Sergio Burstein profiles Fosforo for the most widely circulated Spanish paper in the U.S. here.
We’ve translated some highlights below:
‘It’s that, in their six years of being around, Fosforo seems to have found a working combination of socially-tinged messages and modern dance rhythms… Throughout the years, Rafi Benjamin’s lyrics have combined elements from the different cultures to which he found himself exposed, to where they include references to Rastafarianism, Judaism (his family’s religion), and Latino issues. Even so, the way Fosforo’s singer and guitarist puts it, they are not really a political group, even though they frequently mention politics in their songs… “We are not pamphleteers nor are we telling people what they should do,” he explains. “We are trying to find our way, like everyone around us. What we do is see how our daily lives are affected by what is happening in the world, without leaving behind the spiritual side or the community.”‘
‘Es que, en sus seis años de existencia, Fósforo parece haber encontrado una combinación adecuada entre el mensaje de tinte social y los ritmos modernos… A través de los años, las letras de Rafi han combinado elementos de las distintas culturas a las que se ha encontrado expuesto, hasta el punto de incluir referencias al rastafarismo, al judaísmo (la religión de su familia) y a la problemática latina… Es que, como lo dice el mismo cantante y guitarrista, Fósforo no es realmente un grupo político, aunque mencione frecuentemente la política en sus canciones... “No somos panfletarios ni le decimos a la gente lo que debe hacer”, precisa. “Estamos tratando de encontrar nuestro camino, como muchos de los que nos rodean. Lo que hacemos es ver el modo en que nuestra vida diaria se ve afectada por lo que ocurre alrededor, sin dejar de lado el lado espiritual y el comunitario”.’
The infinitely hip FADER magazine gets down with Fosforo’s MACONDO EP:
“Los Angeles’ Fosforo are doing it for us right now because it has been 44 degrees in New York for 900 days in a row and we are sick of it. We want to wear shorts and people in LA get to do that all the time. It’s absurd. So we found Fosforo’s EP Macondo floating around the office and jammed it out, took off our pants and poured some reposada. It also seems like the world needs more bands who feel free to reference jungle and Atahualpa Yupanqui in the same sentence.”