Continuing to shed light on the popular and contemporary musical landscape of the long and geographical diverse country of Chile, we share the newest sounds coming out of the southern tip of Latin America. As summer is saying... Read Article
“Cumbia, rock, salsa,” the man calls out in a raspy voice. He repeats the sentence every few seconds, with the same melodic cadence, to no one in particular. He’s leaning against a wall, faded red cap on his... Read Article
At first listen, it is so striking that it seems like a debut. Tigres en Fuga sounds fresh, vigorous and resonant, spreading incessant and pulsating rhythms for the entirety of the album’s 40 minutes. But then, when you... Read Article
From cumbia’s modest beginnings in Colombia, its influence has now stretched across the majority of South America. The sound of “Digital Cumbia” is a relatively new beast, with the primary sites of production now being Lima, Peru and... Read Article
It’s a sunny afternoon, which is rather rare for Lima in the winter, as I arrive at the APDAYC premises to interview Jorge Rodriguez Granda (pictured above (left) with Alberto Maravi (right), Los Mirlos’ producer and Infopesa CEO),... Read Article
It’s funny how life works. I recently attended a Los Mirlos concert a couple of weeks ago in Lima. At that time I had no idea I would be reviewing the newly launched Cumbia Amazónica album, which compiles... Read Article
Following in the footsteps of the Peruvian chicha revival, Massachusetts based Masstrópicas have dusted off the master tapes and re-released one of the genre’s previously overlooked classics, Grupo 2000‘s El Destape. First released in 1974, the band’s début... Read Article
It seems like a while since we last featured chicha on the site, which is why we thought we’d bring you this little mix of tracks off The Roots of Chicha releases for this week’s mix.
Captain Planet has recently dropped some real quality, his Ningané EP, a 5-track release featuring the vocals of Congolese singer Fredy Massamba on the title track, as well as the salsa-fuelled stomp “Dame Agua” which you can listen... Read Article
Some classic Peruvian cumbia from Los Mirlos, complete with classic escape-themed video:
Chicha, a unique form of cumbia from Peru has had something of a renaissance since Olivier Conan released his already-legendary compilation The Roots of Chicha in 2007. That compilation largely showed the Amazonian side of cumbia, featuring bands... Read Article
Olivier Conan’s The Roots of Chicha compilations have single-handedly created a chicha craze both internationally and within Peru itself. The music featured on these compilations, known as chicha, Peruvian cumbia or pyschedelic cumbia, was born in Peru in... Read Article
