You can find all kinds of ways to (re)approach cumbia in the recent years. But the Mexican marimba brothers, Jesús Ángel and Allan Gama, offer their very unique take.

Just two weeks ago, Son Rompe Pera have released their debut album called “Batuco“, via AYA Records (which belongs to the terrific ZZK Records). And the moment you hit play, two things will be clear: they love and know cumbia well, but at the same time they’re rebels.

We hear they’ve used to play at some local events with their father, Batuco, a marimba player himself. But they’ve also belonged to the garage / punk / ska scene. As the result, Son Rompe Pera brings that intriguing mix of respect and disrespect which helps folk music look forward without losing its roots.

In their own words: “The basics of Son Rompe Pera have been developing since we were kids, and the music and streets are in our blood. We found the markets flooded with old, forgotten folk music, and so as kids we decided to carry the marimba with us and create this musical project from our own roots, mixing in rhythms which we thought would never be musical brothers, like cumbia, punk, and the sounds of our barrios and our everyday lives.”

Son Rompe Pera is a quintet, where Kacho and Mongo (as the brother want to be called) are accompanied by congas, drums, guitar, bass, and güiro, mixing inspirations from across Latin America – from Mexico to Chile. Batuco is here too.

Stream “Batuco” LP on Bandcamp and YouTube.

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Son Rompe Pera on Facebook,