The Roots Of Chicha Vol. 2

In the late 1960s, a number of Peruvian guitarists from
Lima and the Amazon created a new electric hybrid that
mixed cumbia with surf, Cuban guaracha, rock, Peruvian
folklore, and psychedelic touches. This new wave of
Peruvian cumbia came to be known as chicha. Scorned
by the middle-class and the official tastemakers, chicha
remained mostly associated with the slums of Lima, where
the ever-growing population of Andean migrants embraced
the music. Three years ago Barbès released the first
volume of The Roots of Chicha, which created converts
worldwide from Franz Ferdinand and Elijah Wood to
the New York Times, NPR, Pitchfork, The BBC, and El
Comercio. The second volume in the series showcases
11 more bands, with 16 tracks recorded between 1968
and 1981. This album is not exactly a sequel; it s more
an attempt to rectify some of the biases and inaccuracies
of the first volume by incorporating some lesser-known
bands. This is cumbia at its best music at once familiar
and exotic, rooted in the changing sounds fostered by the
worldwide musical revolution that took place in the late
60s but still remaining oddly timeless.