From left to right: Felipe Lobos (gitaar), Felipe Bucci (basgitaar), Sebastian Decap (percussie) and Rodolfo Villanueva (gitaar) Photo: Sven Menschel
The four band members come from Chile and have been studying for Master’s degrees in Wageningen since September 2015: Felipe Bucci does Urban Environmental Management, Felipe Lobos Climate Studies, Rodolfo Viluaneva Enviromental Studies and Sebastian Decap Animal Sciences. They first met at the Chilean barbecue on 18 September 2015. They still remember the day because the barbecue was in honour of Chile’s Independence Day. The students were urged to bring their musical instruments along and before long the future band was jamming away. And finding out in the process which kind of music would bring them together. That turned out to be Chilean Cumbia: a traditional South American rhythm. Felipe Lobos: ‘It is great music to dance to, and that has certainly contributed to our success.’ Another key factor which brought them together was Sebastian’s son. ‘We often say that we actually have five band members, because at the start we were often gathered around a four-year-old boy with a ukulele.’
Making an album
In the first few months of Saonda’s existence, the guys wanted to perform a lot and were kept busy looking for venues. A performance in Villa Bloem in January 2016 was a turning point. Suddenly the band was getting regular requests to play. The high points were performances at the Chilean Independence Day festival in Rotterdam and at the Chilean embassy in The Hague. And now they’re in the line-up at the Liberation Festival. On 5 May they’ll be conjuring up their Chilean sound on the Salverdaplein. ‘There seems to be a strong interest in South American music, and the competition is limited.’The band will be splitting up again within a few months when the band members will be rounding off their studies. Felipe Lobos: ‘In Chile there is absolutely no chance we can play together. Some band members live 2500 kilometres apart.’ Saonda does hope to perform a few more times, though, and of course they’d like to leave a modest album behind when they leave. ‘We don’t have real fans or groupies,’ says Felipe Bucci, ‘The regulars at our shows are mostly friends of ours. It would be perfect to be able to give them an album as a token of our friendship.’