Ozomatli will release their new record, Don't Mess With The Dragon, by early 2007. The Los Angeles collective won a Grammy and Latin Grammy for their pastiche of hip-hop, Latin and Middle Eastern styles on 2004's Street Signs. The band is currently finishing up Don't Mess, which was recorded over the past year in San Francisco and a handful of L.A. studios, with production work from Robert Carranza (Beck, Jack Johnson) and mixing by Serban Ghenea, whose credits include Jay-Z, Justin Timberlake and Faith Hill. Ozomatli encompasses so many styles that it's often pointless to try and classify them as anything at all. But here's a shot: They are a multi-ethnic, political, Latin-breakbeat-salsa-funk-reggae-hip-hop-rock orchestra. Phew. Street Signs featured guest appearances from former group members Chali 2NA and Cut Chemist, in addition to Hassan Hakmoun (the Moroccan sintir master), violinists Les Yeux Noir and the Prague Symphony. This time around, however, the band stayed away from outside collaborators to focus on making a record in their own voice. Fans can hear tracks from it on the band's short and West Coast-centric summer tour, or by catching them alongside Stephen and Ziggy Marley with Bunny Wailer on the Bob Marley Roots Rock Reggae Festival Tour in August. www.ozomatli.com
