Dj Wilicox [L.S Produções] & Puto Baba [MNJ] - "Chinchiví (Afro Jungle Remiix)"

"I think of the African Diaspora in Peru as being a second diaspora in the Americas [...] (because) the forefathers and foremothers of Afro-Peruvians had to make a second journey [...] (;) they were separated in a sense from the core of the African diaspora. The citizens of the Black Pacific world on the Pacific coast were isolated to a large extent from these Black Atlantic cultural forms [...] (that) you have a greater perpetuation of African-descended cultural traditions." - Heidi Feldman, author of Black Rhythms of Peru

Remixes are not found here in abundance. Tracks of this nature are decidedly not my favorite source of inspiration; they are hard to judge and even more difficult to write about. But regardless of the present author's neurosis, remixes are a legitimate form of expression. If nothing else they add a degree of separation, with a stated purpose, to a finished product. As such, these pages are not deficient of creations in this vein. Hip-hop has been re-tooled, soul has been re-purposed, pop has been manipulated and even reggaeton was once summoned to prove a point. Given that a considerable amount of focus is regularly given to music from Lisbon, though, African sounds - whether kuduro, tarraxa, or afro-house - are perhaps most frequently heard. "Chinchiví (Afro Jungle Remiix)" does not change this. What it does, however, is add a new geographic badge to the collection: the Southern Hemisphere of the new world.

When considering the eminent locations for African music outside of humanity's cradle, Cuba comes to mind. Likewise, Jamaica, Brazil, and the United States can be summoned. Each location, and its population, came from different histories and faced different conditions. As such the music from each country has its own sound. Peru may not be mentioned in the same breathe, but this is not out of spite; even if 2pac's name must have come from somewhere. Instead, Peru is more often associated with empires past. Yet DJ Willicox and Mãn Juh's Puto Baba have chose a song by one of the forefathers of Afro-Peruvian music, Pepe Villalobos. F"El Negrito de Chinciví" is a number in the coastal "criollo" style of music called "festejo." It normally features a cajón, guitar, and vocals (both male and female) while playing to dancers in 12/8 time (or so says the NYU School of culture). It is history, it is culture, it is...music. But most intriguingly, it does not require much squinting to see the parallels in terms of condition between the older isolated, African inspired dance music (mentioned in the quote above) and the more recent electronic variant (once again, written about here exquisitely).

In regards to the remix at hand, Willicox and Puto Baba's biggest achievement is in allowing their source material to breathe. The latter beatmaker may prefer faster tempos but relies instead on his afro-house sensibilities. As a result, a four to the floor bass proves non-intrusive. Listeners are allowed to become acclimated to the original bass and vocals, while enjoying the peripheral tamborine. Yes, the mastering is not optimal. But where the kuduro beat is concerned, these two producers opt for simple snare-cymbal combination; and as such their creation does not sound cluttered. Reality is much to the contrary as woodblocks can be heard serving as auxiliary percussion.  The only window-dressing heard is a brief keyboard alongside the original guitar. What follows is a re-fix. tried and true, that builds on the legacy of Villalobos's composition.

- John Noggle