Headfirst Editor's Pick
"Sell out warning! The one-band cumbia revolution rolls into town: 50 years matured in the Amazonian swelter, fed on psychedelic surf sounds seeping from the radio. Los Wembler’s de Iquitos’ chicha vision is an uncompromising ayahuasca-heavy folk romance, emanating strange tropical magic with an all-seeing third-eye grin. Once in a lifetime gig FFO: Roots of Chicha, Meridian Brothers, Chicha Libre, LA LOM."
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A gig held at The Jam Jar on Tuesday 4th November. The event starts at 19:30.
Los Wembler’s, five brothers who formed a band in 1968 in the Amazonian city of Iquitos, Peru, were one of the main architects of the Cumbia Amazónica movement - a 1970’s psychedelic cocktail that came to be known as Chicha.
Plus - DJ Pavinyl will be spinning a selection of rare Peruvian records.
The Jam Jar Presents
Los Wembler’s de Iquitos
+ DJ Pavinyl
Tuesday 4th November
7.30pm - 10pm
The Jam Jar, Bristol
Los Wembler’s became widely popular in the Peruvian Amazon and for a dozen years criss-crossed the region, with forays into neighboring Brazil and Colombia. In the mid 1980’s, however, touring mostly came to a stop and the band remained in Iquitos, playing mostly parties and local functions.
Though chicha originated in the 1970s, its particular blend of psych rock, surf, Afro-Latin rhythms and indigenous melodies proved to be particularly appealing to 21st century audiences.
To many, especially in South America and Mexico, it came to be seen as the missing link between rock and tropical Latin music and was a key ingredient in the cumbia revival that has swept the Americas in the past decade.
With this renewed global interest, Los Wembler’s made a return to the world stage, and in 2019 released their latest album ‘Vision del Ayahuasca’, which was written in Iquitos, where the band still lives, but recorded in Lyon, France, while the band was on its second European tour. With only three days in the studio and a hand injury suffered by guitarist Alberto Sanchez, the session was fueled with a sense of urgency that only added to the raw energy the band has channeled for the past 50 years. Recording at BacktoMono, an all analog studio, Los Wemblers re-created the conditions they knew at the beginning of their career – beyond mere nostalgia, the process gave the session some profound historical grounding. The result is an album that goes back to the origins of the band, oscillating between their love of tropical dance music and loud guitar rock rooted in late 60’s psychedelia.
Entry requirements: no age restrictions (under 18s to be accompanied by an adult over 21yrs, 1:1 ratio)
Plus - DJ Pavinyl will be spinning a selection of rare Peruvian records.
The Jam Jar Presents
Los Wembler’s de Iquitos
+ DJ Pavinyl
Tuesday 4th November
7.30pm - 10pm
The Jam Jar, Bristol
Los Wembler’s became widely popular in the Peruvian Amazon and for a dozen years criss-crossed the region, with forays into neighboring Brazil and Colombia. In the mid 1980’s, however, touring mostly came to a stop and the band remained in Iquitos, playing mostly parties and local functions.
Though chicha originated in the 1970s, its particular blend of psych rock, surf, Afro-Latin rhythms and indigenous melodies proved to be particularly appealing to 21st century audiences.
To many, especially in South America and Mexico, it came to be seen as the missing link between rock and tropical Latin music and was a key ingredient in the cumbia revival that has swept the Americas in the past decade.
With this renewed global interest, Los Wembler’s made a return to the world stage, and in 2019 released their latest album ‘Vision del Ayahuasca’, which was written in Iquitos, where the band still lives, but recorded in Lyon, France, while the band was on its second European tour. With only three days in the studio and a hand injury suffered by guitarist Alberto Sanchez, the session was fueled with a sense of urgency that only added to the raw energy the band has channeled for the past 50 years. Recording at BacktoMono, an all analog studio, Los Wemblers re-created the conditions they knew at the beginning of their career – beyond mere nostalgia, the process gave the session some profound historical grounding. The result is an album that goes back to the origins of the band, oscillating between their love of tropical dance music and loud guitar rock rooted in late 60’s psychedelia.
Entry requirements: no age restrictions (under 18s to be accompanied by an adult over 21yrs, 1:1 ratio)
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