Artist.......: Radiokijada
Album........: Nuevos Sonidos Afro Peruanos
Label........: WRASSE RECORDS
Genre........: Latin
Catnr........: wrass 233
source.......: CDDA
rip.date.....: Jun-10-2009
str.date.....: 000-00-0000
quality......: VBR/44,1Hz/Joint-Stereo
Url..........: n/a
track title time
01. Intro Kijada 02:23
02. Que Lindo Suena 05:18
03. Manoteo En Menor 04:28
04. Quema ! 03:35
05. Interludio Azul 01:03
06. Vals ½mima╗ 04:09
07. Agua E'nieve 04:33
08. Tumba Y Cajon 06:30
09. Zapateo Con Ron 02:49
10. S.O.S. 04:32
11. Lima-Paris 09:28
Runtime 48:48 min
Size 69,4 MB
Release Notes:
The members of the Paris-based trio who surfaced as
Gotan Project in 2001 had previously made records
as the Boyz from Brazil, so they clearly had some
instinct that Latin American rhythms could be
harnessed to modern production methods without
being smothered by them. Now all three are off on
their separate travels, with Christoph H Mⁿller
switching his attention across the Andes to Peru.
I wasn't sure if I would recognise a Peruvian
rhythm as a distinctive pattern, but by the end of
this debut album by RadioKijada I'm confident I
will know again it next time. I'm sure unusual
numbers are involved in the time signature - 6/8 or
something like that - with a different lurch to the
polyrhythms flickering through the percussion and
horns compared to the underlying pulse of the bass.
A Kijada (also spelled quijada) is made from a
donkey's jaw, used as a percussion instrument in
Peru for centuries by former African slaves and
wielded here by Rodolfo Mu±oz, reportedly trained
at the Conservatory of Havannah in Lima. Having
seen Rodolfo in action, I can vouch that he is
unlike your stereotypical conservatory graduate,
making formidable sounds with both his voice and
his instrument's rattling teeth while prowling the
stage with menacing intent.
For many in the rest of the world, the first
introduction to this Afro-Peruvian style came via
David Byrne's compilation The Soul of Black Peru
(1995), which helped to launch Susana Baca as an
international artist in her own right. But where
there was something formal and serious in her
presentation, the music here is often uninhibited
and celebratory. A variety of voices deliver the
laments and chants, including several women who
sing both separately and together. Conjured from
memories and echoes of a largely unknown repertoire
of Afro-Peruvian music, the melodies feel
surprisingly familiar.
Impressively, there is little sense that the music
has been programmed. The rhythm tracks don't all
stick to the same template, but ebb and flow as if
played by a genuine ensemble of real musicians.
Manoteo en Menor and S.O.S would each segue
seamlessly out of the seminal funk classic, The
Ghetto by Donny Hathaway. Zapateo con Ron sounds
like it was spontaneously played and sung, with a
tap dancer as percussionist.
Coincidentally, a second new album has just been
released presenting a parallel combination of
Peruvian songs in a modern setting. Played straight
after RadioKijada, Coba Coba by Novalima feels at
first as if it could have been made by the same
people, but as it rolls along, the bottom end
sounds consistently heavier. This was made with the
dancefloor in mind, and if at times the rhythms can
become a bit relentless, I can testify that it
brings a dance club to life and fills the floor.