September 21, 2011

Los Destellos | Constelacion

ARTIST:  Los Destellos
TITLE:  Constelacion
LABEL:  Secret Stash
REVIEW:  Los Destellos are probably the best-known purveyors of chicha, the psychedelic cumbia that is Peru’s great contribution to 60’s and 70’s music. 
The band was started in 1966 by guitarist Enrique Delgado, who wanted to introduce folkloric elements into Peruvian rock.  Delgado’s twangy guitar is Los Destellos’ most noticeable element, but his great innovation was to add a timbale player to a standard rock combo, leading to a fusion of cumbia and other Latin dance rhythms with popular Anglo-American styles (surf-rock, psych-rock, garage-rock, even country & western).  With interest in chicha booming, it’s an opportune time to reissue Los Destellos’ seventh album, originally released in 1971 and considered a classic of the genre by the cognoscenti.  You can hear many of the key elements of the style right here -- the psychedelic freakouts (track 5), the Cuban elements (9), and the sophisticated, jazzy guitar soloing (4).  Or try track 6, which neatly encompasses just about all of chicha in 4:16 of pleasure.
TOP TRACKS:    4    5    6    9
ALSO RECOMMENDED:    1    2    3    7    8    11

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