The good homie Chancha just dropped his new LP on ZZK. After my third listen today, I can confirm to you that 'Rio Arriba' is one of my favorite releases of the year. A snapshot into the future direction of ZZK Records. Taking on not only the sounds of cumbia, but a wide range of South American styles and injecting their own cosmic twist on the continents traditional sounds.
The first time I met Chancha was at sound check at the Croc. I think we hit it off pretty well because were both space cases to the extreme. Him a bit more being his first time in the States and only speaking a small amount of English. After meeting, djing together & kicking it late night painting drum heads, this record gives you a glimpse into what im talking about.
Rio Arriba is the sophomore album from ZZK artist Chancha Via Circuito who molds local South American rhythms into global artistry. Rio Arriba bubbles up from the Andes like percussive lava, seething as it is soothing. Layers of drums play out like water and earth battling heat - heat brought by Chancha Via Circuito, the Pig on the Circular Train.
Chancha has forged a path from his town outside the urban sprawl of Buenos Aires in the east of Argentina up across the border with Bolivia and into the Northern hemisphere where he's bringing new fans to native drum traditions. In his first release, Rodante, Chancha took cumbia into uncharted territory retrofitting the Latin rhythm for a worldly audience. With Rio Arriba, South American folklore takes the reins and, under Chancha’s steady hand, obscure backwoods rhythms take on a top shelf lifestyle as folklore hits the club.
Cumbia made Chancha’s first album Rodante a stand out, Rio Arriba takes his sound primal, rooted in rhythm, but worldwide in scope. With recent remixes of The Ruby Suns (Sub Pop) and Gotan Project (Ya Basta/XL Recordings), Chancha proves his production can cross continents and pollinate. Rio Arriba annihilates the obvious - it's a fresh breeze from the city of good air flooding the urban habitat, sending you dancing upstream.
Live, Frikstailers dress themselves up in tropical muppet drag—they cap their heads with multicolored wigs and bug-eyed glasses as if to under-emphasize their skillful noodling on keyboards, racks and drum machines. But whether it’s an entertaining distraction or they’re just incredibly fond of blacklight, everything the duo does is psychedelic multicolor madness—even a performance on Argentinian television is juiced up by trippy cartoons and banana-skirted honeys—and their ZZK mixtape is a perfect intro to their steez, all outre cumbia circuit-bent through neon dance tunes that interpret the most electric side of South America. Whether they’re cumbia-izing synthy tracks like “Hold the Line” or technofying their own take on traditional Buenos Aires rhythms, clearly these are two dudes who know well the hypnotic effects of a pulsing strobe
It’s 2020 and you’re on a jeep in the rainforest, in search of a notorious underground dance party. You’re pursued by the jungle police, who are cracking down on unreported tropical clubs with jetsetter deejays and the most savage gogo dancers. But you give them the slip, through an especially dense patch of banana trees and rabid shrubbery. You find the club, enter through the trunk of a hollow tree and bless the ecosphere with your hotness on the earthy dance floor. Cumbiancha Muyo blasts from the speakers – your favorite deejays are on the bill, responsible for a night of green mayhem and abandonment. Kings of the futuristic tropical landscape, the Frikstailers. All going down at Nectar Lounge on Sept 29th. With support from El G (ZZK) Darwin & The Crooked Clef.
Fader - "all outre cumbia circuit-bent through neon dance tunes that interpret the most electric side of South America."
Global Noize Blog - "it sounds like Four Tet stepped into a jungle cantina with a wicked percussionist and found a casio laced with peyote.
In less than 2 weeks the ZZK Records crew will be once again taking a slice of emerging Buenos Aires culture to the North America. This time, they’ve been invited by the city of Denver to represent Buenos Aires music in the Biennial of the Americas.
They are asking for fans and friends to help take ZZK bigger and broader through ZZK TV. Click here to be a part.
Like many modern movements, the internet has played a large part of ZZK’s success. When before could the rest of the world see and hear what was going on at the bottom of the world as quickly and clearly as now? Through myspace, youtube, vimeo, facebook, podcasts, mixtapes, blogs, twitters and other forms of instant worldwide communication the ZZK bunch have managed to get their sound and vision out at rocket speed.
TOUR DATES!
July 20 – New York, NY - Le Poisson Rouge July 22 – Brooklyn, NY - Brooklyn Bowl July 23 – Martha’s Vineyard, MA – Martha’s V July 24 – Montreal, PQ – Divan Orange July 25 – Toronto, ON – Wrongbar July 26 – Detroit, MI – The Lager House July 27 – Chicago, IL – Beauty Bar July 28 – St. Paul/Minneapolis, MN – Turf Club July 31 – Denver, CO – Biennial of the Americas August 1 – Salt Lake City – Urban Lounge August 3 – Seattle, WA – Crocodile August 4 – Portland, OR – Rotture August 5 – San Francisco, CA – Rickshaw Stop August 6 – Los Angeles, CA – Echoplex
Now, they are calling on the internet once again, this time upping the ante and taking along a film crew to document their latest tour in hopes of putting the footage up on their newest idea, ZZK TV.
To make this happen ZZK is raising funds for the project. They have enlisted Kickstarter, a great Brooklyn based website for funding creative projects to donating as easy as buying on Amazon.com And, they are giving away rewards. Click here to be a part.
If you haven’t heard much about the record label, start here. ZZK has played an important contemporary role in the revitalization of South American culture for new global audiences, we invite you to listen to Chancha Via Circuito’s newest album which bridges music across generations, borders and time.
Tremor is hands down one of the most exciting bands in all South America. There is a reason there is only one live band on the ZZK label, and seeing Tremor perform you will quickly understand why. Tremor is Leonardo Martinelli, a multi-instrumentalist and composer with ten years of experience scoring film and theater in Argentina. Together with Camilo Carabajal and Gerardo Farez, Tremor deftly combines IDM with the sound of Northern Argentina where guitars, drums and other instruments breathe to the beat of computer bleeps. Tremor performs live with native Argentine instruments like the charango guitar, the bombo legüero drum, keyboards and synthesizers. It might be easy to pass off Tremor’s sound as “cumbia digital,” but after one listen to his style and influence of native instruments and folklore – you will quickly realize he’s forging his own sub-genre – “digital folklorico.”
Chancha Via Circuito is ZZK’s secret gem. As talented as producers come, Chancha Via Circuito is carving out his niche as a genre bending musical talent on the highest levels. When Diplo rolled through to play Zizek 3 years ago, it was Chancha’s CD that struck him first. Chancha Via Circuito explores the minimal side of digital cumbia with inspiration from afro-dance, murgas (marching bands), minimal dub, IDM, and down tempo. Computer bleeps share sonic space with folkloric chant. Candombe drums are accompanied by the sample of a machete splicing the air and a vocal line of indigenous bebop is layered over hints of dub.
If there were ever to be a superstar DJ in the digital-cumbia scene, it is El Remolón. El Remolón brings a global dance sensibility to digital cumbia, dubstep and electro-reggaeton cuts. With hypnotic beats influenced by everything from Colombian cumbia, cumbia villera (cumbia from the slums of Buenos Aires), and reggaeton to dubstep, dub, IDM, and minimal techno, El Remolón cuts his own vision of electronica for global dance floors. His sound is laid-back but heavy-hitting with a European dance floor sensibility. Listen to El Remolón's new EP Pangeatico Here
EL G is the DJ name of Grant C. Dull, label manager of ZZK Records, co-founder of Zizek Club and a 6-year adopted citizen & cultural ambassador of Buenos Aires. DJ sets of El G are powerful showcases of ZZK music: past, present and future. B-Sides, mashups, bootlegs, official and unofficial releases plus the newest music from the ZZK label is tested on audiences during his fiery, eclectic and intensely fun DJ sets. El G has commandeered ZZK Records as a global movement, both behind the scenes and on the turntables at festivals like Coachella, Roskilde & Summer Stage in Central Park, NYC. El G also runs WhatsUpBuenosAires.com & FeatBA.com
Support a movement, be a part of a record label and get some new music and merch while you’re at it!
For the sake of good music, show these boys some love!
Celebrating the most recent edition and the digital distribution of Pibe Cosmo, El Remolon open the gates to his electronic vault (aka hard drive) so that we can have some exclusive B-Sides off the album Pibe Cosmo. Remixes, mashups and unedited material that has been played in sizzling sets for the last couple years. In the meantime El Remo is preparing on what is to be a wicked new album and a series of OFFICIAL remixes soon to be released. ZZK!! ZZK!! ZZK!!
01-El Remolon - Dabrye vs Mc Hammer 02-Cumbia Lescanera (ft Pablo Lescano) vs Zaptap-Citizen 10 03-El Remolon - Veridis Quo (Daft Punk reprise) vs De La Soul 04-El Remolon - Modeselektor vs Calle 13 05-Princesa - I Feel So Good (El Remolon Mix) 06-Animal Collective - My Girls (El Remolon Cumbia Mix) 07-Matias Aguayo - Minimal (El Remolon Remix) 08-El Remolon - Andres Landero vs Madonna 09-El Remolon - Escape a Barcelona (Ft Blitto & Jahcoozi) 10-Mochipet - Rambuktion (El Remolon Zapatillas Galacticas Mix) 11-Alcides - Violeta (El Remolon Remix)
