Discos Resaca Collective is a movement from the San Jose music scene that’s not quite like any other. Their family of artists, including vocalists, percussionists, and guitarists, is fascinating.

While some might find it amusing that resaca translates into “hungover” in Spanish, the collective takes inspiration from another meaning of the word, “undertow.” Reflected in their vision, the band makes music that draws people in like a wave in the ocean, just like an undertow.

The collective combines an intriguing mix of traditional cumbia music with hip-hop beats, rock influences, and romantic music, bringing a distinct Bay Area vibe that gets you on your feet dancing. And if you’re paying attention while dancing to their music, you might see up to four lead singers performing alongside the rest of the band. “It’s almost like you’re seeing four bands in one night, but it’s really just one band and four different vocalists that are kind of taking the leap,” said Ivan Flores, bandleader and founder of the collective. He explained that it is akin to the Motown days, where there would be one band and a rotating crew of singers performing their songs.

In traditional bands, there is one lead singer, one drummer, one bassist, one guitarist, and so on. Session players would usually step in when a band member was not available. It’s that sense of camaraderie, family, and community that sparked Flores to build the collective. “We’re a product of the Bay Area music scene, where everybody knows everybody and we’re all willing to help each other out,” said the San Jose native. “I basically put together a band—which is what I call our collective—and we support each other [through] the music,” he continued.

To the collective, music is the soundtrack of life. It is in the background of every family gathering and in every joyful celebration or sad moment. This has shaped the way the collective makes music—utilizing freedom and flexibility to inform their creative process. “Our goal was to [be] that band that could be the whole playlist for a family gathering. We have some romantic songs, [and] we have some songs that are more upbeat, like for dancing. We [also] have songs that are more like, you know, maybe deal with some kind of sadness or songs that deal with joy in other ways,” explains Flores.

Officially, the collective came together in 2015, but most of the members have been working together for much longer. A big part of their creative process involves storytelling. Whether it’s stories of happiness, sadness, grief, or tragedy, the collective takes it in stride and processes the experiences through music.

Unfortunately, a theme that has come up a lot and continues to influence the collective is loss. Flores recalled an experience he had writing a song for the collective’s first full-length album, Y Te Cuento, released in 2020. He had just attended the funeral of someone who was like a mentor to him, and the song manifested over the course of the following day. The song seemed to materialize out of nowhere, par for the course when it comes to creating music. This was certainly not the first or last time something like this occurred for Flores.

Simultaneously, the three sisters from Mariposas del Alma, who would later become the main vocalists for the collective, were also dealing with the loss of a loved one. Soon after this loss, they were introduced to Flores through mutual friends and decided to work together, starting with the song that Flores had written about grief. It seemed like a sort of poignant fate had started to bring the group together. “And it was just like, from there, we just never stopped working together. We’ve been in the band together ever since,” said Flores.

Fast forward to their most recent album released in 2022, East Side San Jose. This timepiece was dedicated to the San Jose Flores grew up in. To him, his album was deeply entwined with the experiences that he shared with his older brother, who regularly introduced him to new things. It was natural to bring him into the project as well and put him on the cover art for the album. Unfortunately, Flores’s brother passed away shortly after the album was completed.

Despite the difficulty of their individual losses, the bond that unites the collective has been helping Flores cope and slowly heal. “I think that’s another part of the strength of this group. We have all experienced [losses] together in different ways, but we know how to support each other,” said Flores.

While things have been incredibly difficult, the collective has managed to channel their grief into a movement that’s larger than life, putting out tracks that speak to people.

Instagram: discosresaca