I bet you never thought you’d be taking a tour through Berlin to the rhythm of Colombian cumbia. Yeah, it’s like those two things don’t belong together in the same sentence. But that’s the globalized world we live in today and there’s cumbia coming out of pretty much every corner, including the German capital.
“Merecumbé” is the new single by Berlin’s Checkpoint Guanabana, to be included in their new album, aptly titled Colombia Meets Berlin, dropping in early 2015. Merecumbé is also an original Afro-Colombian hybrid from the ’50s, mixing cumbia and merengue, that came to represent the mix of influences and backgrounds that gave birth to the style they define as Afro-Tech-Funk.
There are evidently some similarities with other contemporary Colombian artists like early Bomba Estéreo and Palenke Soultribe, but the Berlin-based quintet (founded by two Colombian expats) definitely imprint its own funky flavor into the mix. The extreme contrast between the tropical vibes and the Deutsche backdrop takes care the rest.