Fifteen years ago, a spontaneous gig for an art biennial in Medellín changed everything. What was meant to be a one-off audiovisual performance turned into the genesis of one of Latin America’s most sonically radical, politically rooted collectives: Systema Solar.
Born from the Caribbean Colombian sound system tradition and raised on cumbia, champeta, bullerengue, and beats, Systema Solar is more than just a band. It’s a collective, a consciousness, a rhythm-powered resistance. And with their latest release—“Seguimos en el combate”—they’re making it clear that the fight continues. Every lyric is a healing flame. Every groove, a step forward.
We caught up with vocalist and lyricist John Primera to reflect on the band’s evolution, the art of staying rooted without getting stuck, and what it means to create bombas—not of destruction, but of life.
1Before Systema Solar had a name, it was a request. A visual artist—Vanessa Gocksch—had been working on a documentary about Colombia’s hip-hop scene and was invited to VJ at a cultural event. She wanted more than visuals. So she called her friends. “She asked us for a favor,” John Primera told CREMA. “We got together—me as the lyricist, Walter and Daniel with the music—and we built the show in a month.”
They expected it to end there. But the crowd? Five thousand people. The energy? Electric. The reaction? Immediate. “We said, okay—maybe we keep going,” John said. “And here we are, 15 years later.”
Their new track “Seguimos en el combate,” from the album Futuro Primitivo, is both an anthem and a manifesto. “It’s more fresh,” John explained, “more for the new generation. But it still has the same social content, the same commitment to nature, to culture, to our roots.” It’s a musical evolution, not a departure. NPR’s Jessica Diaz-Hurtado once described Systema Solar’s earlier work as “a protest album that never lets its innovation stand in the way of its forcefulness.” That spirit lives on. But this time, it’s lit with a gentler flame—one of rebirth and inner revolution.
As the band puts it, “‘Seguimos en el combate’ is a song of rebirth, search and resistance… every verse is healing fire, every rhythm a step toward the true path.”
2Fifteen years in any creative industry is no small feat, especially for a collective with rotating members and politically conscious lyrics. But when asked how they’d endured, John didn’t hesitate. “We’ve always focused on connection,” he said. “We never think about how turbulent something might be. We focus on whether the message is reaching people.”
According to John, the real reward isn’t recognition or sales—it’s resonance. “People connect with what we say. They know it’s real. I think that’s because we speak sincerely.”
If you’re wondering whether the band intentionally evolves its sound to follow trends, the answer is no. “We don’t try to adapt to anything,” John said. “The magic of Systema Solar is just being ourselves.”
When making music, the group doesn’t assign roles or follow formulas. “I’m the vocalist and I write lyrics,” John said, “but sometimes I come in with a beat. Walter might bring in a chorus. It’s spontaneous. It’s energy.”
That lack of rigid structure is exactly what keeps their sound alive. “We don’t say, ‘Let’s do a fusion with salsa to follow a trend.’ No. We feel it. We live it.”
3Over the years, Systema Solar has collaborated with artists across Latin America—from touring with Shakira to creating new music with Los Auténticos Decadentes. Their recent joint track “América,” a reimagining of a Tigres del Norte classic, is a celebration of fusion over borders.
“It was curious and beautiful,” John said of the collab. “Two very different rhythms, but one universal language—music.”
But their latest project goes beyond music. In line with the ecological themes of Futuro Primitivo, the band is preparing to distribute bombas de semillas (seed bombs) at concerts—handmade spheres of clay, earth, and native seeds, inspired by an ancient Egyptian technique. The goal? To reforest, to create life, and to keep people thinking.
“We’re calling them bombs to create life,” John explained. “Not destroy it.”
4Systema Solar’s music is protest, but it’s also preservation. At a time when everything feels commodified—from sounds to values—what can a group like Systema teach Gen Z?
“There is a heart. There is humanity,” John said. “And we must stay conscious—of what matters, of what has value.”
He points to the themes of Futuro Primitivo: “The importance of protecting the environment. Of celebrating that we are diverse. That we come from many cultures and many roots.”
And in case anyone needed one last reminder that the revolution doesn’t need permission, John adds: “There’s one heart, and one humanity.”
