VA - Peru Maravilloso: Vintage Latin, Tropical & Cumbia (2013)

Tiger’s Milk Records presents 'Peru Maravilloso', the result of many year obsessively collecting Peruvian music: it’s in their blood. With a focus on 60s and 70s Latin and tropical music, this debut album features a selection of vintage cuts and unknown treasures from one of Peru’s most exciting musical periods. The vast majority of these songs were only ever pressed once on vinyl and have remained unreleased since. Whilst recognising the music of cumbia, guaracha and the electric sound of chicha, 'Peru Maravilloso' owes as much to soul-jazz, Latin-jazz, rock and psychedelia as it does to the traditional styles of Andean, Peruvian criollo and Latin music that dominated the cultural backdrop of Peru during this era.

It was the dogged work of labels like Iempsa, Sono Radio, FTA and Infopesa who tirelessly promoted and produced the bands and tracks featured on this compilation. Much of these labels’ output had some degree of Western influence as they recognised the tastes of Peruvians who were in tune with Jimi Hendrix and The Beatles, artists who wrote songs in which the electric guitar was fundamental to their sound. Many of the bandleaders of Peruvian groups were guitarists so their Latin compositions often took on a psychedelic twist, often with simple, hypnotic rhythms and repetitive basslines but always stamped with a unique mix of Peruvian, Andean, Spanish and African influence.

This record does not attempt to showcase a singular strand or genre. It’s beauty lies in its raw diversity. Nor does it offer a window into the Peruvian rock or garage scene that was also present in the same period although there are certain clues in tracks like the horn laden reinterpretation of ‘Meshkalina’, originally written by one of Peru’s most respected rock bands Traffic Sound, and the electrified groove of ‘El Chacarero’ by Los Gatos Blancos. It’s clear that there was not only mutual appreciation of different styles by Latin and rock composers but a healthy desire to combine ideas and experiment. As such, 'Peru Maravilloso' offers a first-of-a-kind snapshot of Peru in a bygone era, highlighting its many Latin expressions and identities, a country with a remarkable musical history, which never ceases to surprise.