Systema Solar

Colombia continues to be one of the most exciting music-producing nations in Latin America. The birthplace of cumbia, the country has also proved a fertile breeding-ground of late for all sorts of weird and wonderful musical fusions. Following last year’s international breakthrough by hip-hop crew Choc Quib Town, comes this thoroughly fresh, ridiculously danceable offering from Caribbean-coast outfit Systema Solar, a collective of DJs, singers, MCs, drummers and producers. Formed in 2006, Systema Solar draw on national piko (sound system) culture, adding their own twist, which they call berbenautika. Their music is high energy, high tempo stuff, strongly influenced by cumbia but also throwing a load of other genres into the mixer, including traditional porro and champeta, plus Afro-Colombian and folkloric touches. And just to mash things up, they’ll add samples, DJ scratches and a relentlessly driving dance beat.

It’s thoroughly fun, incessantly catchy music that’s as fresh as ripe tropical fruit. Highlights include ‘Mi Kolombia’, a love song to cumbia, dancing and roots and ‘El Majagual,’ all smoky beats and Jamaican-style toasting. But it’s perhaps the penultimate two tracks of the album that stand out most: the bouncy, surf guitar cumbia of ‘Ya Verás’ and the wall-of-sound horns in ‘Quien es el Patrón’ that feel like they’ve been lifted from a Mexican movie soundtrack. Brilliant, innovative party music.