Long-awaited debut album from Ecuador’s cosmic-folkloric, ethno-electronic phenomenon El Viejo Hombre de los Andes, or simply EVHA.
Ever since beehype started, one of the most fascinating music trends we’ve been observing worldwide is the Latin American wave of young artists who are inspired by indigenous music and local culture in general, but combine these inspirations with modern electronica. The results are incredibly original, colourful and addictive.
Among of the best examples of this phenomenon are Mateo Kingman and Nicola Cruz (Ecuador), Kaleema (Argentina), Mas Aya (Nicaragua), Lido Pimienta and Ela Minus (Colombia) – and EVHA, whose full name is El Viejo Hombre de los Andes, which means The Old Man of the Andes.
The Quito-based group grabbed our attention over two years ago and it’s been and long wait for their debut album, but it’s finally over. What’s interesting, their first full-length came out via Aya Records, which was actually launched by ZZK Records – the home for Nicola Cruz and Mateo Kingman, with the latter also being part of EVHA.
Titled simply “El Viejo Hombre de Los Andes“, this debut release brings 13 cosmic-folkloric, ethno-electronic songs that are apparently supposed to take you out from the here and now, and let your tired mind levitate high above all those earthly matters that have been occupying your thoughts for months and years.
The secret behind EVHA’s magical atmosphere is the combination of frienzed loops – with samples borrowed or inspired by various styles like sanjuanito, bambuco and yaraví – with tribal mantras sung by multi-layered male, female or mixed voices that sound both indigenous and futuristic.
It’s a music you can dance to semi-consciously, but you can also contemplate every beat and every sample with your eyes closed, and headphones on. Between the Afro-Latin beats, you might also pray to the ancient gods for this Latin 2.0 wave to keep gaining momentum.
Stream “El Viejo Hombre de los Andes” LP on Bandcamp.
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