BIO
Growing up between Washington DC and Medellin, Colombia, SOROCHE’s founder/Singer-Songwriter/Guitarist Richard Benjumea always felt like he was in a cultural purgatory; never fully belonging to any one country. He found comfort equally in the Cumbia and Vallenato of his parent’s native Colombia, as he did with the Punk and Ska he would later discover in his teenage years. Looking for an outlet in which to incorporate all his influences, he searched high and low for like minded musical misfits.
After numerous false starts, band members moving away, and a global pandemic, he finally established the current version of SOROCHE in the summer of 2022, comprised of various members of established local bands like Eastern Standard Time, Time is Fire, Elikeh, and Desanguashington. Shortly after, the band was chosen to participate in American University’s Humanities Truck Project as part of the Out of Our Shells competition, as featured in the Washington Post. There, they recorded their single Leyenda, a song that embraces the magical realism of Benjumea’s Colombian heritage, all set to a psychedelic Cumbia beat.
SOROCHE is comprised of Richard Benjumea (Guitar/Vocals) Chris Broholm (Trumpet) Diego Castañeda (Percussion) Bill Dempsey (Keys) Aaron Gibian (Drums) Matt Perrone (Guitar)