- country:Dominican Republic
- region:Caribbean
- style(s):Afro
- label:iASO Records
- type:Band, Composer/Songwriter
- gender:male, female
- instrumentation:instrumental, vocal
- artist posted by:iASO Records
Line up
- Fernando Soriano (Rhythm guitar, lead voice, harmony)
- Griselda Soriano (Lead voice, harmony, dance)
- Joan Soriano (Lead guitar, lead voice)
- Julian Pacheco (Bass, harmony)
- Livander Feliz (Bongos, tambora)
- Roberto Santos (Guira)
Links
Born in the countryside near Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic, Joan Soriano infuses steel string bachata with equal parts romance and grit. He is the star of Adam Taub's, The Duke of Bachata, was featured in Alex Wolfe's acclaimed documentary, Santo Domingo Blues, and is on The Rough Guide's Bachata compilation. Joan has performed throughout the USA and Europe. Joan's first international solo release: El Duque de Duque de la Bachata (iASO 2010) was on the Billboard Top 10 Tropical album chart, won best World Beat Album of 2011 from the Indie Acoustic Project and was played extensively on US radio. This followed with La Familia Soriano (iASO 2012), which together with Joan features his siblings Nelly, Griselda, and Fernando. La Familia Soriano debuted on the Billboard Tropical album chart at 3. Joan has received praise from NPR, the NY Times, Public Radio International, and other respected outlets.
Joan is the seventh of fifteen siblings. As a boy he received little formal education, instead helping his father to work the family's land. But Joan's destiny was for music not agriculture. Fashioning his first guitar from fishing line and a discarded metal box, he joined his young brothers and sisters to form a family band. Nicknamed "Los Candes" (after their father Candelario) it became a neighborhood sensation. At age 13 Joan hitched a ride to Santo Domingo and went on to nurture his talent working with some of the island's greatest bachata stars. Today he has returned to his roots, re-forming the family band with his brother Fernando and sister Griselda.
Bachata is essential to Dominican culture and draws upon a variety of influences from Africa, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean. A practitioner of palo and gaga, Joan blends Afro-Dominican sacred traditions with bachata, imparting his music with down to earth spirit and dance-ability. Joan preserves bachata's roots and expands on them. He is a rare combination of new and authentic.
El Duque de la Bachata, and La Familia Soriano were recorded live in Santo Domingo and NYC studios by iASO producer, Benjamin de Menil. The natural musicality of live sound is central to iASO's aesthetic.