Nací Mestizo

Intertextuality is not a common word to introduce a review of dance music, but it is everywhere in this second album from La Pambelé. They are based in Bogotá but take their initial inspiration from the tough, hard-edged salsa brava that developed in 1970s New York. This is clear from the piano chords that kick off the opening ‘Para no Olvidar’ and the classical format of elaborately layered instrumental mambos and moñas, the hard-driving rhythm, and sly musical references to earlier songs. Nonetheless, this is neither a tribute band nor a purist revival, as they also show the influences of more recent developments in the longer and harmonically complex coros, as well as jazzy solos sprinkled with quotes from Colombian and other classics. Though they deliberately hark back to the ‘golden age’, this band has its own voice and style.