Album Cover for Ranil's "Galaxia Tropical"
Along the Northern part of the Amazon River, past the Brasilian-Peruvian border, there is a small city accessible only by aircraft, boat, or boot. It was here in Iquitos, Peru, a city surrounded on all sides by lush Amazon rainforest, that a new selvatic style of cumbia was born in the early 1970s. Characterized by delightfully treble-heavy guitar melodies, galloping percussion, and lots of wah-wah pedal, this style of music – called “llullampeo,” or more commonly, “chicha” – blends classic cumbia with indigenous Andean musical elements, and a generous dose of psychedelica.
One of chicha’s most important musicians is Ranil, born Jorge Raúl Llerena Vásquez in 1935 in the city of Iquitos, Peru. Ranil grew up listening to criollo waltzes, Colombian cumbias, Brasilian carimbó, and anything else that could be picked up on the crackly signal of transistor radio. As a young adult, he worked as a school teacher, but eventually returned to his hometown of Iquitos to join a band called Los Silvers as their singer. When the band couldn’t secure a record deal that would treat them fairly, Ranil started his own record label called Producciones Llerena.
After releasing some albums of his own that were well-loved in the region, his music caught the attention of the world music record label Analog Africa. On the label’s bandcamp, Analog Africa’s founder, Samy Ben Redjeb, recalls a 2019 trip to Peru where a taxi driver, upon hearing that he was looking for Ranil, casually drove him right up to the musician’s door. The two were introduced and hit it off immediately, spending a month together in the Amazon curating a compilation of Ranil’s work to be released by Analog Africa.
This first compilation album, titled “Ranil y Su Conjunto Tropical,” was released in 2020, when perhaps the world needed it most. The album has the same emotional effect as the first warm, sunny day after a long winter. It recharges your life force. Equally suited for a Sunday morning or a Friday night, this album meets you where you are, and seems to please the crowd no matter the scene. It’s an absolute essential in my DJ arsenal.
Give it a listen, and when you’re ready for more, you’ll be happy to know that Analog Africa has just released a new compilation of Ranil’s work. The album, “Galaxia Tropical,” which came out on February 6, includes never before released songs by the legendary Peruvian artist with legendarily hard-to-track-down LP’s. My top three songs from this release are “Inka,” “Albores De Mi Selva,” and “Cumbia Del Torero.” You can find it on streaming services, or purchase a digital or physical copy of the record on Analog Africa’s bandcamp.
If you’re looking for a soundtrack to this unusually early Spring we’re having in Oregon, look no further than "Galaxia Tropical." You might think you’ve heard cumbia, but you’ve never heard cumbia like this before. Que viva la chicha!!!