Race 61 celebrates its 25th anniversary

Don't miss the festival in Finowfurt this Friday and Saturday!

There will be car and motorbike races, lots of rocknrol bands and a lot of good vibes!

Interview: Duncan Ballantyne, the englishman behind "Perú Maravilloso"

- Is the idea of the compilation 'Peru Maravilloso' born from the experience with the Peruvian restaurant 'Ceviche', founded by Martín Morales in London?
Basically Martin comes from running record labels like I do. Whilst i worked for indies like Soundway and Far Out, Martin was instrumental in setting up iTunes in Europe and worked with Miley Cyrus when she was with Disney as part of Hannah Montana. In 2011 he decided to leave the high profile media world to start a mission impossible : to bring Peruvian cuisines and culture to the UK and beyond. He contacted me and we started talking about setting up a record label (as part of his Ceviche restaurant) releasing strictly Peruvian music. We released a 7" with Juaneco y su Combo and Paco Zambrano and then Peru Maravilloso started taking shape: our debut compilation looking at vintage music from Peru in the 69s and 70s.

- Which has been the most important concept to select the songs for the album? The diversity included is pretty clear, music from the 60s - 70s decades.
The imperative was not to pigeonhole the record with 'cumbia' or 'chicha' or ' psychedelic rock'. We wanted to make an album that is accessible to both music heads and people who had never heard Peruvian music before (apart from panpipes and Susana Baca). We love music of all varieties so we wanted to create an album that exemplifies our passion. The only 'must' was that it had to be Peruvian and made between these 2 decades.

- You have also included "very rare" songs of the tropical Peruvian repertoire. Is that issue also important to your concept?
Yes, we wanted to uncover tracks that have been lying dormant and forgotten about, raise the profile of artists who have never had proper recognition. However, that was the concept of this particular album both the concept of Tiger's Milk Records.

- Are the migrant population of Peruvian origin in the UK/Europe an important consuming audience of this compilation and future releases?
Definitely, and the general Latin diaspora. But equally this is a democratic record and it is not aimed at any particular person or taste.

- How is the reception of 'Peru Maravilloso' being among the European audience?
Amazing response: lots of plays on BBC radio. The first time ever that Peruvian music has been recognised internationally in such a mainstream media.
- In recent years there have been several American and European labels compiling Peruvian cumbia artists of the 70s such as Barbés Records, Vampisoul and Secret Stash, or simply 'Colombian Cumbia' by Soundway. How does Tiger's Milk look like in that context?
Tiger's Milk does not aim to replicate any other label's concept. We are truly passionate about Peru and its culture. We aim, as Tiger´s Milk to not just release music but offer a platform for other arts like gastronomy, theatre, literature and other cultural endeavours.
- Which was the original source of the songs collected? Vinyl, CDs or master tapes?
A mix of vinyl and master tapes from labels in Peru.
- Has it been difficult to integrate the different qualities of the sound on a single compilation?
Yes definitely, some of the vinyl is very rare and copies we had had to go through a rigorous mastering and reconditioning process.

- Have you got any projects after 'Peru Maravilloso'?
Tiger's Milk Records will release compilations of new and old music, explore and promote current trends in Peruvian music, work with artists, develop artists and we aim to become one of the most respected and authentic Peruvian cultural outlets outside of Peru.

Duncan Ballantyne, Tiger's Milk Records.

Interview by Ricardo Garcia, translation by Antonio Ayora.

Perú Maravilloso Lp, Tiger´s Milk TGM003. 2013.

I think it is not necessary to remind our regular readers the purpose behind Sotano Beat's fanzine and blog: Returning to the collective memory, the work of Peruvian musicians from the 50s, 60s and 70s. Artists who undeservedly had a brief success at the time and then disappeared forever. But now, more than ten years after the foundation of our fanzine, it is also necessary to highlight the work of the labels that in recent years have released the work of these musicians, putting them again in the musical map for the current generation.

And what is better than international labels in Peruvian hands doing it? I mean the newest Tiger's Milk. I don't need to take too much time on the presentation of this new record label founded by Martín Morales, known in the culinary world for its Peruvian restaurant "Ceviche" in London. We will publish an interview with his partner David Ballantyne, also responsible for this compilation.

Manzanita

Tiger's Milk had already released “Peru Maravilloso” in every sonic format, including vinyl deluxe edition LP and 7".
We must also mention the collaboration of Andrés Tapia (Repsychled Rcds) in the excellent selection of the compiled songs.
Now, the music:

Lucho Neves and his Orchestra started playing with skill and originality a classic tune of the South-American Andean music: “El Mambo de Machaguay”, latin jazz with an unique flavor. Then comes the Caribbean style 'descarga' of Chango y su Conjunto playing an incredible set right before the relentless groove of Juaneco y su Combo, with the hypnotic "Cumbia del Pacurro": cries of wild animals from the dark jungle, soaked in wah wah guitars and the ubiquitous guiro that invites you to move your body in a trance!

Then comes the turn of the "dark" Zheros with their uninhibited psychedelic guitar riffs and reverberant sound, cumbiando with "Para Chachita". The party can't stop! The sound of "Meshkalina" comes now: a little masterpiece of psychedelic Peruvian composed by Traffic Sound, this time in the original version of the Paco Zambrano y su Combo, with a strong boogaloo rhythm. After that, the cumbia returns again, this time with Los Gatos Blancos and their “El Chacarero”; a band reissued for the first time in a compilation, with an extremely fine sound between Los Mirlos and Los Diablos Rojos.

But not every tune here is just salsa or cumbia, Tiger's Milk let us hear the voice of Zulu, an extraordinary musician, who suddenly in the 70s disappeared almost without trace. The researchers from cult Sotano Beat Fanzine tell their story in a fabulous interview here:  http://columnabeat.blogspot.de/2009/04/zulu.html
Zulu sings "Sueño de Amor" in the key of soul and boogaloo, with that sensual idiosyncratic voice of him. After this romantic intermission we are back to the land where cumbia kicks, and we are dancing to Los Orientales, Los Ribereños and Los Ecos, who bring a stunning reinterpretation of the Beatles tune "I feel fine”.

What can be said about the next track "Toro Mata"? It's a tune that every Peruvian has ever heard. It's a song that not only defines our national folklore, but, unlike any, reveals the great contribution of African culture to the Peruvian culture. The compiled version brings the Orchestra of Pocho Purizaga doing some beautiful string arrangements, elegant Hammond sounds and tasty percussion work.

To continue surprising us with this collection of songs comes Manzanita, founder (along with Enrique Delgado) of the Peruvian style of cumbia: the tune "Zambito Rumbero" brings to our ears an electric guitar raving with his unique and uninhibited style, turning upside down the limits of a genre invented by himself: That's what I call originality!
And after that batch of cool songs we know you people want more, so let us bring al last but not least Felix Martínez y sus Chavales and the great Aniceto y sus Fabulosos (you can read their story here: http://columnabeat.blogspot.de/2009/12/aniceto-y-sus-fabulosos.html

The LP also comes with a bonus track from the creators of "Darkroom", The Zheros and their insane "Descarga de los Zheros".It is also important to mention the quality of this first label's release, the very informative notes accompanying the CD and the mp3 downloads accompanying the vinyl edition, adding a good design to a compilation that sets already, musically, a high standard for future editions of our Peruvian urban music.

Thanks to Antonio Ayora González for help to translate this text.