Mujeres de Arena y Otras Historias

Amilcar Soto Rodriguez grew up as part of a musical family in Villa El Salvador on the Peruvian coast, a guitar seemingly always in his hand, before moving to Italy to study composition and take his guitar-playing to the next level. Now in his 50s he has created a moving tribute to his hometown that passes Afro-Peruvian rhythms and instrumentation through his jazz and classical schooling.

To achieve this he has recruited Italian chamber orchestra I Solisti Veneti as well as noted Peruvian singer Susana Baca, who adds her vocals to half of the songs; though it’s on one of the tracks without her, ‘El Narrador de Historias’, that most brings to mind her acoustic brand of percussive, graceful Afro-Peru. Its atajos de negritos rhythm stretches out through guitar improvisations, percussive breaks and vocal harmony sections; always full of life, it’s a glorious thing. The highlight of the songs to feature Baca is ‘Afro Mestizo’, its sumptuous strings and cascading piano lines making it one of the most spell-binding tracks she has ever recorded. The instrumental ‘Aire de Nieve’, an extended jam with donkey jawbone percussion, is Deodato-esque 70s fusion, and further proof of the surfeit of ideas on show.