The first thing you notice in almost every song is one of the two anomalies that give chicha music its distinctive sound: the sustained warble of a wah-wah guitar or the slightly jarring and hypnotic notes produced by early electric organs. Propelling the music to almost frenetic heights are the staccato sounds of various percussion instruments rapping out the high speed Latin beats that defy you to not dance. Over top of this oddly compelling melange of sounds, lyrics that draw upon the folklore and traditions of the Shipibo are sung, chanted, whooped, and hollered.
While the majority of the band weren't native, they typically performed in Shipibo costume and embraced aspects of the culture with enthusiasm. Fachin's nickname, "El Brujo" - the witch doctor - wasn't just an idle joke. The chief songwriter made frequent use of ayahuasca - an hallucinogen prepared as a tea by Shipibo shamans - and claimed to have received inspiration for a number of songs while under its influence. You can hear the native influence in the lyrics of songs like "Me Robaron Mi Runamula," which tells the story of a half-mule, half-woman creature of Shipibo myth, and "Vacilando Con Ayahuasca," where a woman repeatedly asks for more "tea" as she ascends further and further into a state of ecstasy.
In some ways the music of Juaneco y su Combo is a predecessor to today's house music, specifically trance, with its tendency to repeat the same rhythmic pattern hypnotically. Yet unlike most of today's music, these songs have an emotional texture that brings them to life in ways you don't often hear in modern electronic music. Of course, there are also the tracks where the enthusiasm of the musicians and the rhythms are so strong that no matter how repetitive things may sound, you'd never find yourself drifting away into another world.
Juaneco y su Combo aren't the only chicha band to have come out of the Peruvian countryside, but they are one of the originators of the sound and the first band to have really popularized it. It's only fitting that they are also the first band to be given an international release. As odd as it may sound, the music is infectious, fun, and never boring. If you're looking to hear something new, then this is the band for you. I can honestly say that I doubt you'll have come across anything quite like Juaneco y su Combo before.
Article comments