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Colombian alt.rock duo Aterciopelados—Andrea Echeverri and Hector Buitrago—had a lot riding on the release of their latest album, Rio.

Released in October, Rio is the Bogotá-based group's seventh album, following up 1996's Oye - which scored them a Latin Grammy here in the U.S. and confirmed their status as the standard bearers of Latin alternative music everywhere else. Expectations for Rio ran high among critics and fans alike, and, once again, Aterciopelados delivered the goods.

This time around Echeverri and Buitrago sharpen up their signature dreamy-yet-spiky, lush-but-discordant sound to take on a host of political and topical issues that affect their nation and their hometown. Rio fairly bristles with calls to the conscience over environmental degradation, emigration, violence and more. But Echeverri's sly lyrics manage to balance these weighty topics with wit and subtle poetry.

Nat Geo Music caught up with Echeverri and Buitrago in Bogotá shortly after the release of Rio - and the birth of Echeverri's second child – to talk about the album, their creative partnership, politics, and how to be a rock and roll mom.

Nat Geo Music: Did you feel any pressure matching the international sucesss of Oye?

Hector Buitrago: Since El Dorado there has been certain amount of pressure with the albums that followed. With time we have used that expectation to strive to compose different types of albums; which say something new each time around.

How do you keep your working relationship fresh? How does your creative process work?

Hector: With so many years of friendship and working together, everything works very fluidly, with much respect and mutual admiration.

The songs are a true collaboration between the two of us. Andrea records her guitar parts and vocals and I arrange those sounds into a more general sonic concept that fits the entire album. From there, we adjust little details and make finalizations.

Andrea Echeverri: We have had quite a musical career, which has evolved over the years through our own identity search and experimentation, finding our own sound. I do some things, like writing the songs and Hector does the other things, such as producing and imagining the musical vision for the song. We really complement each other musically in a way that works. And more important than anything, we have love and respect for each other.

Was it a good idea to take a break and record separate solo albums back in 2005?

Hector: It was a very good exercise. It stemmed from Andrea's creative explosion during the time she was pregnant with Milagros. An album needed to be recorded to release all that material and those emotions. From there, it created a space where I could also explore other forms of composing and producing. In our new album Rio, you can really feel all the after-effects of those solo albums.

Andrea, what was it like collaborating with your daughter on this album?

Andrea: The song "Ataque de Risa" is part of a children's album my husband and I have been working on for years, and we thought it would be lovely to include it on Rio. My daughter Milagros had already heard it since it was first written. She had sung it for the children's album, so it came natural and easy. We recorded it in Hector's studio at his house and she slowly gained the confidence to sing on the track.

Do you feel like a rock and roll mom?

Andrea: [laughs] I hope not! That sounds terrible! I don't think I'm that much of a narcissist.

You just delivered your second child a week before the release of the new album. Was it difficult recording an album while you were pregnant?

Andrea: Not really. It was different compared to the birth of my first daughter, where I was just discovering motherhood and drunk with cosmic love. This baby was born in a more political time. During my pregnancy, we recorded the new album, including a song about displacement which is called "Errante Diamante" based on an event called "Destierro y Reparacion" conducted by the Museum of Antioquia. We also worked on a new re-worked version of "Cancion Protesta" for Amnesty International. It is a version more focused on human rights with the participation of many artists from across the world.

Has motherhood opened new creative doors for you?

Andrea: Until now I am beginning to write about things that have to do directly with motherhood, but I think that the fact of having a child makes you more sensitive to the level of awareness in general - whether it is political, social, environmental, etc.

This album seems to be a bit more explicitly political than past Aterciopelados albums, was this a conscious decision?

Hector: Yes, our albums have always been political, some in a greater degree than others. But this time we are more politically active with alot of local campaigns here in Colombia. Us being more political is a reflection of the changes that are taking place, not just environmental but also political and social. We feel it is time for everyone to participate and thus help make these changes happen.

Andrea: There has definitely always been political influence in all our albums but maybe this time it is more evident. What is happening in this world is just getting worse and we have to take action!

Can you talk a little more about Destierro y Reparacion and your involvement with it?

Hector: "Diestierro y Reparacion" (http://www.destierroyreparacion.org/) is a project organized by the Museum of Antioquia in Medellin, which strives to create awareness about the problems of displacement caused by armed conflict in Colombia. We created a song for the campaign called "Wandering Diamond" and it is accompanied by a video with images of the situation, made possible by "Bastardilla" (http://dounsound.com/errante-diamante/ ). The intention was to also reflect and remember what has happened, to achieve some sort of integral reparation. Today, we are only becoming aware of the quantity of the displaced and killed due to this tragedy caused by paramilitaries and guerrillas

"Bandera" is another very political song about immigration...

Hector:... It's a very sensitive topic, and we as Colombians have experienced its complexities. We believe that this problem must be addressed by compassion and understanding and not by closing the borders.

The album's title track is about the Bogotá River. Can you explain the situation behind this song?

Hector: Yes, we actually have already promoted awareness for environmental issues related to water, oceans and rivers in the past. For example, with our album Caribe Atomico back in 1998. We feel that we should start to take action locally and because of that we wrote this song that talks about the river that runs throughout our city, the Bogotá River.

Sadly, it is one of the most contaminated rivers in the entire continent, and thus we are trying to create awareness across Bogotá about this major problem and work towards the river's recovery. We have been supporting various organizations that work with the water and the river, including a referendum for water in Colombia, which seeks to amend the country's constitution to effectively protect this resource [more information at www.ecofondo.org]. We have also traveled down the Bogotá River to understand the situation further.

You have some special guests on 'Rio' including Gloria "Goyo" Martinez and Kapary Walka. Can you tell us something about them? Are you now in a position where you can present artists you like to your fans?

Hector: Goyo is a rapper from a group in Choc Quib Town, which is very popular right now in Colombia. She sings on the track "28". The Kapary Walka guys are an Andean musical group who contribute wind instruments, vocals, and charango for Rio. These are just two of the many talented musical groups that are performing across Bogotá and we would love for them to have a larger audience.

What are you listening to these days? Any new artists from Bogotá that we should know about?

Hector: We have a very wide and varied music scene right now in Bogotá. Other indie and alternative groups that we find interesting include: LA Revuelta, Curupira, Asdrubal, La Planta, Comadre Arana, Velandia y La Tigra. We are also listening a lot to traditional music by an artist named Jorge Velosa.

Andrea: I'm listening to a little bit of everything—Jack Johnson, Luzmila Carpio, Erick Satie, Jorge Drexler, African music. It always depends if I want to wake up the baby or not. [laughs]

Can you tell me one thing that you would like the rest of the world to know about Bogotá?

Hector: That is it a vibrant city with many cultural happenings but also many major urban problems. We are close to 10 million residents! That puts a lot of pressure on the infrastructure. But it's still a place with many musical options, museums, outdoor events, etc... I think some people think that Colombia is all drugs and violence, because that's what they see on TV, but we are so much more than that, too.