The producer and drummer for Cultura Profética reflects on the challenges of the Puerto Rican music scene, his creative process, and how Puerto Rico influenced Rawayana's album "¿Quién trae las cornetas?", which won the Grammy for best Latin rock album.
When Ernesto "Bebo" Dumont speaks, you have to stop and listen carefully, because, judging by the pauses and the sound of his voice, you'd think he was singing without a backing track.
He was born in San Juan, but Trujillo Alto claims him. That's where he lives and has his studio. Music came during church days with his family, and later in San Juan, doing tributes to Erykah Badu.
In those circles he met Willy from Cultura Profética, a band he followed closely and admired. In 2014, while he was still studying at Berklee, Willy called him to join Cultura officially.
He finished his degree in Boston and came back to Puerto Rico with a plan. Since then, Bebo has worked as drummer, producer and vocalist for one of the most recognized reggae bands in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Bebo's Musical Career
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In recent years he has stood out as a member and producer of Cultura Profética, but also of other side projects such as International Dub Ambassador… Read more ↓
In 2020 he released the first single from his solo project, titled "Los Días," formalizing, in a way, a project he had already been working on for several years.
His ongoing artistic search has led him to collaborate with artists such as PJ Sin Suela and Elena Rose. And to produce for Cultura Profética, winners of the Latin Grammy for Best Alternative Music Album, where Bebo is credited as one of the producers.
He has also worked with Simon Grossman and Rawayana, who this year won a Grammy for Best Latin Rock or Alternative Album for ¿Quién trae las cornetas?
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Platea spoke with him to learn more about his creative process and his view of Puerto Rico's current music scene. This interview has been edited and is presented in several formats; in some sections you can listen to audio of Bebo's original answers, while other parts are offered in text for a more complete experience.
Ana Frias: Congratulations on the Grammy for ¿Quién trae las cornetas? Tell us, what was the production process for this album like?
His Connection With Rawayana
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Bebo: Well, look, I've known the guys for a while, because at an earlier stage of their career they were taken under the wing of Cultura Profética and we crossed paths a lot. They opened a ton of shows for us… Read more ↓
we shared dressing rooms and that's where that first connection formed. But later, on a more personal and friendship level, I connected a lot with Beto.
Being in Puerto Rico, around 2022 I think, we were seeing each other more often, and on one of those visits I invited him to make music at my studio, at my house in Trujillo Alto. Beto was about to leave and I told him: "Man, don't go. Stay, come over, and let's make music." "Oh, sure, let's do it," he said. It was really something without expectations, more casual, just getting together and seeing what came out of it. I showed him a track that had a chorus; I had made the music, the pre-chorus, but I never dared touch the verses.
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The Birth of "Nada Malo"
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Bebo: That track is "Nada Malo." We started writing it together, and from there he got pumped to keep coming to my house to work… Read more ↓
He left Puerto Rico and I don't remember exactly where I was, but at some point he called me and said: "Bro, I want to bring the guys (Rawayana) and work on the album there at your house in Puerto Rico."
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Ana: Do you think Puerto Rico was an important creative factor?
Bebo: From that point on, they started coming for weeks at a time, leaving, coming back, and then there was a stretch at the end where we were there straight through: they stayed and we just kept going until we finished. They say it themselves, that Puerto Rico holds a very special place in the process.
It's not just, say, me personally, or Brandon, or my studio. It's the energy and the vibe of being in Puerto Rico, surrounding yourself with the people, with the musicians here, stepping outside your usual environment and being on an island that, as you well know, is tropical, but also has a certain closeness to the world.
The Island as inspiration for "¿Quién trae las cornetas?"
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Ana: How did Elena Rose end up being part of the album?
Bebo: Well, Elena Rose came to PR and we went to Arecibo, to the beach, to write. If I remember correctly, the verses and stanzas of "Brindo" we wrote on the way there in the car. At the beach we wrote "Parece," you know? For me those are moments, like snapshots stored away. The truth is that surroundings inspire.
The influence of Puerto Rico
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Bebo: Well, Elena Rose came to PR and we went to Arecibo, to the beach, to write. If I remember correctly, the verses and stanzas of "Brindo" we wrote on the way there in the car…Read more ↓
[About the album] At some point the idea came up of being more explicit about Puerto Rico's role in the record, in the name, in everything. Obviously they (Rawayana) keep doing other things and other ideas came up, but I will say that Puerto Rico as such plays a very important role in that album.
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Ana: How do you see your work as a producer so far, and what has it been like to find your identity in other people's voices?
It's really something. I studied production, that was my major at Berklee, but I never fully owned it. I knew my musical profile would benefit from going deeper into those areas and having those resources, but I never saw myself in that role, and even now I don't think producer is my main role in the studio or at a technical level, so to speak.
My role as a producer
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Bebo: I always play with the idea that I'm like a RickRubin-Pharrell-type-of-person: I'm not the producer who's hands-on at the computer making things happen and sound great... Read more ↓
I'm more the one in the back saying: "Do this. Put this plug-in on, boom, let's cut this part. Hey, it would be great to do such-and-such here. Have you heard that song? What they do there, it would be cool to do that."
I'm the ideas person. Sometimes on that journey of finding your path and your role in those spaces, you feel, or I feel, like I get Impostor Syndrome, you know? "If I'm not that good at being this, can I really call myself that other thing?"
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Recognition and collaboration
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Bebo: And right now, not to try to, you know… but the only two records I've produced that have come out have won Grammys, you know?... Read more ↓
Suddenly you tell yourself: "Maybe I do know how it's done? Maybe I do?" Obviously all of this happens alongside great artists and great producers, co-producers who are part of the equation. That's something I will always acknowledge, not to take away from my own credit, but in the interest of the truth.
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Ana: Do you think there's a difference between a producer who focuses entirely on producing and one who is also running a solo project or a band at the same time?
Bebo: A lot of what draws producers to projects is that, when they compose or are also artists themselves, they can detach from the results, they can detach from whatever happens because "it's not theirs."
Role and identity
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Bebo: And for me it's really something, because I feel like they're more mine. I feel like the Rawayana record is my record, that the Cultura Profética record is my record, and that's because I feel very much a part of them. Read more ↓
At some point you tell yourself: This is really beautiful for me, and I'm grateful these artists let me in. The way I see it is something like this: they're trusting their vision to my hands, and I'm contributing to what they want to achieve, according to my judgment, my influences and my tastes. That's why I'm going to approach the project with gratitude. Maybe the artists I've worked with see it as, "No, man, you're contributing," but for me it's more like, "You're allowing me to be here and to appreciate the ideas I might have." It's a process of constant self-discovery, reaffirmation and exchange.
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Ana: You're a producer who doesn't stay in the studio but understands what it means to defend a track on stage, not just in terms of performance but also with your instrument, the drums. Does that feed into the process of searching for sounds or feeling like part of a song?
Bebo: Absolutely. Among musicians we say songs are never finished. When you decide to finish one, what you're giving it is an ellipsis, not a period. It's more like, "OK, let's stop and release this to the world." But that song is the manifestation or interpretation of an idea that got to that point, or that we collectively decided would go that far. Now, once it belongs to the world and you have to perform it live, you have every possibility of doing 15 different things.
A lot of the time in the studio you're thinking about how you can perform it. Maybe you think, "I'm going to focus hard on giving the song this contrast, make it really digital, so that when we play it with a band it sounds a different way, with a different aesthetic that the live musicians bring." I think they're very different processes that at the same time intertwine really well.
Ana: What do you find particular about audiences in Puerto Rico?
Bebo: Audiences in Puerto Rico are very demanding.
It's wild, because there's so much talent concentrated here that they won't buy just anything. You better bring it, because otherwise they won't react. If you win them over, they're among the most euphoric audiences out there, but getting there is hard.
Ana: From your perspective, how do you see the current music scene in Puerto Rico, and what do you think it needs to grow or become richer?
Bebo: I would venture to say there's a generation of artists and musicians who are being bolder with what they're putting forward. I think a greater appreciation for this kind of art is being cultivated. Puerto Rico's music scene has become multidisciplinary. It's no longer just specific genres; it's a scene where there's room for everyone.
But in general, we're in a time when music is moving forward and backward at the same time. There are so many trends, tools and phenomena that for now make everything easier to do.
La escena en Puerto Rico
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Bebo: That creates a kind of complacency, but at the same time there's this movement of people who want to push back against it a little. And because we have so many tools to make music more accessible, creativity gets pushed forward in ways that, who knows. Keep reading ↓
For example, artists like Chuwi, who for me are a real standout in the scene. You hear that sound and there's nothing like it. At least I haven't heard anything similar. Just as they were something very under the radar, there are maybe 15,000 more artists like that all over the world who just haven't been discovered yet.
Right now they represent something very particular and different. They're an example of those bold, creative and refreshing proposals that are showing up more and more.
This content was translated with the assistance of Artificial Intelligence (AI).
