Every year brings an album or two that stand out from anything else released currently. Bolivian singer Luzmila Carpio’s “Yuyay Jap’ina Tapes” is exactly that kind of record, especing all categories and expectations towards traditional South American music.
One of the reasons the music collected on this album (stream here) is so unique are the circumstances and time in which Carpio actually recorded it. 23 years ago she was working at that time with UNICEF to restore and spread traditional Quechua music in the Potosi region by giving out free tapes to local communities. There she wrote her own original songs, but based on local melodies and instruments.
Taking the character of those recordings into account, the delay in their proper release seems of no matter. But this music’s been somehow updated by the Argentinian label ZZK who asked several of the artists it represents – Nicola Cruz, Tremor, Captain Planet, El Buho, King Coya, Chancha Vía Circuito and El Remolón – to remix Carpio’s tapes.
The results is the 7-track EP “Luzmila Carpio Meets ZZK“, as fascinating as the original music. One of both albums’ highlights is “Chasqapuni Kasunchik”. While you can listen to Carpio’s version above, here’s the remix by one of Ecuador’s most talented musicians, Nicola Cruz: