Ana y Jaime — Jerusalem

from Es Largo El Camino (1968)

This album is a magical masterpiece of psychedelic folk, from Colombian brother and sister duo Ana y Jaime Valencia Aristizábal. They recorded this when they were just 15 and 17 years old, respectively. Ponder that as you listen to the killer fuzz guitar on this track…

Afrosound — Tiro al Blanco

from Tiro al Blanco (1981)

The second track in today’s double feature: Massara’s ‘Margherita’ redone by Colombian psychedelic cumbia group Afrosound. It’s an absolute masterpiece of jungle dance music. If the song sounds familiar, it’s probably because Manu Chao sampled or copied the riff in a number of his hits.

Regarding the racy cover art—Afrosound was incapable of releasing an album without a partially naked lady on it. See for yourself at Super Sonido, one of my favorite blogs and the #1 spot for rare and obscure Central and South American 45s. (Thanks to Sonido Franko for this track!) Go give it a spin…

Cimarrón — Joropo quitapesares

String music at its finest from the Colombian llanos or plains. Musica llanera or Joropo is typically characterized by the harp…an instrument that conjures the sound of wind on the prairie. I’d say this is more Steve Vai than rustic plains minstrel, but some truly tremendous playing from these boys. The percussive harp technique is remarkable. And stick around til the end for tap dancing like you’ve never seen.

For more music from los llanos with a cumbia bent, see this post on Ernesto Torrealba.