Aventura's Romeo and Akon on the set of "All Up 2 You"
Photo: MTV News
NEW YORK — Dominican Bachata act Aventura have expanded their sound and fanbase beyond the traditional Spanish-speaking crowd by collaborating with a range of artists from rapper Ludacris to pop duo Nina Sky.
But the four-man collective's work with Akon and Wyclef in the past really ignited their creative spirit, according to Aventura frontman Romeo. The singer said working with Akon helped the group evolve their sound, but he emphasized that there's a limit to their expansion.
"Akon and us, we family, it's a mutual respect," Romeo told MTV News. "When I work with artists, I like to not because they're popular, but because there's some sort of connection in what we do. And we've been huge fans of Akon for a while and he tells us that he likes our album, so it kind of makes it easy when we collaborate. Because we're not in the air like, 'What do we do?' It's something natural.
"He wanted to do Bachata; we wanted to do something more urban," he continued about their collaboration, "All Up 2 You," which also features Wisin y Yandel, from their most recent album The Last.
"It's interesting — we had the same situation with Wyclef," Romeo said. "That tells you that they are really familiar with what we do. But we're trying to show people our diversity and that we could do a little bit of urban and what they do. But it was really fun working with Akon and we most likely will be working on tracks [again] in the future."
Although the Bronx-bred Aventura are eager to show off their talent to a broader base, anyone waiting for a complete crossover project shouldn't hold their breath.
Romeo said the group — which recently completed a sold-out four-date showcase at Madison Square Garden — will continue to tweak their sound. But as they add to their following and their profile increases, they won't bow to the pressure to transform into a mainstream act.
"In our genre, we're either Bachata, strictly, or you're something else that has nothing to do with Bachata, so it's tough to mix that," he explained. "Because people could easily say we're trying to sell out. That's why I always promised myself — there's a saying, never say never — but I believe that I'm never gonna do a complete crossover album. If anything, I'll continue to add new things to my production — maybe keep it 50/50, you know, Bachata, which is what people accept us for and maybe some urban music, maybe some English songs, but not a complete English album."
Who else would you like Aventura to collaborate with in the studio? Would you want to hear an English-language album from the guys? Let us know in the comments below, or upload a video to Your.MTV.com!
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