The story of Hourglass begins in early 2020. Antibalas was just a month into a year-long world tour supporting their Grammy-nominated album Fu-Chronicles when the pandemic struck. After months of solitude, deaths and births and lots of uncertainty, the band reunited in Brooklyn in the fall of 2021 to regroup and workshop new compositions. Two weeks later, the band debuted the new compositions across the world at jazz, rock and music festivals in North America, Europe and North Africa. On Hourglass, Antibalas returns to its instrumental roots. Co-producer/founder Martín Perna explains, “Once a song has lyrics, everyone who doesn’t speak that language finds themselves on the outside. As humans sharing planet Earth, we are all confronting different versions of the same problems: climate change, bad governance, the violence of late-stage capitalism to name a few. We have already written songs about those issues. We haven’t abandoned vocals but on Hourglass we use rhythm and melody exclusively to convey our emotions.” “Of all the band’s achievements I’m proud to say this album is a highlight in our career. We recorded it in two days and it stands as a masterclass in world class level musicianship.” adds co-producer/guitarist Marcos García.
