Various Artists: The Roots of Chicha: Psychedelic Cumbias From Peru [Barbes Records]
Just seeing the phrase "Psychedelic Cumbias from Peru" was enough to make me anticipate this compilation, and it did not let me down. It kicks off with an instrumental called "Sonido Amazonico" ("Amazon Sound"), a funky, dark, sweaty tune that psychedelicizes a surf guitar lead and generates a burning, humid atmosphere. Most of these tracks use the Colombian cumbia form as a loose basis, but this music-- hailing mostly from deep inland Peru-- is its own thing, mixing elements from all over the Americas and Africa. Lots of fiddles and hand percussion balance out the electric elements, and everything grooves. The genre tag "Chicha" comes from a word that refers to fermented beverages-- appropriately, the word's etymology is native, as is the vast majority of the population of Andean and Amazonian Peru. Anyone who digs other South American funk and rock forms, or even 60s and 70s West African pop, funk and rock, is likely to find something to love here.