El Grito

Cumbia is to 2021 what tango electronica was in 2001; for every dashing, inspired revivalist experiment there are dozens of dead horses and lame dogs. I partly blame Manu Chau, the anti-globalisation hero who globalised Latino-ish music and tossed in a bit of cumbia here and there to anchor his schtick outside his native France. Cumbia Chicharra are the latest band to attempt a spin-off, cashing in on the buzz around cumbia – a rhythmic tradition that has its heartland in Colombia and its pulse in Africa, but powers electronica in Berlin and ersatz protest music in Argentina. El Grito sprinkles cumbia liberally across eight songs that also name-check hip-hop, rap, rock, Andean reels and those frantic stomping ska flourishes that are the desperado’s attempt to liven things up. The thing about cumbia, though – all of it, really – is that it is thin music, thanks to its tinny beats, untreated accordion notes, weak brass bits and dodgy vocalists; Cumbia Chicharra’s singers do voice overs as often as they sing. Some of the more excited songs are Spanish-language carnival marches, suited to a tipsy conga or a freak hokey-cokey but not especially easy on the ears. What we are listening to here is a trend, with an octet from Marseilles – of all places – checking out a scene and seeing what happens. I’m really not sure where global cumbia is heading – but on El Grito any roots are left rotting in the ground.