Planetario

The distinctive characteristic of Novalima has always been their focus on reinvigorating Afro-Peruvian music with new electronic fusions. On their fifth release (seventh if you include their remix albums), this can be heard in their use of rhythms like festejo, landó and marinera, as well as instruments like cajón and jawbone percussion. However, Planetario is also an album that sounds like it's painting from a broader Afro-Latin palette. On ‘Madretierra’ we can hear the marimba (wooden xylophone) of the Pacific coasts of Colombia and Ecuador, on ‘Memekume’ there is an unmistakable Cuban accent in the rhythm, while ‘Beto Kele’ is similar to Quantic's rootsy Afro-Caribbean bass.

The best moments arrive when the group try fusing different textures, such as ‘Tinkalamina’, featuring a brooding electronic rhythm and snatches of rustic fiddles, and ‘San Antonio’, which syncopates club-ready synths with cajón hand-drumming. Planetario is the sound of a highly inventive group who are perhaps outliving their ‘Afro-Peruvian’ tag; this is an album that lacks cohesion but offers up plenty of intriguing electronic fusions along the way.