Immersed in her country’s political landscape, Susana Baca has come to understand and value the importance of being the heir to those singers who once sung for liberty, social equality and the end of racism. With 'Sorongo', a track taken from her forthcoming album Palabras Urgentes, released via Real World Records, Baca fully embraces her role with a song written by Tite Curet Alonso, one of the great salsa composers, an artist renowned for the social consciousness that ran through his work.

It is a song which confronts the inequalities inherent in Peru's past, drawing on knowledge to combat ignorance and injustice. Speaking about 'Sorongo', Baca says: "It is a document of our life and its energy is birthed by the union of rhythm and soul. It finds a way to be both a song of the Caribbean and a song of the universe... Within it, one can find intuition, strength, feeling and enunciation. I spent many nights trying to find the right way of singing 'Sorongo'… in the end it is only with the presence of the musicians that accompanied me that it found vitality. I am sure that 'Sorongo' is faith found at the crossroads between feelings and rhythm."

Watch out for the Susana Baca cover feature in November's Songlines. Never miss an issue – subscribe today