MICK MCSHANE is roused by a band whose socialism laces every line of every song with commitment and raw passion
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Album reviews with Michal Boncza: July 22, 2022
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Los Hermanos Ballumbrosio
Homenaje a El Carmen/Homage to El Carmen
(Buh Records)
★★★★★
THE town of El Carmen, 200 miles south of Lima, is home to the largest black community in Peru and Los Hermanos Ballumbrosio are mesmerising exponents of the local music distinctly structured around west African rhythms and evolved by slave communities into the festejo and panalivio dances.
The sound is articulated with cajon (box), quijada (jawbone), congas, bongo and bata drums, violin and zapateo (shoe-tapping) and defines the cultural universe of El Carmen.
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