Chicha, which combined electric guitars and keyboards with clip-cloppy rhythms borrowed in part from Colombian cumbia, was Peru's rock/funk/indigenous hybrid. The percussion and vocals were distinctly Latin but the guitars and keys were equal parts, surf rock, Western movie soundtrack, mock exotic camp and experimental fun. Peru's upper class reviled chicha (named for a type of corn liquor) while the working folks embraced it.

Last years' compilation The Roots of Chicha: Psychedelic Cumbias from Peru  (also on Barbes Records) was a revelation to those of us who never knew this stuff existed, and delightfully so. The spirited sounds of chicha bands previously popular only within Peruvian borders of decades past were now available for Latin rare groove enthusiasts far and wide.

Chicha Libre isn't one of those original outfits- they're a here-and-now band from Brooklyn led by a gent named Oliver Conan who owns a club called Barbes, started the Barbes record label and went to great lengths to compile that Roots of Chicha CD. He and his mates in Chicha Libre faithfully reproduce the classic chicha sound on ¡Sonido Amazónico! without being slaves to it. They channel the music of classical composers like Ravel, adapt the familiar instrumental hit "Popcorn," work in a French chanson feel on "Indian Summer" and weave subtle acoustic strains via the use of the ukulele-like Venezuelan cuatro.

So while this is chicha fusion to some degree, it still has the feel of something long lost, mysterious and decidedly out there. The jerky Latin rhythms, crinkly guitars, tart keyboards and easygoing vocals are irresistible throughout, making Sonido Amazonico! a terrific combination of old and new.

-- by Tom Orr