Sofía Rei – Vocals
Jorge Roeder – Upright Bass
A new collection of unknown songs from every corner of the American continent, North and South, put together with Sofia’s longtime collaborator Jorge Roeder. They have been working together as a duo and in many configurations for over 14 years. Originally from Lima, Peru, New York City-based bass player Jorge Roeder is the co-artistic director and co-producer of all of Sofia’s albums and is also currently part of the Grammy-nominated Julian Lage Group, Shai Maestro Trio, Victor Prieto Trio, Ryan Keberle’s Catharsis, among others.
Sofía Rei – Vocals
Jorge Roeder – Upright Bass
A new collection of unknown songs from every corner of the American continent, North and South, put together with Sofia’s longtime collaborator Jorge Roeder. They have been working together as a duo and in many configurations for over 14 years. Originally from Lima, Peru, New York City-based bass player Jorge Roeder is the co-artistic director and co-producer of all of Sofia’s albums and is also currently part of the Grammy-nominated Julian Lage Group, Shai Maestro Trio, Victor Prieto Trio, Ryan Keberle’s Catharsis, among others.
Sofía Rei – Vocals
Jorge Roeder – Upright Bass
A new collection of unknown songs from every corner of the American continent, North and South, put together with Sofia’s longtime collaborator Jorge Roeder. They have been working together as a duo and in many configurations for over 14 years. Originally from Lima, Peru, New York City-based bass player Jorge Roeder is the co-artistic director and co-producer of all of Sofia’s albums and is also currently part of the Grammy-nominated Julian Lage Group, Shai Maestro Trio, Victor Prieto Trio, Ryan Keberle’s Catharsis, among others.
PRESS QUOTES
“an album that explores the extremes of ones creativity” - Billboard (Argentina)
“Few Latin American artists have transformed their work as much as Sofia Rei. In seeking to explore new ways to share her perspective on the universe, Rei has delivered some of the most innovative albums in the region, and her most recent album, Umbral, is no exception. " - Uriel Monterrubio, Rolling Stone Magazine
Umbral is definingly electronic, showcasing at the same time how a vocalist such as Sofía Rei can seamlessly fold electronic sounds into the timbre of her voice and keep the music still luscious, organic and fetchingly melodic. Rei singularly adds to this feat verses both beautiful and prickly to complete this album of masterful musicianship.
- RootsWorld Magazine- Umbral Review
“Umbral is an exploration without limits in the digital world” - Revista G7
“… A masterclass in how to combine folkloric tradition with digital futurism (…) Umbral has an enchanting authenticity derived from Rei allowing her unique personality to be revealed in music. (…) A raw expression of curious creativity and brave experimentation. Sublime.” - Dan Hobson, Songlines Magazine (UK)
"Sofia Rei, an Argentine singer now based in New York, conjured a wildly eclectic, near hallucinatory international mix from her living room with her band: Andean, jazz, funk, electronics. True to Globalfest’s boundary-scrambling mission, she sang about living under 'Un Mismo Cielo': 'The Same Sky.’” - Jon Pareles, THE NEW YORK TIMES
“Flutes flutter over ricocheting synth bass, a stop-and-start beat and strummed charango, as Rei’s overdubbed voice harmonizes with itself in fierce exclamations, lapping at the sky like a flame”- Giovanni Russonello, The New York Times
"It's a fascinating exploration of her own creative process, as well as a capsule history of musical traditions
from the southern-most tip of the Americas.” - Felix Contreras, NPR “Alt.Latino”
“...award-winning Argentine vocalist and songwriter Sofia Rei provides a concert that blends South American folk traditions with experimental pop and electronic music. That mix of tradition and modernity extends to her surroundings, which features traditional iconography, robotic 'saints,' exuberant plants and looping pedals.” - Bob Boilen, NPR “Tiny Desk Concert”
“Over booming drum beats and chirping flute embellishments, “La Otra” is an exciting tribute to Mistral with instrumentation based in Colombian dance music.” – Margaret Farrell, Flood Magazine
“Umbral, an álbum in which Sofía Rei takes pleasure in sonic explorations, where she reinvents the sound of her own voice and recreates imaginary sonic landscapes where her musical past mixes with possible futures of a kind of music that seems not to recognize the meaning of the word “limit” - María Zentner, Página 12
“Calling Argentinian songwriter Sofia Rei, well... a songwriter is only part of the truth. Yeah, she's a songwriter, but also a performer, an experimentalist, and an engineer. She spent the better part of her May 27 set at the Simons Center Recital Hall showing off her virtuosic vocals, strong knack for laying out sheets of sound, and her ability to run circles around a set of loop pedals.” - Charleston City Paper
“Ms. Rei, a vocalist hailing from Argentina, sings in a windblown, mountains-high voice, but she often sounds like she might be withholding something, too. It’s as if maybe the full delivery might be too overpowering — an engrossing suggestion”
Giovanni Russonello - THE NEW YORK TIMES
“Rarely does one come across a volume of work that is so quintessentially spectral that it stops the breath and suspends the heartbeat. Sofía Rei’s album, El Gavilán is one such volume.” Raul da Gama, WORLD MUSIC REPORT
“Rei lanzó este mes uno de los más originales homenajes que han salido hasta ahora para el centenario de la creadora chilena”
Andres del Real - LA TERCERA (Chile)
“Un original y radical tributo a la obra de Violeta Parra”
Gabriel Plaza - LA NACION (Argentina)
“Una artista felizmente inclasificable”
Diego Fisherman - PAGINA 12 (Argentina)
“A stomping fury swarms up beneath Sofía Rei’s voice on her version of “Arriba Quemando el Sol,” (…). Ms. Rei’s declamations capture [rural Chile’s] pride and its lament, while the guitarist Marc Ribot builds a blazing, dystopian billow around her”.
Giovanni Russonello - NEW YORK TIMES
“…a Latin folklore encyclopedia right in the heart of New York”.
Lina Alonso - VICE/NOISEY (Colombia)
“From the use of electronics in her music to thickly orchestrated layers of overdubbed vocals, Rei has taken her position as a leader into the exciting realm of the unknown”. Chip Boaz - THE LATIN JAZZ CORNER
“In paying tribute to Violeta, Sofía also continues establishing her own unique, focused, unconventional and, at times, delirious vision”. Emilie Pons - HOT HOUSE JAZZ GUIDE
“Through this carefully crafted tribute, Sofia Rei manages to outdo herself, paying homage to her influences as she claims new territory. “El Gavilan” continues to add depth to one of the most interesting musical résumés of the last decade”.
Andrei Cherascu - THE MUSIC AND MYTH (Romania)
“The legacy of Latin American folklore has been passed on through the vocal chords of mythical vocalists such as Violeta Parra, Mercedes Sosa and Susana Baca, to mention a few. Now a new voice has to be added to this illustrious list — that of Sofia Rei”.
Deborah Ramirez - SUN SENTINEL
“… a mesmerizing singer who has been called a one-woman band of complex rhythms and lush melodies”.
Delarue - LUCID CULTURE
“What an incredible voice teeming with passion and invention!”.
Dan Ouelette - NYC INFORMER
“… Rei and her band treated us to stellar musicianship and genre-bending music.”
Félix Contreras, NPR MUSIC
“As the Argentine singer Sofía Rei led her multinational band, the passion and clarity with which she assayed a tricky mix of South American rhythms and jazz-inflected harmonies made clear why she has been embraced by New York City audiences from Carnegie Hall to the hippest downtown haunts.” Phil Lutz, THE NEW YORK TIMES
“One of the most versatile and in-demand singers on the New York music scene..”
Simon Calle, ALL ABOUT JAZZ
“…Highly capable of integrating diverse influences, from ancient folkloric traditions to modern jazz […] Sofia’s all Spanish vocals convey deep passion and a full spectrum of emotions…” ED Enright, DOWNBEAT MAGAZINE
“Sofia Rei, a world traveler and song researcher with a vibrant voice, demonstrates that she is one of the new talents in the Latin American scene.[…] a fascinating sound.”
Angel Romero, WORLD MUSIC CENTRAL
“Sofia Rei, the potent ambassador of Latin America’s experimental voice in the contemporary international circuit, has sustained a history of artistic output that includes three albums published under her name, various awards, continuous tours in Europe, North and South America, and has gradually in the last decade morphed into the female vocal icon of the vanguard music sphere.” Francisco Javier Rodríguez, THE HOLY FILAMENT
“..Leading light of Latin Jazz” Aidan Levy, THE VILLAGE VOICE
“An expressive masterpiece of musical storytelling by one of the world’s greatest vocalists”…
Andrei Cherascu, THE MUSIC AND MYTH
“Choirgirl, classical mezzo-soprano, punk rock drummer, explorer of South American folkloric traditions, and student of jazz, Argentinian singer songwriter Sofia Rei has crossed many musical borders. Her passport has always been a strong and supple voice, one of those rare instruments that bypasses the circuitry of the listener’s brain and plunges right into the chest-it’s a visceral experience.” Mel Minter, MUSICALLY SPEAKING
“A dynamic jazz-inflected sound that is surprisingly and satisfyingly rich in texture (…) De Tierra Y Oro shows that intelligent and sensitive fusion has a future.” SONGLINES (UK)
“With her own light, as powerful as her voice, Sofia mesmerized on the stage of the ReVoice! Festival in London”.
Silvina Soria, LA TUNDRA (UK)
“Exquisite music with South American folk influences, mixed with jazz sounds, and wrapped in the powerful voice and tonal beauty of Sofia Rei, that’s De Tierra y Oro.” Wilbert Sostre, LATIN JAZZ NETWORK
“One of best Argentine singers ever. A fascinating album. With De Tierra y Oro, Sofia Rei consolidates herself as one of the most expressive voices of all times.” Marcelo Morales, EL INTRUSO (Argentina)
“Sofia’s vocal prowess contains an emotional impact that leaves an audience gasping for air and begging for more. Her power and precision sets her apart from the legions of current jazz vocalists.” Chip Boaz, THE LATIN JAZZ CORNER
“The voice has no secrets for Argentine singer and composer Sofia Rei, an imaginative interpreter used to breaking labels who in a short period of time has conquered the New York music scene”
Javier Pérez Senz Babelia - EL PAÍS (Spain)
“Possessing a voluptuously full voice, comprehensive command of Latin American rhythms, and encyclopedic knowledge of folkloric forms from Argentina, Peru, Colombia, and Uruguay, Sofia has become an essential creative catalyst on a scene teeming with musicians eager to blend jazz with its South American siblings.” Andy Gilbert, BOSTON GLOBE
“…A potent combination that’s like nothing else around”
Kevin Convey, BOSTON HERALD
“She is hard to compare with any predecessor, except her joy and passion could rival Flora Purim, Celia Cruz, or Abbey Lincoln. […] a truly new music” Michael Nastos, ALL MUSIC GUIDE
“Packed inside her music are ancient tones of creation, contemporary calls of earthly truth and metagalactic chants of promise. This is the voice that is reserved for highly evolved and loving beings.” Jain Lemos, ABQTODO
“World music blends in her inflections and words conveying the joy of singing”
LA NACIÓN, Argentina
“One of the leading advocates for Latin America on the international jazz scene. Sofia’s voice rings masterfully in a journey that is elegant and accessible to the listener, her experience shines on stage, which she conquers with compelling magic”.
Natalia Huertas, ARTITUD (Colombia)