At the intersection of Afro-Latin, disco, funk, reggae, house and hip-hop, you’ll find Bosq. On the heels of his latest album release, ‘No Be Today’ alongside Kaleta, shine those dancing shoes and get down to a curated selection of tunes that complement those fresh tracks in his Tigre Selector playlist here.
We sat down with Bosq ahead of his July 27th show at ZeyZey in Miami (use code TIGRE5 for $5 off). As you listen, get to know this producer and DJ a bit more:
TIGRE SOUNDS: Tell us about your musical genre identity and the type of sounds that move you.
BOSQ: I think like a lot of DJ’s of my generation (growing up in the 90s) my foundations were hiphop and dancehall. Hiphop was the gateway to so much through the obsession of digging for samples and uncovering new musical worlds I’d had no idea about before. Dancehall was my gateway to leaving the rigidity of the down beat that dominates so much western pop music (hiphop included usually) and introducing me to that Caribbean bounce that I think primed my young mind to be super excited by clave based music, West African sounds and more polyrhythmic music. As I’ve grown up and studied more and more music, I kind of just keep accumulating more influences without losing the old ones. I think some people have like moments with certain sounds where they get into and move on, whereas for me I accumulate slowly but forever, if that makes sense. I approach my production that way too, trying to not jump on every trend but make music that will be timeless and not obviously from one period or movement. I don’t even try to figure out what genre I make and play at this point, but I do think it’s incredibly important to name the influences so people can follow the through lines, connect the dots and learn about the roots. My biggest influences are people who also fused different sounds and experimented, like Fela, Ray Barretto, Fruko and all his various projects, Tabou Combo, The Mizell Brothers, Stevie Wonder…
TIGRE SOUNDS: How are you helping to build the music culture in your scene or city?
BOSQ: I feel like I’m not as connected to anywhere now that I’m touring so much, locked in my studio when I’m home in Medellin, and then off visiting family and not playing when I’m in the US for a couple months of the year. I’ve been thinking about it a lot lately, how touring is so glorified by the industry (and necessary to survive financially) but the real work of culture building is being done by local dj’s and crews putting in the work in their cities. I’d like to be more intentional about doing that as well in Medellin going forward. As of now I do think I bring a different perspective to the funk & disco (especially vinyl) scene there, since I have a lot of context and access to records from growing up in the US that other locals might not have. On the production side, I work with a lot of local musicians and I’d like to think I’ve opened their minds to some new things too, a couple have told me things like “I have no idea what this is or what to call it but I love it” when we’ve been working on one of my tracks that fuses a whole bunch of different styles.
TIGRE SOUNDS: Which genre-bending artists are you really excited about right now?
BOSQ: I love Verito Asparilla and the way Discos Pacífico (a label from the Colombian Pacific coast) is mixing traditional sounds with newer sounds. Parbleu seems to be doing really exciting stuff live which I love! K.O.G is also always doing a ton of different and all amazing projects. Some french friends recently put me on to Luvanga too, which is heavier than what I usually would play or make but I dig it for bumping in the headphones.
TIGRE SOUNDS: What song are you listening to on repeat?
BOSQ: It’s certainly not new, and not even to me since I got it on a compilation a few years ago, but it’s been making me feel wonderful every time I play it this summer – Ernesto Djedje – Golozo
TIGRE SOUNDS: What epic live shows or projects do you have coming up that we should look out for?
BOSQ: Well my great friend and long time musical brother Kaleta & I have just released our first full length album together! It’s called “No Be Today” and it’s out now! It’s a mix of all the styles we’ve been talking about in this interview and I’m really proud of it. The most exciting part is that we’re planning on putting together a hybrid electronic / live set to be able to finally play live some of the 20+ songs we’ve recorded together over the years!
ABOUT BOSQ
Producer, DJ and multi-instrumentalist Bosq, also known as Benjamin Woods, has been exploring the intersections of disco and funk with Afro-Latin & Caribbean styles for over a decade. Since the 2013 release of his debut album, his musicianship and craft have matured without losing any of the passion or imagination with which he approaches every project. The pursuit for collaborating authentically rather than simply appropriating musical styles from afar brought him first to Puerto Rico, where over a two week stay he recorded the entire Bosq y La Candela All-Stars – San Jose 51 album in Old San Juan with legendary musicians like Tempo Alomar and Roberto Roena. Now, with 5 full original albums and countless remixes and singles under his belt (for labels as diverse and legendary as Ubiquity, Fania, Defected, Sony, Soul Clap and more), he creates and resides full time in Medellín, Colombia, one of the worlds most legendary musical melting pots.
Bosq first gained notoriety as one half of the Whiskey Barons by churning out a continuous stream of edits and remixes. His unofficial mixes led to a slew of official remix work for heavy hitters like Ray Barretto, Orchestre Poly Rhythmo de Cotonou, Toure Kunda, Poolside, Nickodemus, Rawayana and many more. Signing with Ubiquity records in 2013 brought Bosq and his own original productions center stage and his focus has remained on writing, playing & producing original music ever since.
Dance floors and critics have both responded well to the incredibly consistent output of music. Beatswapmeet commented, “ a beautiful mixture of afro beats, latin rhythms, soulful house, disco, with subtle dancehall and hip hop influences”. 2017 saw Bosq unite with “The Rapture” co-founder and drummer Vito Roccoforte to form “Body Music”, the duo producing gospel and jazz infused disco & house. In 2019 Bosq launched his label “Bacalao”, immediately dropping three of his own chart topping releases in the first year (“Backstrokin’”, “Rumbero” & “Wake Up”) followed by the acclaimed full length Bosq Y Su Descarga Internacional in October of 2020. In 2022 Bosq was tapped by legendary German producer Purple Disco Machine for a collaboration based on Bosq & Kaleta’s “Wake Up”, which became “Wake Up!”, released on Sony Records to worldwide acclaim, over 20 million plays on Spotify, and support from top DJ’s at festivals all over the world. 2023 saw more singles, including collaborations with Folamour & Felicia Douglass (Dirty Projectors) among others. In May of 2024 the long awaited full album collaboration between Bosq & Kaleta titled No Be Today drops on Discos Bacalao
Bosq’s music has seen consistent play from the likes of Gilles Peterson & Craig Charles on the BBC, KCRW, RinseFM & other legendary radio stations, while Dj’s like Folamour, Kerri Chandler, Poolside, Yuksek, Palms Trax, Soul Clap, & GUTS give his tunes constant rotation in clubs and at festivals. Tours have taken Bosq across North & South America, Europe, and Asia, to clubs and festivals like Rakastella (Miami), OYA (Oslo), Boomtown Fair (UK) and many more. He has shared stages with the likes of Joe Claussel, Bobbito, J Rocc & Disclosure to name a few. His music has been featured in films and television such as The Catch, You’re The Worst, Broad City, and more.
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