Produced by: Pablo Araoz “Mambe Kurewa” (Feel di Riddim) Recorded, Mixed & Mastered by: Luis Bonilla at One2 studio (Cundijamaica, Colombia) Music & Arrangements: Pablo Araoz / Camilo Toro Moratto Executive Producer: Diana Hernandez “Boss Selektah” (Bosstellar Productions) Studio Assistant: Andres de la Hoz “Bossteady TNT”
Eco Roots Custom Pedal: Arteria Pedals Tape Transfer Engineer: Ian Mckenzie
Cover Art: Adriana Hernandez Graphic Design: Juan Madero “Scratch” Photographer: Glen Caltor Logistics: Zayda Rozo Chef & Vibes: Diego Valencia “Buju” Special thanks to OG Rude Girl: Nancy Bedard

THE TOUGHERS Ska-Steady All- Stars:

“LinaPo” – Vocals “Custodio” – Vocals “Dany Fyah” – Vocals & Guitar “Mambe Kurewa” – Bass Guitar & Vocals “Bossteady TNT” – Toasting and Vocal Effects Camilo Toro Moratto – Piano, Organ, Vocals
Juan Carlos “Dizzy” Tocua – Guitars & Vocals Juan Camilo “Jazzy” Sanchez - Drums

Special Guests:
“Buju” – Vocals Miguel Rodriguez - Percussion

The Toughers want freedom. Freedom from convention. Freedom from constraint. Freedom to express themselves and the full scope of their musical influences. The all-star collective of Colombian scene stalwarts are determined to take their unique brand of Colombi-ska and rocksteady from Bogota to Los Angeles and beyond.

The Toughers' debut album, Eclipse de Soul, was recorded in Mambe's isolated jungle studio and buoyed by the mysticism of that titular solar event. The result is an introspective, anything goes record with an international influence tha simultaneously connects listeners from far away under one celestial atmosphere. Split between soul-dub and ska-steady sides, Eclipse de Soul pulls reference from the likes of Ska Cubano and Natty Bo, Lee "Scratch" Perry and Chicano soul, as well as distinctly Colombian sounds of musica para planchar and coastal genres like son and merecumbé. Sound and mastering engineer Luis Bonilla – a London-based Colombian who has worked with many Jamaican artists as well as major international celebrities – is at the epicenter of Eclipse de Soul.

Drop your needle on the Spanish-language "Libre Como El Viento" (free like the wind) for a taste of Coxsone Dodd-era Skatalites, then tighten up skinhead style with "Bosstellar International" – an instrumental tribute to the boss women in the Toughers' orbit. The band speaks truth to power on "Land Grab," a Spanglish tune about colonization past and present, and on a Black and Indigenous empowerment anthem "Unity." The Toughers also soften up on the reflective, L.A.- influenced "El Segundo Boulevard" as well as Latin soul-flavored "I Got Love." Eclipse de Soul ends with The Toughers on the dub side of the moon – libre.

Back from the jungle and in the heart of the city, The Toughers enter a red, shadowy world all their own. Slackers vocalist/keyboardist Vic Ruggerio says The Toughers conjure a vibrant backstreet, where conga and guiro echo in the night. "The voices of women and men mingle, growl and coo with the bumping bass. Anything can happen here: reggae funk, ballad, dub. The moon is out and The Toughers are howlin'." – Jess Lipsky

EL DISCO ES CULTURA