Sante Les Amis are a Uruguayan band who combine post-punk-inflected disco, break-driven electro, and garagey, funky indie rock into a kinetic sound they call “dance punk”.
Formed in Montevideo in 2007, the lineup of Diego Traverso(guitar/vocals), Nicolas Demczylo (guitar), David Stabilito(bass, vocals), Santiago Marrero (keyboards), and Esteban Lopez (drums) began playing shows almost immediately. A year later, they issued a self-titled EP and played virtually any gig they could get. Due to their energy and catchy songs, they reached audiences across the spectrum, building up a near fanatical fan base. Their second EP, Morning Shine, was independently released in 2010, just as the band expanded its shows to become audio-visual extravaganzas full of actors, lights, video, and other multimedia. Their reputation spread not only across Uruguay, but Latin America. They won opening slots for Café Tacvba and Mala Rodríguez and remixed Juan Campodónico’s Campo project. In 2011, they won the Premio Iris from El País for digital music.

In 2012, preceded by the hit single and video “Brazil,” the band signed to Bizarro and issued their breakthrough album Sudamericana. The record won international attention for its meld of influences from indie rock, punk, and new wave and its hooky, catchy array of Latin rhythms and melodies. Simultaneously, they issued a collection of remixes and covers inspired by the album sessions via their website. Touring across Latin and North America, Sante Les Amis took audiences by storm not only for their show, but their expert musicianship. They had gone from being a tough-act-to-follow opening band to festival stage headliners.

After nearly three years of touring, the band took an extended break and emerged in January of 2018 with the single and video “Como Animales.” The track hit Radionica’s Top 25 in Colombia, while the video went into heavy rotation on MTV Mexico, MTV Latam, MTV tr3s, and ScannerFM in Spain. They followed with the Frederico Lima (Socio)-produced Sueño Animal full-length in early March.