Psychedelia slipped into the slums of Lima, Peru, by the late ’60s and merged with local roots for a hybrid music called chicha. With The Roots of Chicha 2, American musician Olivier Conan returns to the genre he helped expose to the wider world, compiling a wonderful collection of tracks recorded from 1968-1981. Many of them feature rolling melodies, African percussion and electric guitarssometimes with the fuzzbox on. Occasionally echoes of Santana are heard; mostly, the influences are harder to track on soulful Latin numbers with haunting rainforest harmonies and elastic rhythms perfect for the dance floor.
Various Artists
The Roots of Chicha 2 (Barbès Records)
