Los Bitchos here as well as checking out their Worldwide FM show on the first Thursday of every month. See you down the front at. I’ll be the one with biscuit crumbs, dog hairs, holes in socks and all…
