When he first formed Bomba Estéreo as a collective of DJs and artists in 2001, Simón Mejia never imagined that he would one day be in Japan, looking out at a sea of people dancing to his music, or that he would play some of North America’s biggest fests — among them Coachella, Bonnaroo and South by Southwest — or that he would one day be invited to visit Brian Eno in his studio.

In fact, Mejia had never been off the continent, and neither had his fellow band members.

“[Bomba bandmates] Liliana, Julian and I had never been to Europe, nor to the States, nor any place in the world before having a band,” says Mejia, who has since spent the past several years travelling the globe, in a Skype interview from his home in Bogotá. “None of us were expecting it, so it came as a big surprise — but we got to know the world through the music.”

The world also got to know the band, which blends the sounds of traditional Colombian cumbia — a mix of African and indigenous Colombian styles that dates back centuries — with modern, beat-heavy electronic music.

And while the combination might seem unlikely, Mejia says he is simply drawing from the myriad sounds that surround and inspire him — sounds that passed through many generations before his.

“Every time I go to a faraway place in Colombia, you see these old people making this music, and they don’t have any access to any international music, no internet, nothing," says Mejia. "And yet the music is very big, and if they went and played it anywhere in the world, people would understand it, because it comes from a very deep place, a very ancient place. It’s like music from the Earth. So that makes it universal without any internet."

“And of course we live in the cities and we have internet and we grew up listening not only to that music, but also to the electronic and American and European music, so we have many, many influences in our heads,” he adds.

With the band’s remarkable international success, Bomba Estéreo also has many, many obligations, which makes recording a new album a serious logistical challenge. As a result, when it came time to record their latest album, Elegancia Tropical, they took a break from their four-year stint of touring and headed for the Colombian coast.

“We rented a friend’s house near the beach in Barranquilla, and we spent a month and a half there," says Mejia. "It was just about making the music, and in this beautiful ambience. And then the Barranquilla carnival came, and it was very inspiring. Julian also got married during that time. So the songs we made there are the more beautiful songs of the album, the most soulful songs."

“After that it was complete chaos,” laughs the musician, who says the band completed the album while on the road, and the music reflects the serious change of pace and scenery. “We finished the album in the van and in airplanes and on the computer, so some of it is acoustic, some is half acoustic and half electronic, and then in the last stage we made very strong, heavy beats. But it was all influenced by these folkloric patterns from our music in Columbia.”

Lyrically, it was also more inward-looking. Whereas the group had been focused on making fun party music in the past, Mejia says that on Elegancia Tropical, Liliana Saumet’s lyrics are more focused on spirituality, emotion and the soul. Ironically, Mejia says the shift came from so much time spent touring the world and looking outward.

“The previous album was like, ‘We come from Colombia and we like dancing and we are here to party and hang out,’" he says with a laugh. “This album is more about how I’m feeling because my life has become very crazy, travelling around the world and always looking to the outside. But as humans, we have to understand the inside — and then we can make a better outside. That’s the basic theme of the album.”

Currently on tour in their home country, where Mejia says their music is considered very alternative, the band is known for its eye-popping live shows that combine visuals, performance and music. Mejia says he’s looking forward to getting started on the next album — part of his master plan to make the process less chaotic — and to add to the theatricality of the group’s live shows.

“But what most amazes me now is that people are really enjoying the album. It’s great because it is very different,” he says. “We were a little bit scared, not sure if people would like it or not. But people are responding really positively and that’s great.”