Ozomatli isn’t more than just a band. It’s a collective of brothers who have rode the highways of America representing the musical mosaic of Los Angeles while spreading the word of hope, change, activism and societal change.
The band is currently on the road celebrating their 30th Anniversary, as well as the release of their brand new single, “Red Line.” The song is an infectious song with sublime vocals, a breezy vibe, and an undeniably fun hand-clapping breakdown that allows for soaring guitar work that would feel at home on a Santana record from the ’60s.
And therein lies the genius of the band. This song is such a fun, summertime listen, but once you focus on the record you’ll hear it’s an anthem of the working class and the world surrounding them in 2025. If you need any more evidence, the band took to a flatbed truck and performed this at LA’s No Kings protest earlier this summer.
Earlier this summer we caught up with saxophonist/vocalist Ulises Bella of Ozomatli. Ulises shared with us the secret formula on the band’s longevity, the role of activism in music and everyday life, why the band is working with mental health charities and how Los Angeles shaped the sound of the band.
Ozomatli is currently on the 30 Revolutions Tour, which according to the press release is the biggest tour you’ve done in years. What was the impetus to be like “You know what let’s hit the country this summer?”
I think part of it is that it’s the celebration of our 30th anniversary. I think none of us ever thought this band was gonna last as long as it has. Making a big deal of these hallmarks has kind of become a thing. As a band, as a family, as a group of brothers who have gone through a lot of good times and bad times — it’s celebration and struggle. I just recently turned 50, which was just kind of an existential, “Oh, 50, right?”
And I’m not a party guy, but I was like, “Fuck this. I’m gonna have a party.” And I think the same mentality kind of goes for this tour. We’re still making music together. We’re still rocking great shows. We still have tons of people begging us to come to their towns. It’s like we gotta do this.
I was going to save this question for the end, but you brought up the band’s longevity. I want to know what the secret sauce is for Ozomatli. The band, while you’ve had numerous collaborators, it’s been you six for 30 years — how have you stayed together all these years?
It’s the sense of family and we set things up honestly. How we viewed the band and the entity of what collective is. How are we gonna distribute the money? How are we gonna treat each other? How are we gonna resolve conflict in a healthy way? From the jump, we were always splitting things evenly which a lot of bands don’t do. We split the publishing evenly, which a lot of bands don’t do. We don’t think through the years being able to accept each individual’s faults and and and still embrace each other as brothers, as family, you know.
The other guys in the band know my faults — what I sometimes like might default on as a behavior or as a tendency at this point. We’ve all accepted the way we do things. The bigger thing is that we all still love playing music honestly. Each one of us might complain about travel or all the kinds of stereotypes you hear about touring. But, when we hit the stage we truly love being there. I think more than ever the live show and the way we present the live show [there’s] a certain energy and a certain communion with the audience that I think can’t be canned yet.
Like you can’t ask an AI, “Let me feel the experience of a live show.” I think we learned that lesson during COVID. Everybody was on lockdown and you know there was that whole trend of like, do streaming shows right. The first one simple one went really off because people were escaping the moment; they needed that distraction. But I believe by the third wave people were like this isn’t the same as watching a show on your couch. Yeah, it could be comfortable, but it’s not the same.
Pivoting to your music. It’s so excellently eclectic and you’ve had a cavalcade of collaborators like Chali 2na, Cut Chemist and members of The Pharcyde. How do you replicate this in the live experience so people can get the same vibes they hear on the record?
One of us has to cover those parts one way or another. If Chali 2na isn’t there but Kinetic, one of our rappers is and we want to play “Cut Chemist Suite” he just does the Chali 2na parts. It might not be to some people’s liking, for whatever reason, but it’s a way that we can still play the song for people. For the most part it usually works out, [buy] there are some songs that we just don’t do because that [collab] is such a huge part of the song it’s almost impossible to replicate. We just did a song for the movie Flamin’ Hot with B-Real from Cypress Hill [“Mi Destino” also featuring Gaby Moreno]. Shout out to B-Real. So, good luck to have one of us try to have the same timber as him. Or have his voice. He has such a unique flow. To even attempt it, you’re gonna look corny.
Ozomatli wears Los Angeles on your sleeve just like Galactic wears New Orleans on theirs and Bruce Springsteen and Bon Jovi wear New Jersey on theirs. Can you talk about LA’s influence on the band.
There can be Ozomatli-like bands in different cities. I think part of it is that it’s the unique nature of that particular city. We’re sure there’s bands that are kind of similar to us in New York, London, San Francisco, whatever but the particular mix, that gumbo of what Los Angeles is Ozomatli. I think we grew up listening to a lot of different music, then studying a lot of different music as young adults, and coming from different musical traditions. So when it all kind of gelled together in a way, it was unique that’s very uniquely born out of Los Angeles.
Ozomatli will be donating $1 from every ticket sold to Sweet Relief and Backline — to support mental health, which is something that hits home for me in many ways. Why this was this a cause you wanted to bring into the tour, when like you said before this is your party.
For me, it hit home, too. There were a couple of years I struggled and it took me a lot to finally ask for help. It was like — let me talk to somebody and let me figure out whether it’s therapy or medication so I can work through it. I’m grateful for it. The stigma can be in some Latino communities, it can be rough because the whole vibe would be more like kind of just like “Dude just to deal with it.” I’ve seen that with myself. I’ve seen it with my family. Mental health medication could definitely help certain people and change their lives.
So about this collaboration [with these charities] I was like, yeah, of course. It’s one of those things that I think a lot of us during a certain part of our lives might need help or maybe need help for the rest of our lives. But to get through this thing called life sometimes we have to ask for help and be okay with going through it and not have any stigma about it. For me it worked out great because I was able to wean myself off of it, and then at a certain point when I really needed it … it was there for me.
Ozomatli has throughout its run has been proudly activist in its support of charities and social justice initiatives. How important do you think it is for artists to have to be part of activism given the state of the world.
I think it’s a fine balance. Speaking of mental health there’s serious weight [to everything going on] and that weight can really grind you down. Financially, [there’s worries about] being a working class person in the country or how you’re going to feed your kids. The immigrant class has to deal with everything going on, with all these secret police vibes. Internationally with what’s going on in Gaza or wherever. I think, especially with the way social media is now, it can grind you down and really make you feel helpless. [You ask] What can I do about all this?
I was talking to [a family member] and she was really bummed out about what was going on with Trump and whatever. I told her I think we have be like the ’60s again, where the spirit is “If this is what’s cool in society, the fuck society in a certain way.” I’m going to stand for what’s right. I’m going to do whatever I can do personally to try and connect with a tribe of like-minded people to have each other’s back through this time. You know the same way the pendulum can swing one way it could swing a different way. I try to stay hopeful about things and there is a lot of hope.
I think that’s an extremely powerful sentiment to end on. But before we go, let’s talk about the future — what are 5 things that you were stoked on for the band and for yourself, in 2025.
First thing is that we’re still together and we’re still making music. Just being able to be a musician and be able to play music as a saxophone player … I know so many people that have had to hang up the horn. There’s a run of the tour that’s gonna be in August that we’re gonna be hitting the East Coast hard. It’s been kind of a minute so I’m gonna be stoked to see people that I haven’t seen in a long time. I’m just being grateful for the situation that we’re in. I’m still able to do this, and I’m still around to do this and I feel good about it and for the people who have stuck with us this whole time. It’s amazing.
