2015 seems to be the year of Perú and not just because of the strong string of deep ñu-cumbia we’ve grown accustomed to. However,Qapac, the outrageously young global bass prospect, is much more focused on Peru’s wisdom than your dance moves at the club. In his own words: “Qapac is an ancestral path. Futuristic sounds from the past.”
Direct from Chile’s Sello Regional, 20-year-old Roberto Vega explores Andean sounds and Peruvian cultural identity by redefining them through electronic possibilities, without forgetting the original analog instruments that shaped them. Lo-fi software experiments, a lot of sampling, vintage synths, and electronic instruments give the project a nostalgia for elderly technology executed with the virtuosity of a new era’s child.
Armed with his pocket recorder to capture Peruvian analog with teenage curiosity, Qapac’s proposal is a mix of urban and folkloric sounds. In his first release, an elegant and intelligent 10-track album, he comes through with a mixture of cultures and times. Whether it’s “Viajecito”‘s spiritual trippiness, the space criollo of “Chongá,” or “Tiempo”‘s Amazonic chillout, Qapac’s response to his roots attempts to document the legacy of Peruvian music.