LA BOMBA

La BOMBA is the debut album as a bandleader by Berlin/Copenhagen–based bassist, composer, and producer Luca Curcio—a bold, rhythm-driven statement that blurs the line between improvisation, production, and composition.

It merges a gritty, physical approach to contemporary jazz with the pulse and post-production aesthetics of sample-based music. The album begins in the studio with a powerhouse Copenhagen-based ensemble—Erik Kimestad (trumpet), Sölvi Kolbeinsson (alto saxophone), Francesco Bigoni (tenor saxophone), and Simon Olderskog Albertsen (drums)—capturing composed pieces alongside spontaneous exchanges.

Once tracked, these recordings become raw material to be sampled, reworked, and transformed in Curcio’s Berlin studio. In the process, horn lines dissolve into looping fragments, rhythmic layers splinter and recombine, and acoustic textures mutate into new sonic forms. The result is music in which original performances and their post-produced counterparts flow seamlessly into one another.

At the heart of La BOMBA is rhythm as a driving, physical force. Deep, percussive bass lines collide with fractured drum patterns, while grooves stretch and contract with elastic momentum—its propulsion shaped as much by fluid-time beat-making as by jazz rhythmic language. With this project, Curcio digs into the physicality of ensemble interaction, groove complexity, and the tension between live spontaneity and studio manipulation, treating the digital environment as a space as vital as the bandstand in forging a distinct band sound.

CREDITS

All music written and produced by Luca Curcio

Luca Curcio – upright bass, electric bass, sampler, additional percussion, additional vocals | Erik Kimestad – trumpet | Sölvi Kolbeinsson – alto saxophone | Francesco Bigoni – tenor saxophone | Simon Olderskog Albertsen – drums | Mariana Zwarg – flutes (guest, track 7) | Mette Nadja Hansen – vocals (guest, track 7)

The core of the album - horns, bass and drums was engineered by Boe Larsen and Andrea Alunni at MillFactory Studios, Copenhagen. Additional recordings and post production were made by Luca Curcio at his studio in Berlin.

The album was mixed and mastered by José Diogo Neves.

Visual identity and album design by Lukas Kurtz.
Cover photography by Tania Caruso.

Supported by KODA Kultur.