Lime-soaked chili. A sprig of coriander. Ginger, garlic, fresh seabass and Peruvian funk all blended into a magical, mouth-watering hybrid of music and food. Tiger’s Milk Records is housed in London’s Soho restaurant, Ceviche, where a curatorial crew concerned with good food and good music from Peru came together to create a rather special fusion.
In November, we chatted with co-founder Duncan Ballantyne about Tiger’s Milk, dedicated to bringing Peruvian culture to London. Just yesterday, Tiger’s Milk released two preview tracks from Peru Bravo: Funk, Soul and Psych from Peru’s Radical Decade, the label’s follow-up to their 2013 compilation Peru Maravilloso. “Delightful,” “joyful” and “lovely” were just a few of the choice words used to describe Maravilloso in our review of the album last year, and if this sneak peek is anything to go by, we are in for another treat.
The preview features Los Belkings' “Sabata,” and Jean Paul “El Troglodita"’s “Everything's Gonna Change.” Los Belkings formed in 1964 in Lima, drawing their original name “Belkin” from a type of whiskey. This surfy, soul-infused instrumental rock evokes the killer funk waves of the '60s and '70s that many short-lived bands rode during the period when General Juan Velasco Alvarado came to power in Peru.The song draws influences from a diverse base: global top 10 pop from '60s and '70s, James Brown, and some killer fuzz guitar solos that wouldn't seem strange on a compilation like Nuggets. They also would sit easily among psychedelic chicha groups like the better-known Juaneco y su Combo. Jean Paul’s “Everything’s Gonna Change” launches into a groove with raw sounding, soulful lyrics that go: Just tell me how you feel/and how long/have you ever been/so wrong/everything is gonna change/nothing’s ever gonna be the same/because I love you, I love you, I love you yes I do yeah yeah yeah! This cool, mellow jam speaks of a must-have kind of love that’s hard to let go. Peru Bravo was compiled by Martin Morales, owner of Ceviche, Duncan Ballantyne and Andrés Tapia del Rio of Repsychled Records, and is set for release on Oct. 6. We are pretty excited about this one--and judging from these tracks, you should be too.
[Editorial note: We are currently blasting the full disc in our office, and our suspicions of excellence have been fully confirmed.]
