Various Artists: Cumbia Beat Vol 1 (Vampi Soul/Southbound)

 |   |  <1 min read

Los Sander's de Nana: El Tramboyito (1972)
Various Artists: Cumbia Beat Vol 1 (Vampi Soul/Southbound)

This double-disc -- with fat multilingual booklet and period photos of bands and chintzy album covers -- pulls together 25 intrumental tracks from the Sixties and Seventies by Peruvian guitar pop bands who bring traditional percussion backbeats to their slightlydelic pop and proto-rock.

There is cool guitar jangle and sharp playing (think Telstar with funky congas) and you'll perhaps want to hear more by Los Beta-5, the slinky sound of Los Diablos Rojos and Los Mirlos.

This music emerged in the mid Sixties (the collection covers '66 - '76) with the migration of rural people to Lima, bringing with them traditional rhythms and tuning it in to what was happening in the outside world. So you get Los Ecos covering Lennon-McCartney's I Don't Want to Spoil the Party (Aqui en la Fiesta) and plenty of influence from the Shadows and the Ventures -- less so Santana and Hendrix.

This is tightly constructed music which unrolls itself over various Latin style (mambo, son, merengue etc) and in places doesn't sound too dissimilar to West African juju and palm wine sounds.

Thoroughly enjoyable tremolo guitar-pop. 

Share It

Your Comments

Jim - Oct 6, 2010

top notch as ever graham. those seeking a bit more chicha (which is the Peruvian guitar pop you speak of) in their life would do well to check out The Roots Of Chicha on Barbes (and some of their other releases are excellent too), and it's successor is also out anyday now and is also utterly scorchio.
There's more but I will resist boring you,
all the vest (and pants.)

post a comment

More from this section   World Music from Elsewhere articles index

WOMAD NEW ZEALAND 2013: When the world comes to town

WOMAD NEW ZEALAND 2013: When the world comes to town

Time for all good citizens of the global village to get their passports stamped at yet another Womad New Zealand, once more in the beautiful site at Taranaki, New Zealand. Over three days in... > Read more

Tri Nguyen: The Art of the Japanese Zither (ARC Music)

Tri Nguyen: The Art of the Japanese Zither (ARC Music)

As with the Korean gayageum, the 16-string Vietnamese zither (dan tranh, pronounced “dan chang”) is fiendishly difficult to play but offers gloriously, light and evocative charms in the... > Read more

Elsewhere at Elsewhere

Downliners Sect: The Sect (1964)

Downliners Sect: The Sect (1964)

Some people live interesting lives . . . but when it comes time to check out their timing is appalling: the author Aldous Huxley (Brave New World, The Doors of Perception) died the same day John F... > Read more

Sheryl Crow: I'm with the band

Sheryl Crow: I'm with the band

For many years in the States doors would open for me when I said, "Hi, I'm Chris. I'm with the band". Apparently I look like a "Chris" and with long hair I guess it seemed... > Read more