La Banda Chuska are re-imagining the vintage sounds of Peru through the lens of their New York home, via diverse backgrounds, taking inspiration from the twangy surf music of 1960s Peru (Los Belkings, Los Siderals) as well as... Read Article
Swedish multi instrumentalist and music producer Daniel Fridell has been fooling around with cumbia for a long time now, debuting his Cumbiasound moniker on the Calzones Largos EP, released by the Caballito Netlabel in August 2012. That album... Read Article
I’m No Longer Here (Ya No Estoy Aquí) is a remarkable new film by Mexican Director Fernando Frías de la Parra. Released on Netflix in May 2020, it has made an impressive debut at international film festivals across... Read Article
Last year we introduced S&C readers to the unlikely occurrence of Japanese cumbia. Unlikely perhaps, but certainly not entirely new: “we’re not the first ones [to mix Japanese minyo with cumbia], it has a history. It [was] a... Read Article
With roots in neo soul and hip-hop, KA EFE are adding a pinch of global spice to their latest version of “Bailalo”, mixing dembow beats and gypsy notes to lead vocalist Karin Hofmann’s already provocative flow. Hofmann, who’s... Read Article
On her new single, the third taken from her new album Suelta, Argentine cumbia chanteuse La Yegros demands that women get the respect they deserve. “Tenemos Voz” (“We Have A Voice”) she sings on the track, with the added... Read Article
Oye Manita is a glance at post-colonial musical resistance courtesy of Colombia’s legendary singer Totó La Momposina. Her voice is the leading instrument, the brush on Oye Manita‘s canvas; its hearty colors are the instruments that follow, providing light... Read Article
Back in 1972, Juan Wong Popilizio and his friend Noe Fachín signed to the Peruvian record label Infopesa to release their first full-length, an album called El Gran Cacique, which was also the nickname of their bandleader. Little... Read Article
After something of mini-hiatus in the build-up to this year, 2018 has been quite something for Colombian trailblazers Frente Cumbiero. A Japanese tour incorporating Fuji Rock Festival, a fistful of Mexican dates through August and September, an extended... Read Article
Is it just us or has this past summer been a busy one for Totó La Momposina? Let’s be straight, she’s not a performer to sit still, regularly performing around the world, but in terms of new releases,... Read Article
¿Qiensave? are a cumbia group from central California, with roots stretching back to Michoacán, Mexico. In an explosion of catchy sound, ¿Qiensave? pepper their signature cumbia urbana with rocking riffs, reggae beats and ska and gypsy energy – the... Read Article
The business of alerting you to music we’re really digging continues: COLOMBIA: Plu Con Pla ‘No Más Velorio’ Tumaco, Colombia’s Plu Con Pla fuses traditional rhythms from the Pacific coast of Colombia such as Currulao and Bunde, with... Read Article
