A mixtape can be many things, but one thing is for sure, a mixtape is more than just random songs put in a particular order. It’s about recontextualizing sounds, giving them a new meaning (sometimes very different from the original) by setting them side by side, or juxtapozed in ingenious ways with others. Best thing about mixtapes, most of them are FREE (!), and they’re a great way to discover new music. In this new column, Juan Data gives you a worthy one every week.
MIXTAPE: Cuando Yo Bailo Tiembla La Tierra
DJ: Lagartijeando
You might be familiar with Argentine producer Lagartijeando because of his affiliation with the Zizek nü-cumbia collective. Earlier this year he dropped a remarkable EP on the ZZK label where he pushes the cumbia boundaries through experimentation with other genres, including some andean folk and some other pre-Colombian sounds.
Now, thanks to this new mixtape, we know that’s exactly Mr. Lagartijeando’s area of expertise. On Cuando Yo Bailo Tiembla La Tierra he takes us on a 25-minute adventure into the unknown, the uncharted vast territories of native South American folklore. Something you don’t hear everyday on a DJ set.
It’s not a dance-oriented mix, and the blends don’t necessarily beat match, but I don’t think that was his point. He’s more focused on creating a cohesive sonic landscape while introducing the listeners to music that might be new to them, since it doesn’t have any sort of pop appeal and it hasn’t been “discovered” by first-world record diggers and remixers, yet.
Throughout the first half of the set he’s very respectful to the original versions and later he starts screwing with them a bit: looping, remixing, and even adding some rap on top. Follow Lagartijeando’s advice, chew up some coca leaves (no, that’s not the same as cocaine), close your eyes and let him take you on a llama ride through the Atacama desert.
Download Lagartijeando’s Cuando Yo Bailo Tiembla la Tierra for a sweet educational alternative to Latin American studies.