Salt Cathedral is definitely listed among of our favorite bands making music in NYC right now. The duo hail from Colombia, but can be spotted performing around Brooklyn and beyond. They’ll play some new music here on June 30th, with opening sets by The Britpop Choir, Arthur Moon, and Belle Mare.

 
Your name seems to make reference to an underground Roman church built in a salt mine outside of Bogota. Can you explain how you first came up with the name Salt Cathedral?
 
Previous to Salt Cathedral, we were making music under a name in Spanish which barely anyone could pronounce, let alone remember. We wanted to have a name that was accessible in English but traced back to where we are from. The Salt Cathedral of Zipaquira was always something we found fascinating and it evokes an imagery both of hard work (a mine) and religion/divinity. To us, music breeds a similar duality.
 
Your sounds and vocals are rather unique. How would you describe your style to someone who is unfamiliar with your music?
 
Thank you! I think I would describe it as sample based pop/world music influenced by jazz, hip hop and the caribbean. Too much? I really do think that our influences come from all over the place and it’s that melange which comprises our final sound.
 
On The Rise at LPR is dedicated to showcasing up and coming bands from the NYC area music scene. What are some local influences for you at the moment? Any bands that you are particularly interested in?
 
MMBLR and Kelsey Lu are two new locals artists that I’m really excited about. As for local musical influences though, I think it’s more about what we listen when we walk in our neighborhood or open our window. Where we live, Bedstuy in Brooklyn, you hear Jamaican dancehall and hip hop wherever you go. Because of this, our new record is very heavily influenced by Caribbean and particularly Jamaican rhythms. We even have a collaboration with Jamaican legend Assassin (best known for his recent collaborations on Kanye West’s Yeezus and Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp a Butterfly).
 

 
You just released the Homage EP and you’ll be playing new material from your upcoming record at On The Rise. What should your listeners expect from your new project?
 
Our new project, as I said, is very influenced by dancehall so listeners can expect catchy and Caribbean influenced pop songs !
 
How has navigating the music scene been without the help of a major label? Do you find New York’s music scene particularly kind to your project?
 
New York is a place full of opportunities and people who love music, and for this reason I would says that yes, New York has been very kind to our project. Navigating the music scene without a label has given us a lot of freedom to explore, find our sound, know our crowd and learn how to perform! However, the internet has also been something very important and now that we feel like we have a solid project, we are looking to pair up with a label to release our upcoming record.
 
Summer is around the corner and with that starts the festivals season. Do you have any other shows lined up for the summer?
 
No! We had been playing shows and writing at the same time and we realized that it was not very effective, so we have decided to not play any shows this summer except for the LPR On The Rise show! We will be pouring all of our energy into this show. Really looking forward to it !
 

 
Salt Cathedral will perform live at (Le) Poisson Rouge on June 30 with Belle Mare, Arthur Moon, and the BritPop Choir, as part of our On The Rise series.Tickets for that show are on sale now.