Cilantro Boombox are an eclectic group of musicians in Austin who are led by bassist Félix Pacheco and saxophonist/flautist Joe Woullard. Their sound pulls influences from across the musical spectrum, from 808 electro-funk, Latin and Pan-African sounds and rhythms and a punk rock spirit and energy. Today the we’re excited to premiere the joyful new single from the band, “Wahoo,” which features funky verses, a blistering chorus that brings in those rock & roll influences, and tons of horns to fill out the mix.

Joining Pacheco and Woullard in Cilantro Boombox are Christopher “Zumbi” Richards on trombone and vocals, Andres Villegas on guitar and vocals, Joshua Thomson on alto sax, Micah Shalom on trumpet and Gustavo Hernandez on drums. While musically the track is complex with many layers of instrumentation to immerse yourself in, lyrically the band keeps it simple, with a simple shout of “Wahoo!” during the chorus serving as the song’s only lyrics.

“‘Wahoo’ was first meant to evoke the ‘child-like frustration over not having much more to say in an argument,’ but as time passed and the song began to take shape, it came to mean much more,” said Pacheco. “As the song was being mixed and mastered in June of 2020, the irreverence became a mantra to deal with the frustration of arguing with deaf ears over issues of equality. Issues we shouldn’t even have to debate in the first place. That also inspired the music video. The contrast of just wanting to dance, shake things up and scream, juxtaposed with images of Black Lives Matter protests in Austin was a way to tie it all together and tip our hats to all of those that continue to fight for a better and more fair future.”

Despite the cohesion heard from the band on “Wahoo,” because of the coronavirus pandemic it was actually composed remotely. Some parts were recorded before the outbreak of COVID-19 across the world, while other parts were shared via email or even on cellphones. Keep an eye out for more from the band, who plan to release another single “Y O U” in September.