Afrosound
La Danza de Los Mirlos LP

Afrosound’s mission was to emulate the guitar-heavy tropical sounds emanating from Perú and Ecuador at the time. To add to the hippie vibe, there were plenty of whacky improvised vocal asides (called ‘inspiraciones’), plus custom fuzz, wah-wah, flange and echo effects boxes for the guitar and keyboards. A barrage of odd sounding synths, drum machines and other electronic flourishes were also sprinkled in to spice up the proceedings. 

The dozen tracks on Afrosound’s debut long play make for a surprisingly diverse palette from which these Colombian musicians painted their daring portrait of Peruvian cumbia, returning the favor in bold colors that still resonate almost 50 years later. 

“La danza de los mirlos” kicks off with most famous Afrosound hit of all, ‘Caliventura’, a genius blend of funk and cumbia. Also, there are several covers including various Colombian costeño classics, a groove oriented son montuno / cumbia hybrid, Fruko’s bomba-funk ditty ‘El chorrillo’, the melancholic psychedelic cumbia ‘Esperando por ti’ and the rocking cumbia andina gem ‘Cabeza de chorlito’. 

This lovingly restored reissue features the artwork for the Peruvian edition, which was licensed and issued by Lima’s El Virrey label in 1974. 

NEW / Released in 1973 / Reissue 2021

Tracklist:

A1 Caliventura

A2 El la Esperura del Monte

A3 El Forastero

A4 Chorrillo

A5 Esperando Por Ti

A6 La Canción Del Viajero

B1 Sabor Navideño

B2 La Danza de Los Mirlos

B3 Río Magdalena

B4 Cachucha Bacana

B5 Cabeza de Chorlito

B6 La Sirena