Juan Cotito — Hechicero (Perspectives on Afro-Peruvian Music. Th

Juan Medrano "Cotito" is an Afro-Peruvian percussionist who passionately continues a rich tradition of music fusing the two cultures. Having never been to Peru, I was totally unaware of any sort of combination of the traditional music of Africa and Peru. This album is a refreshingly unfamiliar listen.

As it turns out, Cotito not only presents us with a novel sound but plays it with absolute mastery and class. His whole band is on fire with a groove. The album is filled with powerful, kinetic rhythms and rousing energy. Certainly, though there are moments of emotion and melancholy, this is dance music and party music. It has the cathartic release of a night of dancing to expertly delivered live music.

The songs move in circles, the meter rotating mesmerizingly round, each melody resolving perfectly back into the groove to begin again. African sounds such as deep-toned, thunderous hand drums and repetitive chants combine naturally with Latin tinged acoustic guitar and circular melodic chorus lines. These hooks are sung in Spanish and possibly other languages as well, and I don't understand the words, but they deliver a sense of timeless nostalgia. There is a cosmic, spiritual emotion in the lightheartedness. I would gladly sing along to these words if I could.

There are appearances of odd-metered and polyrhythmic beats, and indeed the entirety of the beat seems to be constantly shifting, disorienting, yet demanding you to move. It is the kind of pulse shaped across generations upon generations, a dance that does not come to be understood by the body instantly, but rather grows gradually over time as it is heard night after night.

Certainly worthy of mention is the vividly clear, punchy production, which truly makes it feel like Cotito's band is playing in your living room. Recording of hand drums is no easy feat, and this is probably the best I've ever heard them sound on an album.

This is a truly incredible and deep album, presenting a rich tradition of the past with all the clarity and precise professionalism of modern recordings. A voice from the present day as much as any bygone era, I am sure Cotito's band could peel the paint off the walls in a live setting with their sheer vigor. The album's best quality is the one most difficult to describe, which makes it the sort of recording one can play again and again without any sort of fatigue. Perhaps it is the perfect balance and dynamism Cotito has found that causes this.