And you thought the international interest for Peruvian music archeology would eventually fade away. In 2007, NY-based Barbès Records released the now-classic Roots Of Chicha compilation and unleashed global chicha fever, exposing the rest of the world to a peculiar musical style that had rarely, if ever, been heard outside of Peru. Years passed and many other record labels in the Northern Hemisphere went down to the Inca’s lands in vinyl digging expeditions, looking for obscure, vintage recordings of that particular era—between the ’60s and ’70s—when cumbia got mixed with other tropical rhythms and surf-rock fuzzy guitars to create a musical style that was unique to that area.
Fast forward a few more years and there you have it, a new UK-based record label, Tiger’s Milk, is about to drop Peru Maravilloso, an encompassing collection of that golden era of Peruvian music that goes way beyond the genre’s standards to dig out forgotten golden gems and introduce them to a whole new audience. None of these tracks have ever been released outside of Peru and even in Peru they’re hard to find because most of them have never been re-released in digital formats.
Peru Maravilloso will drop internationally on November 12th and will be available in all formats, including a deluxe double-LP vinyl and CD with a fold-out poster. This will be a collector’s item, so make sure you pre-order yours.