The word mixtape has plenty of different interpretations. It used to be that mixtapes were actually DJ sets recorded on cassette tapes, but with the coming of the digital music age, the name remained the same, but the definition expanded. Nowadays, people call mixtapes many different things, some of which are not necessarily mixed and most of which were never taped. Here we try to cover them all. In this column, Juan Data gives you a worthy one every week.
DJ: Estropical
MIXTAPE: Chichaton
This is it. The next step in the moombahton evolution. As you may have already inferred by its name, chichaton is basically psychedelic Peruvian jungle cumbia from the ’70s (chicha) lined up over moombathon breaks (and moombahton is, in case you still don’t know, reggaeton riddims sped up to house tempo).There have been plenty of moombahton-plus-cumbia experiments in the last year or so (earlier this year we introduced you to Rafa Caivano’s cumbahton) but I’m pretty sure this is the first time somebody takes the latest Latin dance music craze in the Amazonian direction.
What’s curious about this mix, however, is not only the fusion of these two genres, but the fact is that the mastermind behind it is a DJ crew from Krakow, Poland. Yes, Estropical is the collective name adopted by 3 DJ’s, Funklore, Senor Soul and Kid Buttons who are apparently obsessed with Afro-Latin music and have started a whole scene in what they call the Tropical Wild East (of Europe!). This 30 minute mixtape was originally played live at a radio show in Poland and it includes many re-edited versions of Peruvian classics by the likes of Los Mirlos, Manzanita and Los Orientales.
Estropical presents Chichaton by estropical2