deSoL

"Rock & Roll With A Latin Soul..."

Based in Asbury Park, NJ, deSoL is a brotherhood whose music mixes melodic rock hooks with fiery Latin rhythms sung in English and Spanish. The result is a musical stew where the individual styles of the seven musicians combine to create a sound that is both fresh and familiar.

The band was formed 6 years ago when lead singer Albie Monterrosa had the dream of blending the music of his Latin American heritage with the Rock & Roll he loved growing up in New York City. He recruited a multi-cultural group of musicians who all shared his vision of creating this "mezcla" or mix, of old and new. Many of the players are first generation Latinos. The others, with diverse backgrounds, share a love of Rock and Latin music.

The band honed their style by learning songs from such artists as Tito Rodriguez, Fania All Stars, Ruben Blades, Santana, Los Lobos, Buena Vista Social Club, Tito Puente and Celia Cruz. They then mixed these styles and rhythms with Albie's original songs to create the deSoL sound and continued to tighten their act by performing constantly in the New York/New Jersey Metro area.

deSoL's vibrant and energetic live show has been pivotal in garnering the band praise in The New York Times, Boston Globe, Los Angeles Times and New York Post. The band has also been featured on the globally syndicated World Cafe radio show, the Miami Dolphins Halftime show, and has had numerous network television appearances. Having toured extensively, deSoL has shared marquees with such noteworthy artists such as R.E.M., The Legendary Wailers, Los Lonely Boys, Blues Traveler, Particle and Widespread Panic, to name just a few. Additionally, the band has become linked with the high profile festivals they've graced the stages of like Bonnaroo, Lollapalooza, and Austin City Limits, and more.

Following a "buzzworthy" (LA Times) showcase at Austin's South By South West festival in 2005, deSoL's first single "Karma" from their self-titled debut CD (Curb Records) climbed to #4 on the Triple A radio chart. In December 2005, their holiday single "Little Drummer Boy" entered the Billboard AC chart at #6, setting a record as the highest debut chart entrance since James Taylor in 2004. Their second single "Blanco Y Negro" was featured on the Dr. Pepper Brotherhood CD, a compilation of Latin Rock acts including Los Lonely Boys, Kinky, Ozomatli and Del Castillo, as well as in a Bose Headphones retail display promotion across the US that same year.

In early 2006, deSoL self-released an EP entitled “Live/Vivo” which was a sampling of some of their more popular tunes recorded live at Antone's in Austin, TX.

Soon after the band took some time off the road and spent much of the year writing and rehearsing new material for their second studio release. Later that year just prior to going into the studio to record their 2007 CD effort “On My Way”, deSoL spent a month in the Middle East contracted by the Department of Defense's Armed Forces Entertainment program. They brought their infectious rhythms and soulful tunes to the most widely varied assortment of ethnic, racial, and cultural mixtures imaginable - the men and women of the US troops stationed in Bahrain, Qatar, Djibouti, and Kuwait. Vocalist/guitarist and front man Albie Monterrosa defines the experience as the final stopover on the long journey leading up to the here and now.

Upon arrival home, deSoL's members sensed a change in themselves and somehow knew they were not the same people who had left for the road some 30 months earlier. Retreat, reflection, and rejuvenation was what the band needed most. Ironically, they found their solace at Lake House Music right back in Asbury Park where their musical journey had originally begun. Coming full circle, it was there with the help and inspiration of Jon Leidersdorff, that they wrote and produced the new album which was to serve as the repository for all they've learned as a band and individuals. Albie Monterrosa, commenting on the band and album, remarked, "We've been together for more than six years now and the musical and spiritual bonds between the band members just keeps growing stronger all the time.

deSoL: of the sun, for the people...