Andrés Cabas

Cabas was born in Barranquilla, Colombia. His father Eduardo, a musician and composer himself, taught Cabas music from the age of five. At six, Cabas formally studied piano and became skilled at this and various other instruments, including percussion. Through his teenage years, he acquired a taste for classical music, rock and roll, electronic music and also for his native cumbia and fandango music. As a young adult, Cabas travelled. He first visited Paris and later New York; it was in New York's nightclubs that he met prominent figures of jazz and salsa, inspiring him to write and compose music. Perhaps paradoxically, New York was also an unhappy phase in Cabas' life, where he felt alienated and depressed.[1] The period resulted in his self-titled album, Cabas, in 2000 which became a huge success in Colombia. His single Mi Bombón (My Bombon) topped the country's charts for three consecutive months, earning him a Gold Disc and a double Platinum disc. To consolidate this success, Cabas toured Colombia, Venezuela and Ecuador in 2001. In 2002, Cabas began to promote his music in other parts of Latin America and the United States, receiving a good reception from critics[2] and an article in the Billboard magazine.[3] He performed his first concert in the United States in late 2002. Cabas performed with artists such as Lenny Kravitz in Mexico, and Shakira and Miguel Bosé in Spain. In 2003, his second album Contacto (Contact) could be said to define his style. Contact mixed percussion and drums with bass and rock beats, and the first single, La Caderona (The Big-hipped woman) had similar success to Mi Bombón. Cabas' first music video, from the song Leche (Milk), premiered on MTV Latin America. Other singles such as Bolita de Trapo (Little rug Ball) also topped the charts in Colombia, Venezuela and Ecuador. After this success, Cabas decided to launch a French tour. His participation in a tribute concert to the musician Carlos Santana increased his exposure. Cabas won the Latin Grammy Award for Best New Artist, a celebration in which he became notorious for simply walking to the awards instead of taking a limousine[4] the MTV Latin Awards for Best Rock Album and Best Rock Interpretation, and the People's Prize and Best Rock Video in the Lo Nuestro Awards. In 2005, Cabas recorded his third album, Puro Cabas (Pure Cabas), in El Cielo Recording Studios, Monterrey, Mexico, with the support of famous Colombian composer Kike Santander, musician Sargento García, and producers Toy Hernandez and Sacha Triujeque. Puro Cabas proved to be another huge success. Cabas' first single, La Cadena de Oro (The Gold Locket), was a major hit in Latin America, along with its music video that stayed in MTV's top ten for some time. This hit was followed immediately by his second single, Increíble (Incredible), and performances in various Latin American music festivals. Puro Cabas itself was one of the twenty best selling Latin albums of 2005 according to iTunes[5] In 2006, Cabas started to compose a series of 37 children's songs commissioned by the Swiss-based ZERI Foundation. This was perhaps the greatest challenge ever for Cabas' creative mind. However, by September he completed the task and successfully recorded under the guidance of his father Eduardo songs in different styles that bring a positive message to children. The title song "Yo Quiero Vivir en Un Mundo Mejor" (I Want To Live in a Better World) is a sing along that immediately catches the imagination of the children. These songs accompany 36 fables which have been written by Gunter Pauli, the Belgian economist turned scientist who is dedicated to exposing kids to over 1,000 academic subjects without any jargon so that they can design solutions bringing water, food, housing, health, energy, jobs and education to all with what they have.[6]. The DVD with all 37 songs and the 36 fables presented in English and Spanish was released in January 2007.