Lately, I’ve been gravitating back towards what got me into music in the first place, the earthy, authentic, cultured sublime tones of more traditional Transnational Roots music.  So when this dropped into my inbox I started to salivate at the mouth cause I’ve always loved Peruvian music.

To be met with an e-mail that said that this album contains “some of the most important Afro-Peruvian recordings of all time” really excited me, just as much as the next big club thang!

Sometimes, these kinds of albums contain an insight into an important part of the musical history of a nation. They also tell tales of people’s lives, often factual and not just fiction and that reality is often what really appeals to me. I am not an authority on Peruvian music and neither do I pretend to be but to me this album ticks all the boxes for a classic compilation.

Here’s the PR:

Afro-Peruvian music is one of the most elusive genres in the world.  It’s practically unheard outside the borders of Peru, and the people there are even unsure of many aspects of its history.  The roots of this music date back to the mid 1500s, but over time Afro-Peruvian culture and its music faded.  From the mid 1950s through the 1970s, Peruvian labels such as El Virrey, IEMPSA, and Odeon supported an Afro-Peruvian revival with the release of hundreds of albums.

The Rhythms of Black Peru is a collection of some of the most important Afro-Peruvian recordings of all time that is over a year and half in the making.  Many of the tracks were discovered after digging for records in a run-down garage located in central Lima last April.  This compilation includes prolific figures in Afro-Peruvian culture such as Nicomedes Santa Cruz, Chabuca Granda, and Zambo Cavero.  This hand numbered vinyl-only compilation is the perfect introduction to this percussion driven fusion of African rhythms and Latin melodies. As always, each LP is hand assembled in our facilities for quality control.  Every copy comes in a re-sealable dust bag and includes a HQ MP3 download card for the entire album.

Free track:

Ruperta – Eva Ayllon

We’re so excited about this release that we’ve launched a dedicated blog for it.  There we will share stories, photos and videos of our trip to Lima, as well as LP cover scans, sound clips, historical information, and more.  You can head over to www.rhythmsofblackperu.com