“Cumba Siglo XXI” is the Meridian Brothers effort to combine the traditional Columbian genre and dance known as Cumbia with modern and lo-fi aesthetics. This unlikely marriage of concepts results in a weird but charming experiment that features ear grabbing melodies and danceable rhythmic sections performed by an array of originally designed synths and drums.
The best part of this project in my opinion is how well the identity and soul of Cumbia is preserved despite the unorthodox approach to it. But it makes sense given that this was the brainchild of Eblis Álvarez, a Colombian artist and multi-instrumentalist through and through, the authenticity and genuineness is transparent during the whole record.
It was hard to choose a favourite track to represent it, they are all unique in their own ways. There is even a rendition of Dusty Springfield’s “Son of a Preacher Man” in the style of the album, and it is as hilarious and absurd as you would imagine. But at the end I chose “Cumbia de la Amistad”, which roughly translates to “Cumbia of Friendship”, it features an intoxicatingly catchy bassline offset by a peculiar and off-beat synth line, all wrapped by layers of percussions that change just often enough to keep it interesting but steady. But the highlight of the song in my opinion is the haunting melody that pops up half-way through performed by a string instrument that I can’t quite identify. Overall a very interesting song that is emblematic of what can be accomplished when you have the ambition of combining the old with the new in a tasteful manner.
You can learn more about Meridian Brothers here:
About the Curator: Ema Page
Music has been one of the few constants in my life, since I was a little kid it has been my greatest passion. I remember being 5 or 6 years old sitting on the floor in my living room in front of the cd and vinyl player and being completely entranced by it. Since then I have been completely addicted to anything related to music.
For quite a bit of time I was a complete rock and metalhead, I fell into the trap of not listening to anything else and being snob towards other kinds of music for no good reasons. Luckily for me I had some good friends that opened my mind to all the possibilities out there, one of my best friends in particular introduced me to the Jazz world, that was a game changer for me. I started looking at music through different lenses, really thinking about what I was listening to, analysing it, understanding it at a deeper level. From that moment on I opened the doors to everything else, from pop music to indie folk, from traditional Spanish music to hardcore EDM, from experimental and cutting-edge stuff to classical music.
I just crave for new perspectives and approaches to deepen my appreciation of this incredible form of art that we call music.
