The Austin-based Grupo Fantasma is a large, Grammy-winning jam band whose sound crisscrosses various Latin forms -- especially cumbia -- with R&B, soul, funk, rock, hip-hop, jazz, folk sounds, and more. Since 2000, they have established a well-deserved global reputation for incendiary live shows and wonderfully eclectic, always-danceable albums. They are one of the first-call bands for major international festivals and venues to secure during planning. They have played and/or headlined stages at SXSW, Bonnaroo, Austin City Limits, and North Sea Jazz Festival (Curacao and Rotterdam), among others, and have toured Kuwait and Iraq to entertain U.S. troops. They have also toured Pakistan and Qatar. While indisputably rooted in Latin grooves, this outfit doesn't travel the usual routes, using DJs and dancehall toasters and many other sonic and aesthetic elements in opening their sound up ever wider with each release. They started recording somewhat sporadically on their own, beginning with a 2002 self-titled and self-released LP which was well-received in Austin and throughout Texas. It eventually drew the attention of Prince, who enlisted them as his backing group for dates in Las Vegas and London, the ALMA Awards on ABC, the Golden Globes, and the CBS Super Bowl Bash. They have also backed artists like Fañia All-Stars' pianist Larry Harlow, Sheila E., Maceo Parker, Ruben Ramos, Spoon, and Los Lobos, to name a few. 2007's self-produced El Existential on Nat Geo Music was the album that broke them internationally; their reputation outside the U.S. became even more pervasive than at home, making them a traveling entity at large. They won a Grammy for El Existential in the Best Latin Rock, Urban or Alternative category. They hooked up with Los Lobos' keyboardist/saxophonist Steve Berlin to produce 2016's massively acclaimed Problemas.

Grupo Fantasma formed in 2000 and quickly established a reputation for their high-energy live shows. Fantasma's players were brought together by Austin's bustling music scene, the members finding in each other a hunger and drive to create something truly unique. Drawing influences from genres and styles like cumbia, salsa, old-school funk, reggae, and more, the band built a buzz around its new and inventive style almost immediately. Their debut record, Grupo Fantasma, was released in 2002 and sold over 7,000 units from the stages of their live shows. It was followed two years later by their regional hit record Movimiento Popular. Though offered label support, Grupo Fantasma elected to produce the effort independently, maintaining complete creative control. The record's success put the band on-stage next to acts like Los Lobos, Barbarito Torres, KRS-One, and Buena Vista Social Club. Following two performances on Austin City Limits and an exciting night with Prince at his now defunct Las Vegas venue, the 3121 Club (he showed up to play after the band did a sold-out two-week stint there), Grupo Fantasma released the first record that captured their explosive live performances in 2006's Comes Alive. With their fan base and reputation built entirely upon word of mouth, the grassroots success of Grupo Fantasma marks them as one of the decade's most important independent artists in the Latin genre. Released in 2008, the band's worldwide breakthrough album, Sonidos Gold, received widespread attention from all over the world. After tours with Prince and others, as well as headlining clubs and stages across Europe, Asia, and the U.S., Grupo Fantasma entered a studio with producer Steve Berlin in 2013. Though they finished an album, their label at the time, Nat Geo Music, was shut down by its parent company. In the meantime, the band's members released another album with sister group Brownout entitled Brownout Presents: Brown Sabbath. The album was picked up by Ubiquity and the Brownout band -- with Grupo Fantasma -- toured heavily in support of the project for a year-and-a-half. When that tour ended, they circled back to Problemas. They had received several other offers to release it, but none that would give it the proper level of support, so they waited. Eventually, they did receive a good offer from a Japanese label and took it, but it too fell through. Eventually, Houston's Blue Corn Music signaled their interest and enthusiasm for the project, and Grupo Fantasma signed; it was issued in 2016. After a short break and a long tour, the band re-entered the studio with Miami-based Colombian born producer Carlos El Loco Bedoya (Beyoncé and Weezer). With his vast experience as an audio engineer, musician, and songwriter, Grupo Fantasma enlisted him as a co-composer on the politically charged single "The Wall," which also included guest spots from Ozomatli and the Grammy-nominated Locos por Juana of Miami. The set was cut at the iconic Ranch Studio in the Texas border town of Tornillo -- it later became the site of an internment facility for thousands of migrant children. Other collaborators included percussionist Sunny Jain of Indian fusion band Red Baraat, vocalist Tomar Williams of Tomar the FCs, and members of Soul Support. The finished effort was titled American Music, Vol. 7 and released in the early spring of 2019. The set title was a pushback at the "Latin band" tag, as all but one of its members were U.S. born. ~ Evan C. Gutierrez, Rovi