2009 - DRK is in the US promoting his new album: SAGRADO CORAZON

Austin, Texas

The Colombian band with a most likely international career comes from the crowded streets and long rural roads of Colombia, a place where people overcomes obstacles and strikes a chord by betting on love, hope, partying and resistance: Dr. Krapula. A group that has become the voice of hundreds of thousands of people, the voice of a generation, with 3 albums that have broken through to commercial radio with the same strength as vallenato and cumbia, and with the same exposure as international rock figures. With the approval of all public sectors and mass media, Dr. Krapula is the rock of the people, with a variety of latin rhythms such as merengue, salsa, batucada, reggae, punk and ska.

Because of their innovative and alternative character, the band obtained 2 nominations at the MTV Latinos 2007 and a nomination for Best Artist or Local Band (of Colombia) in the Premios Principales 2007, organized by Cadena 40 Principales, being the only international act to be nominated. Dr. Krapula's music allows dancing and reflection. The band (with over 500 shows in Colombia ) is backed by a real and honest effort. With more than 10 years in the industry, their music entered the 'big leagues' regardless of the revolutionary character found in their lyrics, winner of 2 NUESTRA TIERRA Awards for Song of The Year and Rock Band of the Year (NUESTRA TIERRA Awards are the only Colombian Awards where all media, radio and international record labels and artists themselves vote for their most representative and established talent). For 2008, the band from Bogota wrote and recorded a new album that represents their thoughts and struggles. In a joint venture with Sony BMG Music Entertainment Colombia and Day One Entertainment (a talent development company based in Miami, Mexico, Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, Brazil, Argentina and Chile), Dr. Krapula has made one of the most anticipated albums of the year in Colombia's Latin music charts a reality. The album [Sagrado Corazon] was produced and engineered by Pablo Arraya a bolivian, whose past credits include, [among many others] Lenny Kravitz It's Time For A Love Revolution.

Under the premise that life is experienced differently in different places but deep inside is the same, Dr. Krapula offers a new production full of commitment and struggle, an album that gathers three years of songs that reflect their evolution and efforts to create a cleaner environment for the relationship between society and music. The foundations and social activities that the band has developed in their country led them to headline the Concierto Por El Acuerdo Humanitario (Concert for Humanitarian Agreement) a festival with over 150,000 attendees whose sole purpose was to achieve the liberation of all kidnapped victims, wherever they may be. The global issue that Dr. Krapula maintains as a recurring theme (environmentalist, political, spiritual and with an anecdotic authenticity that connects men and women with a planet that screams for help), is chanted by millions of followers both in and out of stadiums and venues where the band has shared the stage with other international artists such as Manu Chao, Radiobemba, Orishas, The Skatalites, The Wailers, Calle 13, Los Rabanes, Bersuit Vergarabat, Julieta Venegas, Smash Mouth and The Black Eyed Peas.

Fonte: Speakeasy

AMA-ZONAS, join us!

"El momento llego!" At last the moment has come to introduce you to AMA-ZONAS, the new project guided by DRK together with international artists and local associations struggling for the Amazon territory, its ancestral culture and its people. Above you can see the project's trailer, but we suggest you have a look at the blog that you can find here at the right hand side.

AMA-ZONAS is an artistic project, since the outcome will be an album, but is also a committment to support the struggle of the indigenous and their right to self-determination and freedom. Presently, the biggest menace to freedom is the greed of gold miners, canadian miners that are trying to build a port in the community of Nazareth in order to get deeper into the forest and exploit more and more soil. Through AMA-ZONAS and the people who internationally are supporting it, Doctor Krapula is raising his voice to alert us all, to grow global concience about what is happening and finally get solidarity.

Together we can do something to save the very air we breathe...AMA-ZONAS is not something related to someone far away, is something that is part of our lives. All.

2013

Doctor Krapula reveals his very soul...

-Mario (vocals): "we created the concept of Doctor Krápula which is: make people dance but also think. Strong music, strong message."

-Germán (guitar): "DR.K for me is a place where any idea or thought fits in, whether spiritual or trivial. It's a place where 5 people with different ways of thinking get together through music and that's how I like to see DR.K, it's as I want to see a country or a planet: a place where everybody co-exists and we're all happy, relaxed and music is our vehicle."

-Mario (vocals): "DR.K is my life, my school, my university. It's been my classroom and this is my stake to life in order to leave a meaningful grain of sand in Latin American society. It's my bet."

-Niko (drums): "DR.K for me is everything. DR.K is the air I breathe everyday. The clean air we want to breathe. It's the food I eat; it's the hope I keep everyday to grow as a person, as a human being, as a father, as a musician, as an artist, as a citizen."

-Sergio (keyboards, accordion): "I think DR.K is more like a social movement because everytime we play or everytime that our music is on the radio or when people come to see our performance, they feel identified with our lyrics like La Fuerza del Amor, El Pibe de mi Barrio or Para Todos Todo. They feel related with what we're saying and denouncing and we're also giving them options. It's not only about destroying but  about building and people have joined us in that road of construction."

-David (bass): "DR.K is a miracle because the life of each and everyone of us is a miracle. We've discovered that being together is a blessing and very few people can work in what they really want to in their hearts and I feel that DR.K is the opportunity to be honest with ourselves and be who we want to be, think what we want to think and say what we want to say and especially in a country like Colombia, where each time a leader says something sensible gets killed or where if a syndicalist asks for rights gets killed, that's where DR.K has become a popular power, that's the miracle! Our music, our words belong to people and they have them in their hearts."

-Mario (vocals): "(...)Colombia is getting tired of those groups that look for a leadership through terror. We can't be governed by fear, terror and sadness.

10 years ago, I thought I had to start a project to have something strong to hold on to life and I knew I couldn't do it alone, so I thought I had to find someone who would join me on this road towards a social, political and artistic life project.

Colombia needs a band that says things, that has a position and creates blisters, love and feelings in people."

from the DVD Corazon Bombea, 2010

Doctor Krapula arrives at the Latin Grammy with messages of Unity

The members of Doctor Krapula, known Colombian rock band, which has opened the way with a honest proposal focused on making music with social content that can create awareness in the audience, are quite happy after the Grammy nomination in 2012,  for 'Best Rock Song', thanks to the hit 'Exigimos'.

We talked on the phone with Mario Munoz and German Martinez and they told us about the importance of the nominations and revealed some secrets about the sixth studio album ‘Viva El Planeta’, production that includes 10 songs with rock sound, dedicated to the world, to love and to the people.

How have news of the Latin Grammy nomination taken you?

“By surprise: we were really happy. When they broke the news, we never thought it was for 'Exigimos'. It’s a strong theme that we never considered as an option in the context of the Grammys, however, it made us happy.

How was the success of 'Exigimos' born?

It 'a song that we wrote to make a musical-historical document that summed up the feeling of the whole Latin America in times of protest. As you make a march for the public education, to protect sites from the threat of mines, ask for changes to the government, or against torture to animals, we wanted to collect all these feelings of protest in the streets in a song, looking forward to create the soundtrack of the Latin American struggle.

How do you judge the work of the bands who are with you in the category 'Best Rock Song'?

Even if we do not know most of the artists that are in the category, apart from the 'Cuarteto de Nos', which we consider a great group, we started doing research and discovered the talent of the other groups as 'Los Mesoneros', they are doing a great job.

What are the plans of the band after the participation in the Latin Grammy?

Now we are well into the tour in Colombia and after the ceremony we will begin to make plans for the launch of the new album in Argentina and Mexico. Then we will enter the production process of the next tour in Canada and Europe. If all goes well even play in Japan.

What's new in the album ‘Viva el Planeta’?

We started as a band of Ska and Punk in the neighborhood. Over time we found a distinctive sound and we became a quintet. Our sound leans more on the guitars and keyboards than on wind instruments and percussion arrangements. The more incisive and clear proposal that we make is that we make music with content and social and environmental messages. The music is a complement, we make music that complements the texts, or viceversa are texts that complement the music.

How do you think the band would sound at the side of Shakira?

Although we never had contacts with her in musical terms, we respect and admire her as the great artist she is. It would be interesting to invite her to participate in one of our side-projects. Now for example, we are making a record for the Amazon and it would be nice to count on her entry along with other Latin American artists against mines explotation in the area. For these causes no discrimination shall be made.

What is your contribution to peace in Colombia?

We contribute actively and we’ve done it for years creating music that builds and makes people foster peace with songs offering disarmament dialogue,  a NO against war and respect: this is our tangible contribution to achieve it. Art as an instrument of social construction is very important. We make political music, because ours is a message broadcasted to the masses. In the media we express ourselves publicly in favor of dialogue. In Colombia there have been years of trying to put an end to the war by making more war and we are against it. Now that there are winds of change, we are supporting them through the media and push the institutions to finally put an end to the conflict in our country.

 "From Bogota, Colombia all the people of Doctor Krapula united sends greetings to whole Latin America. Hugs, we are connected. " These were the parting words of the boys, who aspire to triumph in the great celebration of Latin music which will take place November 15 in Las Vegas.

Source: Internet - 2012

Doctor Krapula, the punk ‘healers’ attack again!

Houston - Vertigo is the word that defines the Colombian group Doctor Krapula. 

Vertigo is in their songs at the rhythm of intense rock, reggae, cumbia, ska, rap and punk. 

Vertigo is in the lyrics of acid critics to the powerful, the ecological devastation and social inequalities.

In his new album 'Viva el Planeta', Doctor Krapula, faithful to his vertigo, carries on his  denounces that have characterized him since the band’s foundation in 1998 and  that, through his songs, operate as a healing catharsis for young people living in the marginalized neighborhoods of Bogota.

"Doctor Krapula was formed in marginal neighborhoods of Bogota ... and we have always believed in the use of music to raise awareness of others about problems that we have, as the lack of education, lack of access to public transportation, unemployment, lack of  health care ", said in a telephone interview from Bogota David Jaramillo, the bass player.

Social protest

Beside David Jaramillo, the other group members are Mario Munoz (vocals), German Martinez (guitar), Sergio Acosta (keyboards and accordion) and Nicolas ‘Niko’ Cabrera (drums), who have made significant songs for social protest  like 'Mas vale tarde que nunca ',' Mister Danger ',' Mi Sol’,' La Verdadera Lucha ',' Sagrado Corazon 'and the spectacular, fast-paced punk-ska' Somos'.

The themes are contained in records like 'Dele la wuelta al Disco’ (2003) and the masterpiece 'Corazon Bombea Live' (2011).

For his style, Doctor Krapula is on the same line and level of artistic excellence of other rock mestizo-combative groups, as the Mexican Panteon Rococo and the North-american Ozomatli.

In 'Viva el Planeta', which came out last July [in the U.S., ndt], Doctor Krapula presents 10 songs in the key of his eclectic style but, unlike the earlier works, now focus on global environmental problems such as 'Antidoto ',' Solo Soy ',' En la Jugada ',' Buscando el Amor ', and the powerful punk' Exigimos' which is a petition to the governments of the world to protect natural resources.

"The water, at least in Colombia, is at risk of being privatized, sold to the highest bidder, as well as the land of the natives, and plants of the woods and forests. Doctor Krapula’s been raising his voice to complain for a few years, now to give eco to the alarm about the ecological devastation that follows," says Jaramillo.

The recognition

In 2012 Doctor Krapula has been awarded, with 'Viva el Planeta', the nomination to a Latin Grammy. His song 'Exigimos' has been nominated in the category of Best Rock Song; prize which eventually took away the Uruguayan group 'El Cuarteto de Nos' with the song 'Cuando sea grande' during the awards ceremony on November 15 in Las Vegas.

"The truth is that a nomination like this is a great honor and a great recognition, but we're not behind any prize," says Jaramillo.

His guests

In 'Viva el Planeta' accompany Doctor Krapula great guests as the Uruguayan rocker Emiliano Bracciari from the group 'No te va Gustar', the Argentine rocker Jorge Serrano from 'Los Autenticos Decadentes' and the Colombian pop-rock singer Juanes, as guitarist in 'Amanece', a spectacular romantic song of reggae-cumbia-ska.

"Juanes, apart from the aesthetic differences that we may have in respect of what we play, is a great guitarist and a friend who, in turn, is concerned about the ecological devastation ... we invited him to register as a guitarist, nothing more, and he accepted . In fact, he does not appear in the official video, "says Jaramillo.

By DAVID DORANTES - 2012

COMING SOON...

Hi guys...

This blog about DRK is meant to be published for the english speaking countries.

Well, as you see there's not much to see yet, but we're working on it!

Please stay tuned!

So long
M&C