Various Artists
Perú Selvático – Sonic Expedition into the Peruvian Amazon 1972-1986
Analog Africa
16 December 2022
The Peruvian Amazon rainforest might seem an unlikely locale for the creation of some of the most exciting electric music of the 1970s and 80s, but for their latest release, Perú Selvático – Sonic Expedition into the Peruvian Amazon 1972-1986, the Analog Africa label has once again confounded any preconceived ideas with an album of Amazonian cumbia, which exudes a psychedelia infused with a hybrid of Columbian, Cuban and Ecuadorian dance music and Southern California surf rock.
During the 1960s, the inhabitants of isolated Peruvian selvático (jungle), cities such as Tarapoto, Moyobamba, Pucallpa, and even Iquitos, a city accessible only by boat or plane, thralled to Cuban rhythms which they adapted into a local hybrid genre known as música tropical. With transistor radios picking up cumbia rhythms from Columbia, a new style of music evolved, inspired by both the Amazon and Ucayali rivers and surrounding forests, which incorporated these sounds, along with music criolla and cumbion. The arrival of electricity saw younger musicians eschewing instruments such as the accordion in favour of electric guitars, organs and synthesisers; Cumbia Amazónica was born.
Despite being less than 100 miles inland from the capital, Lima’s radio stations remained blissfully unaware of the unique music style being created. Nevertheless, one or two intrepid record producers ventured inland, namely Alberto Maraví with his Infopesa label, who made the sound popular throughout the country. For this release, however, Analog Africa owner Samy Ben Redjeb has trawled the vaults of two other labels, Discos Universal and Discos Volcán, to bring us music hitherto unheard outside of the Amazon region.
All 18 tracks on this compilation are fundamentally instrumentals, as was the case with most Amazonian cumbia offerings. With ”spidery, treble-damaged guitar lines, and drenched with bright splashes of organ”, the underlying, or more precisely, often-to-the-fore, percussion rhythms are celebratory. Driven by timbales, or pailas, tuned to a higher pitch than normal tom-toms, and usually struck with wooden sticks, high tempo cascara stroke patterns, commonly abanico and baqueteo, are often accompanied by cow-bells or cymbals, creating often frenetically delivered walls of percussive sound.
The opening track on the collection Descarga Royal from Los Royal’s de Pucallpa immediately sets the tone for the rest of the album. The lead guitar of the song’s composer, Jorge Reyes Solsol Miranda, swirls with gloopy wah-wah effects before he changes tone to deliver a deliciously fuzzy solo over the exhilarating percussion.
In 1973, a schoolteacher from Rioja formed a group which included lead guitarist Leonardo Vela Rodriguez, who quickly established himself as the group’s primary composer. Naming themselves Genesis, they were invited to Lima to record an album. Released in 1975, the LP Te Lo Pido…Por Dios was, for possibly obvious reasons, eventually credited to Grupo Siglo XX de Rioja. Two hits from this LP appear here. On the first of these, Moyobambina, chunky Latin beats underly an electric guitar which picks out an irresistible melody, with once again wah-wah effects awash with additional organ, keys and percussion. The second, El Pasito De Miriam, celebrating the walk of an Amazonian beauty, has much more of a Cuban feel.
Despite contributing to the success of two LPs, Leonardo decided to return home to Moyobamba, city of the orchids, to concentrate on his new band Sonido Verde de Moyobamba. His undoubted talent bore fruit, with several successful LP releases for this latter group, from which two fine tracks have been selected here. The first, La Cervecita, features Leonardo’s wild, high-pitched guitar solo and shouted vocalisations, presumably extolling the virtues of “the little beer”, whilst the relentless high tempo of Recordando A Aguaytia, from their fifth album, is built around keys, a chugging percussive rhythm and lead bass lines.
Los Invasores De Progreso, as the name suggests, were from Nuevo Progreso. Formed and led by guitarist Ernesto Diestro Herrera, better known as Shanty, their early releases were on Discos Volcán. Their Humo En La Selva is an intriguing track, not least for incorporating so many different guitar sounds and styles on one track. The initial organ notes give way to Shadows-like guitar and shouted vocalisations before more scuzzy, fuzzy guitar effects, which bring to mind the late, great Viv Stanshall’s “two slightly distorted guitars” line on Tubular Bells. In contrast, La Bola Buche, with its high-tuned and pitched guitar, gives off a vibe that, at times, could almost be a spaghetti western soundtrack. However, the insistent percussion and cow-bell again feature prominently, root the song firmly within the cumbia domain.
Raúl Llerena Vásquez, from Iquitos, is undoubtedly one of the foremost legends within Amazonian cumbia. Known professionally as Ranil, he was a singer, songwriter, producer and later label boss. Initially, he was a teacher working in an isolated Amazonian village; after nearly ten years, he returned to Iquitos, establishing himself and his band, Ranil y Su Conjunto Tropical, eventually gaining cult status amongst followers of South American music. He is represented here by two tracks, the almost reggae-like dub phrasing and lightning speed of the guitar picking of Bailando En El Infinito and the shimmering guitar notes and tonal changes of Baila Bonito, paying testament to his legacy.
Fresa Juvenil from the city of Tarapoto, who released their music on Discos Universal, was a group founded at the tender age of 16 by Dalmace Rios Ruiz, also known as the “Boss of the Jungle”. The two fascinating tracks from them show the diversity of sounds apparent on this album. Cumbion Universal is another up-tempo number featuring a pumping bass, jangly surf guitar, and lyrics of sorts together with keyboards/synths that create an effect akin to bagpipes. La Palmerita, the song on the collection closest to having true vocals, has Ecuadorian pan-pipe sounding keys over a chugging reggae-like beat, the lack of a discernable lead guitar solo contrasting with many of the album’s other contributions.
Of equal intrigue is the track from Los Ranger’s De Tingo Maria, La Trochita. The woozy sounds from the dual guitars, together with layered synthesisers and keyboards, make for a weirdly catchy psychedelic experience.
Iquitos group, Los Cisnes (the Swans), were formed at the beginning of the 1970s, and their album Maldi…ta Boa, provides three tracks for this compilation. La Hamaca, a tribute to the jungle hammock, with its wonderful guitar-picked melody and joyful shouts, Safari En La Selva, Jungle Safari, is not a thing in Perú obviously, but to continue the geographical mislocation thread, it is an enthralling instrumental with both wah-wah and more scuzzy lead guitar bringing to mind Osibisa or Boombaya, a superb track indeed, and Rio Mar, an ode to the mighty River Amazon which opens with an almost Spanish sounding guitar before unmistakably South American rhythms and phrasing kick in rounds off this trio of delights.
The three tracks provided by Los Zheros, founded by José Lorenzo Alván Bardales, also initially a teacher and known to everyone as Chocho, also come from one album, their 1975 release Tu Cuñado Quiero Ser. Selva Virgen is another high-speed, energetic guitar-led song, as is the Alibaba. The final track on the album, La Uñita, reveals a slower tempo with its tasteful guitar-led melody, ensuring that the album finishes on a high note with the multi-layered percussion still ringing joyfully in the ears long after the music has ended. Once again, Analog Africa are to be congratulated on sourcing and making available another treasure trove of musical gems. Perú Selvático – Sonic Expedition into the Peruvian Amazon 1972-1986 brightens up the darkest of winter days and is highly recommended.