I don’t think there’s been a thread on Colombian music until now. There have been references to Quantic, who spent 7 years in the country, and I’ve really enjoyed those tracks of his I’ve heard. But a few weeks ago, I started using one song on my cheap mobile as a way into random play – SIn Oficio by Systema Solar. At first, I just thought it was, you know, Latin. But the more I heard it, and absorbed the sounds, the more impressed I got. Snatches of street scenes, traditional folk and modern beats and record scratching – the sort of magpie musical pleasure I have got in the past from Manu Chao, Alabama 3, and other genre-crossing acts.
Then I watched the video, and then others by the same band – a Colombian collective that freely mixes hip-hop, rap, and techno with Cumbia, Afro-Caribbean, champeta, bullerengue (apparently). Knowing nothing of any of these latter genres, I wikied Colombian music – over 100 separate genres of music. Who knew?
More to the point, are there other Colombian musicians like Systema Solar? Well, yes and no – a few late nights researching and I came up with Chocquibtown (closest), Bomba Estereo, Frente Cumbiero, Monsieur Periné, Boom Full Meke, Palenke Soultribe, Sidestepper – among many others mixing trad Colombian genres with modern instrumentation and styles.
Would you like to post of your experience/knowledge/joy of Colombian music? I might post some of my other favourite discoveries if there is interest. I’d have been happy just to have discovered Systema Solar – who seem to have their hearts in the right places and make happy, vigorous dance music – but there is so much more than I could ever have thought. Is there another country with such rich and varied traditions?
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/46/Horizonte_2013_1638.JPG/440px-Horizonte_2013_1638.JPG
Surely a hamper or possibly a hamperette for @salwarpe for the longest filed under.
I have the tiniest feeling someone is teasing when they put ‘Mode Up/Mud Up’ as a genre.
I was wrong – it’s not ‘made up’, it’s Colombian dancehall.
Something to start with: Chocquibtown
Slight change of pace: La Perla
These girls are outstandingly great.
So glad you like them. Harmonies and rhythm – amazing. Here they are again in combination with Tambor Hembra
(who are worth checking out in their own right):
I love the whiney tones in this (might put others off): Bomba Estéreo
I like Mitu and I was at this gig: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKXSKPfPdrI
And I like Acido Pantera, who I didn’t see as they clashed with Lauryn Hill: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hCX8nca9Tds
Thanks! I think I prefer the acid panther guys – a bit more instantly dynamic than the Mitu. This of theirs is bit more immediately approachable:
Weird video and panther? Gives me an excuse to post another Systema Solar video:
This is the only Columbian music I have.
https://soundwayrecords.bandcamp.com/album/cartagena-curro-fuentes-the-big-band-cumbia-and-descarga-sound-of-colombia-1962-72
Will seek out more from your tip offs.
Do post the ones you like here. I really feel I’m only tracing the outlines of a rich and densely contoured map.
Curro Fuentes is old school, isn’t it? The sort of music that Quantic traverses from to modern sounds so expertly.. I do like the space in the song – beautiful – the sort of thing I can imagine chilling to over brunch in the Hebden Bridge Trades Club of a Sunday.
These two albums have been huge favourites of mine since I came across them in the early 90s. So much so that I’ve never felt the need to explore further. I will now. They have a massively good effect on toddlers into the bargain, I’ve found.
I will enjoy playing this, as much as Hubes’ kind offering. The first song is instantly recognizable – it’s from that coffee ad, isn’t it? Still, it can’t be ruined by that. It’s perfectly balanced and wonderful.
Same Mike. Love those compilations. I’m a roots man and never explored more contemporaneous sounds.
Not a strong presence down here, mainly restricted to what is brewed or snorted.
I know next to nothing about Colombian music (so interested to read this thread) but I saw Toto La Momposima at Womad back in the 90s and she was utterly joyous
She came up on a Systema Solar Spotify playlist this afternoon, and I agree, she’s got such a rich, powerful, sustained voice, it’s a real pleasure to listen to her use her instrument. A practitioner of Bullerengue, which I think is from the same region and musical family as Cumbia (the big Colombian genre), but traditionally sung by women with the tambor drum (like La Perla and Tambor Hembra up thread). I wouldn’t worry about your ignorance – a couple of days ago I knew even less than I know now. It’s a steep learning curve, but the views are amazing.
Here’s another great Bullerengue singer, Petrona Martinez:
And, of course, there is The She-Wolf herself. Saw her at MEN Arena a few years back and it was an entirely enjoyable evening
She is a pleasantly eccentric pop star…
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2009/oct/15/shakira-interview
The Colombian population in the U.K. is by far the biggest of all the Latin American communities. I lived in London in the 80s and 90s and regularly went to see Latin bands. Of the Colombian bands most were Salsa, but there was the odd Cumbia band. I have lost touch a bit with Latin music in the last few years.
The best Colombian salsa bands I’ve seen recently are La 33. Great version of Theme From Pink Panther here:
The other is La Mambanegra
Thanks, @Alias – I thought you might be a source of Colombian music. I knew salsa would come up – frankly the salsa rhythm brings me out in hives, but I did like the brass of the LA33 track. Maybe you could be the custodian of the salsa section of the thread? Let there be loads of salsa – I will just withhold my comments.
I googled the UK Colombian population – an interesting observation I had never heard before. Seems they are the second biggest Latin American contingent in the UK, after Brazilians.
Maybe you have to see live salsa to get it. Preferably with lots of dancing Latinos! Mango, an offshoot of Island Records released a few Colombian salsa albums in the late 80s / early 90s, unsuccessfully aimed at the Colombian community. They were unaware that cassettes suited them fine.
Joe Arroyo was a big star. This one is from a World Circuit compilation of the same name.
Rebellion
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oWBf9hfW_4Y
When I lived in London around the turn of the millennium, I went with my partner to a Salsa Club on Tottenham Court Road and tried a few lessons – 123, pause, 567 pause – I guess I’m too used to pop/rock music – the separation of rhythm and melody, the almost absence of anchoring bass, and the multiple rhythms in themselves left me feeling top-heavy and unbalanced. But I was very impressed by the dancing of those with more experience – all ages dancing together in interchanging with grace and fluidity and no body embarrassment.
Amparo Sandino’s debut Mar De Amores I know as the only Columbian on the superb Carácter Latino compilation (the others are mostly are Spanish or Mexcican).
https://www.discogs.com/Various-Car%C3%A1cter-Latino/release/1990789
With the accordion and rock beat, that sounds almost cajun.
Fans of African music should check out the Champeta style (one of your many tags).
This one could be from Lagos, but is also Colombian.
Love the first one – it reminds me of soukous – would that be right? Diblo Dibala, Kanda Bongo Man – that sort of thing.
Like that? You should investigate this album.
https://www.discogs.com/Various-Champeta-Criolla-Vol-2-Visionary-Black-Music-From-Underground-Columbiafrica-The-Real-Motherf/release/5675268
What an interesting thread!! Nice work, Sal.
Sidestepper are British and have been dabbling enjoyably with Latin rhythms for a while now.
Well, Richard Blair is British, but I think the rest of the band are Colombian. A Real World engineer working on the Toto La Momposima album, he stayed in Colombia and set up the band. The nu Colombian fusion style (whatever it’s called) kind of started with Sidestepper several of the bands who started in the noughties cite Sidestepper as an influence, or have members who were in the band – Bomba Estéreo and Chocquibtown, for example.
It’s a great track, by the way – thanks!
The only Colombian music in my collection is a couple of albums by latin superstar Juanes. They’re OK, but not terribly exciting TBH.
He’s a bit like Ed Sheeran, isn’t he? Popular but rather bland. I put this song on a blog of Spanish songs I wrote about 3 years ago – very similar guitar sound, but a tricksy video makes it a bit more catchy:
Erm … has anyone mentioned Joe Arroyo yet?
No?
OK, I will, then. Joe Arroyo!
Let us groove a little with “Yamulemau”
A few interesting Colombia specials in the “Afropop Worldwide” series of podcasts, from Public Radio International in the USA. A fair bit of Colombian music crops up in their non- region-specific ‘casts too. http://feeds.feedburner.com/afropop/podcasts
A quote from a 2011 episode, “The Cumbia Diaspora: From Colombia to the World”
“Move over Salsa and Merengue – Cumbia is the most popular music in Latin America.
Today, Cumbia is played from the borderlands of Texas down the spine of the Andes to the tip of Tierra del Fuego. ..Cumbia left Colombia in the ’60s and ’70s and travelled to other countries. Everywhere it went, it transformed itself, adapting to it’s new environment. In Peru it mixed with psychedelic guitar effects and Andean sounds to become Chicha. In Argentina, it became the expression of a new generation of restless youth in the burgeoning slums of Buenos Aires. And in Mexico, it became so instilled in the local culture that some have forgotten that it came from Colombia in the first place.”
Thanks for the tip and the quote, Mike. The link didn’t work for me, but I found one that did:
https://afropop.org/audio-programs/colombia-in-nyc
And here’s the episode you quoted from 2011. Thanks again!
https://afropop.org/audio-programs/the-cumbia-diaspora-from-colombia-to-the-world
Great post.
I went through a Cumbia phase a few years back, only dipped my toe in the vastness but there’s nothing I like more than some Latin rhythms and it doesn’t get much better than this. Pretty sure it was after hearing Quantic that I first became interested and then Emusic had some good compilations – I think the Cartagena comp was one I got off Emusic along with this one
It is vast, isn’t it? But what I like about starting to explore it, is that it loses some of its exoticism, its unfamiliarity. It becomes enjoyable just as music – expanding my palette, enriching my melodic vocabulary, as indeed does your kind sharing of a playlist.
I think this is wondrously delicate and charming
That’s just gorgeous!
Puerto Candelaria look like a lot of fun – mixing Cumbia with jazz and other modern touches for a joyful, playful sound
If you are at all OCD like me, you might find this chilly electro-pop video from Medellin intriguing
This one is called Salsa Caliente, but sounds more psychedelic to me.
The Meridian Brothers
The Meridian Brothers are described as a tropical/psychedelic group. I’d come across the band in connection with Frente Cumbiero (cumbia) and Las Piranas (garage) that the singer, Eblis Alvarez, played guitar in. He seems to be a leading light in the Bogota experimental music scene.
Here’s quite a good, but old Quietus interview with him.
Frente Cumbiero, what I’ve heard from them, are really great.
One other key musician from the band, Mario Galeano, collaborated with Quantic on the Ondatropica project, which, from the dribs and drabs I have heard, should be an absolute pleasure to listen to.
On a slightly different, but similar ballpark, Huey Morgan has a good three part series on BBC4 “Huey Morgan’s Latin Music Adventure’
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000kjmr/episodes/guide
I’m beginning to explore some of the hundred genres beyond cumbia and salsa. Here’s some gaita (flute-based folk from the Caribbean coast), as dubbed up by Adrian Sherwood.
I wonder if now is Mary Bennet time?
What?? Do you want do a Mary Bennett just we are all getting really keen?
No way, Jose.
TBH, KFD, it’s all really taken off for me. I’ve discovered an online magazine that will feed my habit for endless hours. I have moved from the Caribbean to the Pacific coast via Medellin and Bogota, stopping off in LA and New York and Canada for ex-pat Colombian musicians. I have established some firm favourites, yet other musicians keep on appearing with new and varied styles and refreshing combinations. It is a truly amazing country for variety of music.
I sense the AWers who do like this sort of thing have made their contributions (much appreciated, btw), and the topic has rather run dry. I’m happy to engage with anyone who wants to post things on this thread in the future, but I don’t want to just post links for the sake of it. One-sided conversations aren’t much fun.
@salwarpe Thanks for this thread. I’ve been meaning to sample each of the clips but, y’know, life. However, it’s a wet and windy day here today so I’ll sit down with a cup of tea and a digestive biscuit in a while, just as soon as I get the soup under way.
A pleasure, DBP – let me know what you think – if there’s any you like, or don’t like for that matter.
Puerto Candlaria favourite so far.
As they say, if you like Puerto Candlaria, you might like Monsieur Periné:
Runned dried? We are busy turning the taps on.
What has been interesting about this thread is that several of us have been scurrying off to or music collections to see what we already know about and then digging deeper.
I travelled across Colombia in the early 80s and one of my memories is the slightly old-fashioned buses who had constant cumbia on the radio.
I’m posting this coffee ad classic from the 80s. Tune!
That’s on the Cumbia compilation I posted above.
It’s been updated – you know it would be
I hope you don’t draw the line at some Toto!
I saw Toto La Momposina relatively recently. To me her music is roots music with not even a single grain of sugar to sweeten it. The Colombians in the audience sang along like I imagine a Take That audience do.
This thread has got meet flicking through my old LPs. I had forgotten that the Ace Records subsidiary Globestyle was one of the first “world music” labels. Although I now hate the term “world music”, I have a lot to thank those early labels for. This from 1986 is New York based Colombian ex-pats La Sonora De Baru.
That rattles along at a fair pace, doesn’t it? I tried to find out more about them, but being from the pre-internet time, they don’t have the same coverage as bands these days. 21st century musicians, even the obscurer ones, normally have some sort of review on a blog somewhere.
All I know about them is from the sleeve notes. As I have the LP the print is big enough for me to read. “The players though resident in Colombia and active separately while there, periodically travel to New York to work and record as a group. This grouping is not rigid – on this record there are changes to personnel and instrumentation.”
It sounds like a bunch of session musicians none of whom get any credit. Good album though, I don’t know it it’s still available.
There were a few more recent NY-based Colombian acts I came across – the warm trippy rhythms and sounds of Combo Chimbita would be my favourite:
Not at all. Blueboy posted another song from this session higher up the thread, and I replied with a song from another vintage bullerengue performer – Petrona Martínez. I’ll do so again.
Rich, experienced voices, enjoyable in small doses. Personally, I prefer the younger groups – like La Perla and Tambor Hembra, who I’ve already posted clips from above.
Surprised not to see any mention of Andrea Echeverri. I am very fond of this song, which I suspect is not actually about cars at all:
Thanks, Lando! It’s all a journey of discovery for me, so I wouldn’t have heard of Andrea before last week. As I meandered through YouTube and Spotify, her band – Aterciopelados – came up a few times – massive in Colombia. Because they come across to me as more straight rock, there’s less of the rhythmic diversity to immediately catch my attention. I don’t speak Spanish*, so I’m not hooked by the words either.
I did like her rather warmer vocals in the track you play though – and this is good fun –
* Yet – I’m hoping some of it will rub off on me from repeated listening to Spanish language music.
I am curious to go back in time and explore the roots.
This list looks like a good place to start bu it is fairly modern.
https://thevinylfactory.com/features/from-the-vaults-the-20-best-colombian-records-ever-made/
What was happening in Colombia in the 60s when Brazil was conquering the world with bossa nova?
That’s a great find, KFD. I will be checking out that list as well. Disco Fuentes is the label to look for when sourcing original 60s/70s Colombian music – the equivalent of Motown, so I read.
Of course it’s a list curated by Quantic, who is remarkable – my age, and has been making and finding music constantly and determinedly since the age of 14, apparently. A Worcestershire boy like me – but from Bewdley, not, er, Salwarpe.
Loving those album covers! I’m not convinced that there is another Colombian record label. The thing to do is search Discos Fuentes on Discogs.com and order the list by year, it goes back to 1950. At a record fair I came across a 60s album on Discos Fuentes by a garage band called Los Yetis. That was an album I had to own, but wouldn’t recommend!
Worth a listen if you are into 60s garage.
Here is their version of Satisfaction.
Brazilian music reached an international audience in 1959 thanks largely to the magnificent Orfeu Negro. (Black Orpheus) which won an Oscar as best foreign language film.
So I asked myself: has any Colombian film had a similar impact?
I haven’t found anything yet but I have discovered a new term “pornomiseria”, which was bandied about a great deal in Colombia in the 70s. It refers to movies which had a high content of poverty and human misery.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinema_of_Colombia#:~:text=The%20history%20of%20Colombian%20cinema,and%20Louis%20Lumi%C3%A8re%20in%20Paris.
This guy has really done his homework..
https://www.imaginative-traveller.com/world-music-in-focus—colombia
You’ve mentioned many of these genres, Sal.
Right now I am keen to hear some porro
Rice with coconut, anyone?
Fill your boots, KFD – though it might be difficult to dance as well as these light-footed movers if you. I’m not really into big band music, but that was quite deft for what I normally find a pompous, overblown genre.
There are quite a few music travel blogs that I’ve seen in my internet trawlings – that’s one of the better mainstream ones in giving a bit of substance to the genres it covers. For contemporary music, it plays it rather safe – you’d have to go elsewhere to find lists of the modern bands that I’ve really enjoyed.
Of the genres it mentions, Currulao (and other Pacific coast sounds) are worth a listen – e.g. Herencia de Timbiquí. For me, I’d say Bambuco and Joropo were the next on my list, as well as one it doesn’t mention – Guabina.
Here are some Bambuco tracks – very guitar-focused, One instrumental, perfect for a hot summer afternoon
One vocal – Niyireth Alarcón
One group – sounds like it could be on a David Lynch soundtrack