Describing and distinguishing genres is frustrating, especially when you’re still learning. Recently, I’ve had people ask me about what cumbia is, how it differs from other types of music from Latin America, why one song is cumbia, and another isn’t, etc. And it gets difficult because I had never heard of the music until I moved to SF, so it’s relatively new for me as well. I know it when I hear it, but trying to explain its nuances, or talk about it authoritatively, well, that’s beyond me.
New podcast is up. This month I selected some of my favorite cumbias that I’ve been able to track down. Shout outs are due to Ghetto Bassquake, Lacongona, Mudd Up!, and San Francisco’s Mission District, without these resources my guess is I’d still be completely ignorant about all this amazing music.
Cold Tropics Podcast No. 4:
Daleduro – Bombon Asesino
??? – La Danza Del Hombre Churrumay (Extended Mix)
María y José – Ola de Calor
??? – Andinas 1.2
Alika y Nueva Alianza – Para Bailar Cumbia (El Hijo de la Cumbia remix)
??? – 2 Pac v. Sgcolombia
Sekreto – Gota (El Hijo de la Cumbia remix)
Sonido Desconocido – Cumbia del Falso Contacto
Toy Selectah – Shove It
Los Daddys – Cumbia Negra
??? – Son de Cumbia
??? – Cumbia del Heavy Bass
Formula 5 – La Cumbia Maestra
Next month’s podcast is gonna drone. I hope everyone has a happy Day of the Dead tomorrow.
Now this I absolutely love. Kraftwerk receiving the cumbia treatment. I have no idea where I downloaded this from, or who is responsible for this. Such are the perils of the digital distribution network, but the awesomeness of the song remains intact.
If Burial existed in the cumbia world instead of the dubstep world, I would imagine something like this:
People use the post prefix pretty casually in their music vocabulary, post-punk, post-garage, post-minimal, etc. But the idea of making music based around the stuff echoing in your head after you leave the club is worth exploring more. What is it supposed to sound like? What details collapse into each other? What gets lost? What is remembered incorrectly? Listening to music becomes a quest to distort it.
Tormenta Tropical is probably one of my favorite dance night in San Francisco. Each show is always a bit of a surprise with the rotating guests projecting different types of party vibes, always fun no matter what.
For those that need to get amped up check this mix at Trash Menagerie, which covers a lot of different territory.
I haven’t seen Ghosts on Tape live yet, but this youtube clip is promising:
