This week I had the chance to talk with Simón Mejía, bassist, keyboardist and founder of Bomba Estereo, a band from Bogotá that puts an electronic spin on folkloric Colombian rhythms as well as a diverse palette of beats and grooves. We went back to his first cumbia-beat construction, the band’s signature song “Fuego”; ruminated on the bust-out dance floor jam “Fiesta,” an homage to the Barranquilla Carnava; and the spiritual energy in some of the slower, ballad-isn material on Amanecer, the new album. Interspersed throughout Mejía’s commentary are samples of new material and a couple of oldies.