Today's Song of the Day, as chosen by DJ Chilly and Albina Cabrera, hosts of El Sonido on KEXP, in honor of Latinx Heritage Month, is "Vamo a Dale Duro" by Ghetto Kumbé, from the 2020 album Ghetto Kumbé on ZZK Records.
Ghetto Kumbé take inspiration from their hometown of Bogotá, capital city of Colombia and just a quick flight from the Caribbean coast, infusing afro-Colombian rhythms with modernized interpretations of dancehall, rumba, and traditional chants and call-and-response vocals.
“I think what makes us different is that we’re going further back to the rhythmic roots, back to where the rhythm that exists in Colombia came from, mostly from the Atlantic coast," reflects co-founding band member Edgardo Garcés (aka E Guajiro) to Sound and Colours. "In the process of trying to find the similarities between different rhythms, we really took stock of the fact that so much of it comes from Africa and decided that we’d move more towards the African elements, adding them to the Afro-Colombia part. All this means it [our music] has a different sound.”
On their self-titled debut album (out now on ZZK Records), they team up with The Busy Twist, a South London production team who call themselves “pursuers of global tropical music culture.” Today's Song of the Day roughly translates to "Let's Go Hard," and it's a call to action to fight against the capitalist system and "dirty politicians."
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