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The Roots Of Chicha - Psychedelic Cumbias From Peru [Vinyl LP]
Regular price
$25.00
Chicha started out in the late 60's, in the oil-boom cities of the Peruvian Amazon. Cumbias Amazonicas, as they were first known, were loosely inspired by Colombian cumbias but incorporated the distinctive pentatonic scales of Andean melodies, some Cuban guajiras, and the psychedelic sounds of surf guitars, wah-wah pedals, farfisa organs and moog synthesizers.
Chicha, which is named after a corn-based liquor favored by the Incas, quickly spread to Lima. It became the music of choice of the mostly indigenous new migrant population &; mixing even further with rock, Andean folklore and Peruvian creole music.
Very much like Jamaican Ska or Congolese Soukous, Chicha is western-influenced indigenous music geared toward the new urban masses who wholly identified with the new hybrid . Chicha is at once raw and sophisticated - and until now, it had never been released outside of Peru.
Peru is host to an astonishing variety of musical traditions that have managed to evolve concurrently. More astonishing, Peruvians as a whole seem to have embraced these traditions regardless of their class, regional or ethnic backgrounds. Everyone lays claim to Criollo music, which has deep roots in Spain; Lima’s main concert halls showcase Afro-Peruvian music; and indigenous traditions, which are still evolving, are considered a national treasure. Watch any party band in Peru, and chances are they will go from Vals Criollo to a Festejo and a Huayno, drawing on all the national traditions and mixing them up with Salsa, Cumbia, and Merengue. Depending on the setting, they might also play Chicha.